MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGF Technical - Coolant leaks

My wife purchased her 2002 tf 135 a couple of months back,since then I have kept a constant check on the coolant level for obvious reasons. I have topped it up a couple of times but have now noticed it is leaking onto the road,only a little but I would imagine it could be doing this while she is driving it hence the level dropping. Could anyone enlighten me as to where the coolant may be leaking from please? Also if I keep monitoring the level should I be ok? Is this normal in TFs or is it usually reserved for mgf's?
Neil Barker

Coolant should not be leaking at all Neil.

Whereabouts under the car is the coolant landing?
Rob Bell

Hi Rob,
I'm not sure yet as it's only just started showing any external signs of leakage,I will have a look every time the car stops now and try and locate it. Is there any common places to look out for please?

Neil.
Neil Barker

sadly there are.


have you a trolly jack? If so then looking under the car from the rear there are two jacking points in the centre of the car, one before and one after the engine, jack up here.
Commonly there will be a tiny green waterfall as the water collects ontop of the alternator
This is behind the drivers seat, on the front side of the engine.

This means HGF.

If you get no water come off then have a look at the hoseclips on the underbody pipes, they should be clean with no crusty green stuff. Crusty green stuff may mean new rubber hoses, but it will certainly mean new hose clips - don't try to tighten whats there, go to halfords and get some wide clips of about the right size.

If you see nothing then it's time to take the engine cover off...

With the engine cover off check the top of the alternator for green-ness or crustyness - goto step one

If not then check the coolant hoses at the other end of the engine for crustyness or wetness and go to step two
Will Munns

never work under a car supported only by a jack
Will Munns

Neil, you are looking at a leak either from the head gasket (commonest place for this to leak out is over the alternator - so look at the area under the front right corner of the engine, behind the rear rear wheel), or from a hose - which could be from the rear, or more commonly the front of the engine.

Your quest may be aiding significantly by removing the engine inspection cover. Then, when the engine is cold, start the engine and look for evidence of leaks around the head/block interface, and inspect all the hoses. Sometimes it may take a while for a leak to become obvious - so allow the engine to reach full temperature (also look for evidence of coolant landing on the exhaust manifold and evaporating off).

Then allow to cool - if no leak yet spotted, keep inspecting.

Sometimes, tracking these things down takes quite a lot of patience.

One question - have you checked the oil condition on the dipstick?
Rob Bell

Hi,
Thanks to you all for your comments,I am surprised there are still good people out there willing to help people with their own findings. In response to the last question,yes I have checked the dipstick and the oil is still clean with no signs of contamination. The car is still under warranty and it does state that the head gasket is covered under the terms of the warranty. Am I as well letting the garage I bought it from have a look or would you persevere with it a bit just to find the exact source of the leak first?
Neil Barker

If the oil is still clean, and there's no steam, that points towards a good old fashioned leak. Check for evidence of leakage around the seam of the expansion bottle, the expansion caps often fail and allow water to dribble out as the engine cools.
Mike Hankin

>I am surprised there are still good people out there
>willing to help people with their own findings

We'll still be her in 20 years - look at the midget board for examples!

Check your warrenty, the AA require a 'breakdown' which you have not had - so (peversly) if you have a warrenty like this you have to keep driving it till it goes really wrong, rather than pre-emtivly fix it cheaply.
Will Munns

>If the oil is still clean, and there's no steam, that
>points towards a good old fashioned leak.

Sadly not, the most common failure for the F/TF is over the alternator, it's only when this goes untreated/unnoticed/critical that you run out of water and the temp goes thru the roof and the seals between the oil and water gallerys break down which leads to mayo.

