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MG MGF Technical - *SIGH*

Well, seems I am only here when things go wrong but I am hoping if anyone can help with the following...

1. The central locking bas all but packed up, the drivers side now has to be locked manually with the key.

2. We had the Mike Satur slick shift fitted last September but the gear change is still dreadful. Sometimes it takes two or 3 attempts to get the car into gear.

4. There is a nasty rattling noise coming from the engine when you accelerate compartment, it sounds to me like the drivers side as I am the passenger in the car & I can hear it most clearly my right ear. (mostly occurring on motorway drives.)

5. There is a horrible rattling noise when you first start the car after it has been stood overnight. (not the same as the rattle you get on acceleration)

5. There was an evil 'hot' smell coming from the engine this morning. Like hot exhaust fumes or burning plastic.

The car is a standard 1.8mpi W reg MY2000 model with 65,000 miles on the clock & is due for service / MOT this month.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Sally
S Crowley

apologies that should say from the engine compartment
S Crowley

When was it last serviced,who did that servicr,how long have these faults been going on,who fitted the non standard gearchange.
Joe one

Last service was 12 / 10,000 miles months ago & was done by Mike Satur. Mike Satur also fitted the non standard gear change. I noticed the rattle on startup as long as 18 months ago. It's not noticeable from inside the car, I only noticed it because I have to get out & shut the gates to our drive!

The rattle on acceleration has been there on and off for about 6 months. The gear change has never been right. I should point out that I don't actually drive the car - have poor eyesight - so I am going off how long my other half has been whinging about it.

S Crowley

The gear chenge you have only had since last Sept so should be under warrenty,but why did you change it did you have problems before?.I would chase this up with MS.

The rattle on start up might just be valve rattle happens to most cars if it goes away after starting and does not affect performance it might not be a problem and as you say now ready for oil change use Magnatex.

The rattle whilst driving neeeds finding.

The hot burning smell--have you checked oil amd water level are you losing any,it has been known for one of the exhaust pipes to corrode and fall down on rear bumper and melt it,again try to find the cause.

With the gearchange fixed under warrenty a good service and if you can identify your other problems and get those sorted I hope you are and the car OK.

If you have a local garage you can trust go there,the Mot tester might find the cause of the rattle and smell of burning if you ask him just to have a look at anything obvious during the MOT,of just have a MOT now to see if anything is found.
Joe one

Sally the start-up rattle is, as Joe says, probably the hydraulic lifters just charging with oil - a very common feature of this type of lifter (what ever car make).

The rattle by your ear in the engine compartment could be either the engine bay protection grid not seated properly - check that you still have the little rubber buffers on the boot lid arms that rest on the plastic inspection panels. It could also be the exhaust where there is a down pipe that has a metal shroud this is known to cause rattles.

The gear change sounds as though it needs adjustment - contact Mike Satur.

The locking mechanism has been known to fail and may require a new lock.

The smells - as Joe say check oil and water and make sure the car is not running too hot.

Good luck
Ted Newman

Thanks Joe,

I note that you are in Lancs, can you recommend a garage more 'local' than MS? I am in East Lancs but a journey up the M6 is not out of the question as my dad lives near the lakes.

Cheers

Sally
S Crowley

If its was couple of years ago I would have said Syd browns in Longridge but they have closed now.
They were Ok in fitting aftermarket parts to cars still under warranty and I asked them about the MS SSK kit they also sold but advised against it,

When my cars are out of warranty I take them to a friend who has a garage and MOT station but I do not think he would like fiddling with an aftermarket kit and even if he did it might not be the kit itself it could be in streched or damaged cables.

Why not go back to MS for your service get a fixed price for this and tell him the problems you have had with the SSK since fitted,east lancs is not too far from MS and by giving him repeat custom he might treat you as loyal customer so building up a good bond of trust.

I mean if he does not know you have had problems there is not much he can do.
Has'nt he brought out a modified SSK kit?
Joe one

Could it be that the smell you notice is from leaking gearbox oil? Not even the MS Slick-Shift would be any help in getting the gears in place if no or low oil!
Have the gearbox oil-level and driveshaft seals checked by a good local garage.Not uncommon that the boxes were "underfilled" from factory..
Regarding the noises,the garage should have a look out for all the usual things here; tensioner,cambolts,downpipe,heatshields etc.
Best of luck.
Carl Blom

Hi Sally,

It's hard to attach a value to having your car looked over by one of the most expert pair of eyes & ears there is, but it's probably worth the time & fuel many times over...

A high proportion of remote locking problems are caused by failure of the keyfob remote transmitter - do you have a 2nd remote you can try?
Mike Hankin

Your rattling could be the exhaust heat shield, a shattered cat, the flexi-pipe or the dipstick unit that has lost its securing bolt - there have been a few of these of late.
Tony

This thread was discussed between 04/04/2007 and 05/04/2007

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