Hi Guys!

Just bought me my first MGF. BRG with creme/walnut interior. 68000 registered kilometers, mint condition inside and out but no measurable nitrogen in the spheres whatsoever. Coming week that will be corrected and after that I hope to enjoy the ride!

Head gasket still original and I plan to change that for the SAIC one together with an external thermostat near the radiator.

Hope to learn an lot from the more experienced on this forum...

have a nice day!

Alex

Goedemorgen en van harte welkom, Alex!

Whereabouts in Holland are you from? I live close to the border and could direct you to some Dutch friends if you need practical help.

My first advice would be to leave the head gasket alone until it actually goes. We have had engines on this forum where the original single layer gasket lasted for more than 100 k. The only thing I would check regularly is whether there is any coolant loss in the area above the alternator, as this is the place there the elastomer beads usually break first.

Regarding the remote thermostat, you may want to have a look at my post about fitting the MG TF pressure relief ’stat to an earlier MGF here.

Hi Mykel,

Thank you for the welcome and for the advice given! I am in doubt about the head gasket change, however... In my experience things like that have a tendency to break at a very inconvenient time and when it does the amount of work will be more severe than when I change it up front, doesn't it? At this moment the MGF is in Tilburg where high pressure valves will be fitted in the spheres so that the ride will be like new; I can't wait to experience that!

In the last couple of day's I red 'everything' there is to read about the MGF and the site of 'Dieter' was very welcome in that respect! Especially the part about the external thermostat and the scientific explanation about the temperatures and the way to correct that. Simple, and cost-effective air the same time.

Driving to Tilburg yesterday I noticed the watertemperature never ever reaching the right level while driving, only when stuck in a traffic jam it raised to an acceptable level, so it's time to check and correct the complete cooling system. I found a nice external thermostat housing (with bypass) at a USA-site about hotrodding and plan to fit that next month. I'll keep you posted about the experiences!

Have a nice day!

Alex

Oh yeah...
A hopefully experienced user of this wonderful car.
Handful welcome from Vienna and keep on truckin´