Rover 200 1995-99 Haynes manual

[losixxx]

Hi
Rover Haynes manual 211/214/216 1995-99 dark red/bergandy in colour

just on the off chance anyone got one of these and is able to scan/e-mail some bits from it

Head gaskets gone on my little 200 and don't really want to pay out £20 for one from Halfords

Chris

[shinytopman]

Not got the manual but what data you after?

[MK999]

ebay is usually good for haynes manuals under a fiver

[daz]

Head gaskets are easy to do on the rovers, not much to catch you out really apart from dont forget to put a jack under the engine because the head bolts hold it all together.
You must get the head skimmed as well its very important on the rovers, if your doing it on your own it should cost around 300 quid for skim and gaskets .
If you need any help just ask i did one about a year or so ago..

[Spoolio]

Originally Posted by losixxx

Hi
Rover Haynes manual 211/214/216 1995-99 dark red/bergandy in colour

just on the off chance anyone got one of these and is able to scan/e-mail some bits from it

Head gaskets gone on my little 200 and don't really want to pay out £20 for one from Halfords

Chris

I was going to say something smart but then I thought I wouldn't like it if it was my car so I'm just going to go away quietly now. I have a manual for a k-series Metro which covers the same engines (including the uber-rare - well at least its uber-rare nowadays - 1.4 8v) if you are stuck for torque settings, I'm pretty sure they'll be the same. Doesn't the K use queer bolts that go all the way through the block and links the head to the main bearing caps. They're a bit new fangled for me, I don't like all this metric stuff.

[losixxx]

thanks for the help guys but need the book asap rather than wait for fleebay...also after talking to a few people today and looking on the rover spotters website seems its unlikely unless engine has got very hot i will need a skim...and seeing as the car cost me £200 i need to sort it myself cheaply as poss....

[Southwell]

I doubt the head will be warped if it was turned off quickly. One way ive heard of checking is put a metal ruler on the head when you get it off and shine a torch to see if you can see any light through it.

[mayhem]

putting a jack under the engine will cause no harm at all the head bolts bolt the main caps up onto the crank so dont drop them back in the holes when refiiting head. gasket will be about £30 fom an after market place you will need to have the head skimmed as they are always wrapped and you will need the sealer that goes between the head and the cam carrier as there is no gasket there silcone is no good as it blocks the oil ways

[Doomanic]

Originally Posted by losixxx

and seeing as the car cost me £200 i need to sort it myself cheaply as poss....

Throw it away and buy another one. Seriously.
That engine is utter wank and once the head gasket has gone it's scrap.

[Spoolio]

Originally Posted by Doomanic

Throw it away and buy another one. Seriously.

Yes, I totally agree. Spending anything at all on it is a total waste of time and cash, Rover 200's are ten a penny because they are known to be ummm, fragile once they get to be a certain age and at £200 you're gonna be in negative equity as soon as you buy a head gasket set.

Originally Posted by Doomanic

That engine is utter wank and once the head gasket has gone it's scrap.

Not true, the K-series was one of the jewels in Austin Rover Group's crown and when the design was first unveiled it was revolutionary. Remember this was back when Ford was inflicting that fondly forgotten bag of nails otherwise known as the CVH on us. In its original spec it was a 3-cylinder motor and one of its features besides the "through-bolt" construction was a very compact cooling system that only needed a small amount of water to assist a fast warm up and hence lower emissions. Because its such a light and torquey engine it was a no-brainer choice for Lotus in the Elise remember.

Unfortunately in this country we have ace ideas that we then cannot afford to develop properly. So although it took years before Rover released the K for sale it still kept its - conceptually brilliant but practically inadequate - small coolant capacity and this ended up being a pain in the wallet (usually for the second owner once the car was out of warranty). There is no margin for error. A marginally silted radiator (like what you get in most cars over 3 years old) is no biggy in most, in a K-series it's a massive no-no.

Head gasket failure on a K does not automatically mean the engine is scrap. There are plenty of MGF's and Rover 75's that have done 3 times as many miles after a gasket replacement as they did on the original gasket. However, on economic grounds you do really have to question whether its worth it which brings you back to square one.

[phil c]

Originally Posted by Spoolio

Yes, I totally agree. Spending anything at all on it is a total waste of time and cash, Rover 200's are ten a penny because they are known to be ummm, fragile once they get to be a certain age and at £200 you're gonna be in negative equity as soon as you buy a head gasket set.