Good point on the cap, these cost next to nothing and are avilable at Halfords.
Will Munns

OK Will, I'll keep my optimism to myself...
Mike Hankin

8-D

Optimism has no place in this thread, go find a thread about how many bhp you can get by removing the cat or using optimax ;-)
Will Munns

ROFL

Neil, good news that the oil hasn't turned to mayo :o)

If your warranty cover is as comprehensive as it sounds, then I be tempted to take it straight to the dealer and ask for them to sort the problem for you :o)
Rob Bell

Thank you all. The warranty is not an AA one it is one sold to my wife by the garage she bought it from. I read the t's and c's when it arrived and it does include the head gasket. They may charge me a million quid for the coolant though when they have done the job(joke). To be continued.

Neil.
Neil Barker

Hi I'm back but as a member now,
I have had the car up and there is no coolant at all at the rear of the car,it all seems to be down the drivers side chassis leg coming from front to rear. Could it be the heater? The carpets are a little damp and it has only started leaking now my wife has started using the heater on hot(nesh). Could it be running from the matrix and getting under the car somehow?

Neil.

N R Barker

Hi Neil,

Does indeed sound like the matrix is the suspect area, the other common fault is leaking underbody pipes but they're on the other side of the floorpan, and traditionally go on older cars due to corrosion.

Should show up on a pressure test and not take too long to diagnose/fix.
Mike Hankin

Hi,
The only thing I cant suss out is how the coolant is getting from the matrix/pipework to the underneath
of the car? Can it run down the "transmission tunnel"onto the plate in the middle of the car? This is wet,the car is usually pointing downhill slightly,after looking yesterday there was a small drip from the front of the o/s.sill just behind the front wheel.
N R Barker

Unlikely to be the heater I would think: these tend to leak inside the cabin.

Sounds more likely to be the underbody metal cooling pipes (damaged?), a weaping union between those pipes and the rubber rad hoses, or even a radiator leak (stone damage?)

The on-line EPC provides some more clues as to the pipe runs: http://www.lame-delegation.de/mgfcar.de/epc/1080.htm
Rob Bell

I don't know this end of the car, but this is GOOD NEWS!
Will Munns

I had a good look at the steel pipes and they also looked dry all over. the only place I couldn't see was under the guard/plate in the centre of the car. The plate has been hit at some point but it's not badly damaged just scraped really. I will have to remove it to see further. Is there any way at all the water from the heater matrix could get under the car from in the cockpit?
N R Barker

The heater core pipes run thru the 'transmission tunnel' if you remove the rear cubby hole you shoule be able to see them, I don't know if the matrix box has a drain hole, but I doubt it. A leaking matrix usually leaves the passanger footwell very damp.

If you open the bonnet and remove the spare tyre you should see a number of plastic nuts and screws that hold the plastic bulkhead cover on, remove these and this and you should be able to look down on the rubber pipework for the radiator.
Will Munns

Having lifted the carpets the insulation is wet through. Lokks like a matrix leak or has the pipes ever sprung a leak under the centre console. I cannot see where the matrix is leaking from or into the car. There was some coolant under the area of the matrix but I cant't see any drips/leaks.
N R Barker

Unfortunately, wet passenger footwell can also be caused by rain water gaining entry via a faulty heater box seal.

The difference between the two is smell, and, err, taste (antifreeze has a distinctively sweet 'flavour')

But like Will, I'd be surprised if this were the source of your leakage. But never say never.
Rob Bell

all carpets removed and sound proofing. all wet through with coolant. A few drops are on the heater valve. Can these leak so badly? I have pushed the o/s.hose on further and repositioned the clip furter down. I was going to pressurise the system with compressed air,what pressure dose the system work on please?
N R Barker

A timely reminder to check the coolant level. Whilst driving to work yesterday in heavy traffic i noticed in horror the temp dial rise from mid pos towards red. I openned windows full heat drove carefully to work temp went down found no coolant in expansion bottle !. I left engine to cool added, water the dip stick showed small signs of mix.So far no signs of HGF or water loss just have to keep a check on things :)
Dave Smyth 1

This thread was discussed between 16/11/2005 and 22/11/2005

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGF Technical BBS is active now.