Hello everyone from new member in Berkshire

[freelander99]

Hello

I would like to introduce myself as I am new to the forum.

1996 MGF in HAM BRG 1.8 vvc

I am retired and would not say I know much about car mechanics or electrics but have enjoyed tinkering with my 1996 MGF which I purchased last year on ebay unseen. Yes I know what a fool.

But...

Collected the car with my daughter after it had rained for several days and most of the night before, we were surprised and pleased at what we had won for £350 .

Rain had stopped so we dropped the hood down for the drive home, seats a bit damp but never mind so off to a nearby filling station as we were running on fumes ( Why do I always buy cars without any fuel?) . Much laughter from my daughter as I extracted my self from the car as what I had thought was a little damp seat had soaked my trousers and shirt and looked as I had just wet myself, fellow customers took one step back as we qued to pay.

Interesting drive home with really heavy steering , no speedo or heater and most of the dials not working. ( Why is it that when you are driving an unfamiliar car with problems that you see Police at every junction ? ).

Now have a list of over 100 problems that have been attended to, mostly electrical or minor.

Still working on the last few when the weather allows.

Key wont push into drivers door lock

Cooling fan on all the time from start up

Leak in passenger foot-well

Rear driver side quarter panel needs respray.

Noise when clutch depressed sounds like dry ball bearings ?

Gear change feels a little loose maybe linkage ?

Thank you for reading

[Ken & Clara]

Oh dear- sounds like you have a lot of work to do.

They are very rewarding cars - they put a smile on your face- nothing beats a roof down day!

If you get stuck on any technical issues just shout and someone will help you.

Not me sorry - I am only mecanic assistant

Clara

[Mike H]

Hi and to the mad house that is

Glad to hear you're enjoying your car. Just wait until the warmer weather arrives

With regard to some of the items you mention:

Key wont push into drivers door lock - sounds more like a mechanical issue, but have to say that I can't remember the last time I even tried to do this - I always use the remote!

Cooling fan on all the time from start up - almost certainly a contact/connection issue associated with the temp sensor (or unlikely, for continuously on, the sensor itself) or ECU related. It's the brown sensor in an elbow from the cylinder head towards the rear left of the cam cover looking from the rear of the car. Easiest with the engine cover off!

Leak in passenger foot-well - possibly a leak around the heater matrix. Plenty of info and fixes on the web about this.

Rear driver side quarter panel needs respray. What can I say

Noise when clutch depressed sounds like dry ball bearings ? Clutch release bearing or similar?

Gear change feels a little loose maybe linkage ? May be the cable linkage at the rear, but try tightening the linkage in the centre console first. More info on Rob Bell's excellent site here

Hope this helps, and welcome on board.

[Dave]

[Fast Jan]

Hi and welcome

Sounds like you've been quite busy if you've already resolved over 100 problems

Do you also have a freelander? (Just taking a guess from your name )

[freelander99]

Thank you all for the welcome and tips, as soon as I can I will look at the problems and let you know how get on.


Yes I have a have had Freelander for some years and love it.

We have a 3 door in red similar to Nightfire . Great car, even better with the back off in the summer.

When I bought her she came with a faulty head gasket at 24000 miles and was refunded £500 by the dealer towards the repairs. I thought he was very fair. ( Car now 39K )

I did the repairs and all the mods and any tech bulletin updates and now she is fine. We tow a small caravan and not had any problems so far but you never know . Keeping my fingers crossed

[russell]

Welcome! I love my MGF! I have a blue trophy 160

[freelander99]

Update on repairs

Door lock removed and cleaned - Full of grit
Now works a treat

Passenger foot-well leak - Removed seat , carpet glove box etc to gain access and found the thick rubber gasket around the air duct dripping water.

Pumped silicone seal around and in the gap.

Still leaked so I pushed the tube ( with the tube point cut at and angle ) into the gasket so it expanded. left for an hour and re-tightened the bolt and sprayed water over screen and scuttle

Leak stopped for now.

I found the drivers side rear light cluster had a leak - On inspection I could see a dirt line around the gasket and at one point the dirt line had covered all the area of gasket. - possibly the leak area.

New gasket was £18 ish so I purchased a piece of closed cell model foam from the craft center, cut it to size and placed it under the old gasket . Foam was 54p

Seems to work fine at present.

Fan problem is for another day