Not true, the K-series was one of the jewels in Austin Rover Group's crown and when the design was first unveiled it was revolutionary. Remember this was back when Ford was inflicting that fondly forgotten bag of nails otherwise known as the CVH on us. In its original spec it was a 3-cylinder motor and one of its features besides the "through-bolt" construction was a very compact cooling system that only needed a small amount of water to assist a fast warm up and hence lower emissions. Because its such a light and torquey engine it was a no-brainer choice for Lotus in the Elise remember.

Unfortunately in this country we have ace ideas that we then cannot afford to develop properly. So although it took years before Rover released the K for sale it still kept its - conceptually brilliant but practically inadequate - small coolant capacity and this ended up being a pain in the wallet (usually for the second owner once the car was out of warranty). There is no margin for error. A marginally silted radiator (like what you get in most cars over 3 years old) is no biggy in most, in a K-series it's a massive no-no.

Head gasket failure on a K does not automatically mean the engine is scrap. There are plenty of MGF's and Rover 75's that have done 3 times as many miles after a gasket replacement as they did on the original gasket. However, on economic grounds you do really have to question whether its worth it which brings you back to square one.

one of the main things to do is fit metal dowls in the block (that the gasket sits on ) as these stop the head moving about so much compared to the plastic ones, and also once the head is off dont turn the bottom end round as it can spin the main bearing shell on the crank

[MK999]

Did a fairly big report last year on the k series for uni, and all it's associated problems. Sure it was revolutionary when it was released but I wouldn't look back at it as a great engine, they're just far too fragile. The head gasket problems have only just been fixed on production vehicles with some of the latest land rovers sporting multi layer steel gaskets that seem to stop most of the worries, a revision to the thermostat is also the main large change used by the few people that bother trying to make it reliable. In one way it's success was also it's downfall, the K series fared so well in all of rovers testing they decided to make revisions to the design to allow the capacity to be increased to 1800cc, which caused all the head gasket issues.

For the cost of reskimming the head etc i'd buy another one, and make some of that money back giving the current one to the scrapman, if he'll even take it. The engine block is aluminium so must be worth a bit as coke cans

[savageman25]

Originally Posted by MK999

Did a fairly big report last year on the k series for uni, and all it's associated problems. Sure it was revolutionary when it was released but I wouldn't look back at it as a great engine, they're just far too fragile. The head gasket problems have only just been fixed on production vehicles with some of the latest land rovers sporting multi layer steel gaskets that seem to stop most of the worries, a revision to the thermostat is also the main large change used by the few people that bother trying to make it reliable. In one way it's success was also it's downfall, the K series fared so well in all of rovers testing they decided to make revisions to the design to allow the capacity to be increased to 1800cc, which caused all the head gasket issues.

For the cost of reskimming the head etc i'd buy another one, and make some of that money back giving the current one to the scrapman, if he'll even take it. The engine block is aluminium so must be worth a bit as coke cans

The engine would only be worth somthing though if you were to take it out of the car and take it in to the scrap yard seperately otherwise it would all go in as iron and aluminium.
The current scrap price at the moment is about £75 per ton so if you were to scrap the rover you would be lucky to get over £70.

[losixxx]

well car cost me £200, found someone who will supply and fit new Head Gasket, Head bolts, cam belt and thermostat for £200...when i bought the car it had just had new exhaust, new from brakes and new rear pads and new clutch 12 months ago plus 12 month ticket...so in my current situation of earning my £60.50 per week JSA i think its worth the gamble rather than spending another £200-£400 on another cheap runaround and possibly same thing happening...

Thanks for all the info though

[daz]

Only a fool wouldnt skim the head, and the metal dowels what where previously mentioned come with the new head gasket.

[the mad1]

sounds silly buddy but it may well be cheaper to go and buy another engine and have that fitted rather than messing around with the head

[Chrislong]

Originally Posted by the mad1

sounds silly buddy but it may well be cheaper to go and buy another engine and have that fitted rather than messing around with the head

There are a lot of ifs and buts in this thread. Such as, if the replacement engine or replacement car then has a failed head gasket your back to where you are today.

Best bet is repair what you have, as it is highly likely to be a better job than when it was built on the production line and may do you proud for ages. There is a risk of it failing again, but I think this suggestion comes with the smallest risk.

[losixxx]

I agree chris, big gamble buying a second hand engine imo....plus the price isn't far off the £200 ive been quoted for fixing mine...

[bodgit]

I read somewhere that the rover gaskets blowing are a comman fault and that most 200 owners replace the gasket with an uprated stronger one rather than the standard gasket

[mark christopher]

i have to say its false economy not to have the head skimed, any inperfections will cause gasket failure and wasted money, a skimmed head will give a fare higher successful repair rate.(dont even contemplate sanding the surface)

also look for a good head gasket, not a cheaper none metal one