[crepello]

I have read that the MLS head gasket is thicker and thus will lower compression compared to an alternative [ that's why Matt from Furious Driving didn't have one fitted].

The type which has the extensive black elastomer sheets both sides also has the same wrapper strips, crimped on
each end, which the earlier elastomer bead types had. As far as I can make out, the head clamps down until it's in
contact with those, so the fitted thickness should come out the same.

It’s a massive subject in itself but don’t order a head gasket until the engine has been stripped and the cylinder liner heights checked-if they’re low or uneven, you’ll definitely be wanting an elastomer gasket.

I'm pretty sure the car in question is early enough to be free of this worry, having a wet liner/closed deck engine.

[itcaptainslow]

The correct process if intending to reuse the bolts is to refit each bolt and measure the height of each.

Personally, I prefer to renew them each time-for the sake of making a mistake or missing something, and the hassle of refitting and measuring versus the low cost of a new set…but you pays your money and takes your choice.

[g259fsg]

Took the 214 round to the local garage this afternoon. Before going, I tried the Dr. Headgasket test kit again from start-up. It blew a bubble every second or so right from the beginning, long before it had started to heat up. After two or three minutes, the blue liquid had turned green. At the garage we took off the coolant cap and sniffed inside with the exhaust emissions analyser. It quickly showed about 300 ppm HC. Seemed to prove there is combustion gases getting into the coolant circuit. Assume it wasn't sniffing antifreeze .... They certainly know the car. The guy who runs the garage did the headgasket on my car last time 17 years ago at another establishment. Hope to get it sorted next month. Will probably get them to do it as I'm up to my eyes with work on the house and garden at this time of year.

I'll need to do a shopping list of parts. DMGRS do head gasket kits but I think they are for later cars, whereas ours is an early SPi model with alloy manifold etc. so I'll need to put together a custom kit. Will leave getting the new head gasket until we find out what it's like inside. Does anyone have any recommendations for MLS and Elastomer gaskets?

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.

Hugh

[crepello]

Does anyone have any recommendations for MLS and Elastomer gaskets?

The type I mentioned with two moulded black elastomer sheets either side of a steel core, seem pretty
sound, and as they have the same crushable fire rings and end stiffener/spacer plates as the original
elastomer bead design, I was pretty happy fitting one of these to mine, with its wet liners. Mine came
fro BGA, but looks identical to other manufacturers, down to the two oval 'windows' in the elastomer
revealing etched alphanumerics on the steel substrate. These often come with a saver shim, btw.

I think there's another design with multiple strata of steel, which truly matches the description 'MLS',
which must necessarily be stiffer, and therefore would be less tolerant of liner heights.

[g259fsg]

Thanks, crepello. Do you have a part number for the elastomer gasket from BGA, and did you use the shim?

[crepello]

Thanks, crepello. Do you have a part number for the elastomer gasket from BGA, and did you use the shim?

See here

There's also a Victor Reinz one which claims to have the shim integrated into one unit.

And the SAIC N-series one, as produced under licence by Payen
As a recognition point, notice that that has added four small 'ears' to the outline, to take eyelets to hold the layers together.

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Hmm the BGA talks about the top most shim allowing the head to shuffle?

I thought that was a issue brought about by use of plastic dowels? These products seem to be aimed at the 1.6 & 1.8 damp liner engines? Head shuffle at least in part is due to the greater torque of the engine, coupled with the later block having the exterior webs removed, creating more flex between block & head?

If you haven't already seen it Furious Driving's Youtube video of his 1.8 Vi head gasket change may be worth a look? There seems to lots of differing opinions on how to tackle this job. The guy who fitted his didn't use a multi shim gasket.

Edited to say I've just spotted the link to the DGMRS site!

[g259fsg]

It's quite a while since I started this thread, so I thought I'd update folks about what happened subsequently. It took me a while to collect all the parts for this repair, one issue is it's a very early 214 GSi (Feb 1990) and the engine uses some specific parts such as a 23mm timing belt, later 26mm. I got the parts mainly from DMGRS and they had some useful discounted bundles. Some specific parts I got from Rimmers. I ordered the DMGRS elastomer head gasket kit including the set of new BGA head bolts.

From the tests we did earlier, there was clearly some combustion gases pressurising the coolant system - I detected something with the Dr Headgasket kit, and the garage confirmed it with a sniff test using the exhaust analyzer. It was early stage HGF as there was no cross-contamination between oil and coolant. I did suspect cylinder No. 4 as the spark plug had a brown tinge whereas the others were pale grey. It's compression test was very slightly down too.

The head gasket had been replaced in 2005 with Rover kit LVQ701210EVA. In that case it was classic HGF with brown mayonnaise in the coolant. This time it was more minor. The local garage in Dunfermline was happy to do the job having worked on K-Series engines many times, so I was happy to go with them.

When the engine was dismantled, the problem was on No.4 cylinder. A leak had developed from the cylinder liner and there was some slight visible corrosion on the top of the block, a track from the cylinder to the coolant channel and a similar mark on the underside of the old gasket. The head seemed not to have been affected and was good. The valves on that cylinder also had a brownish tinge, presumably coolant had leaked across when the car was standing. The mechanic doing the job was a bit doubtful that the new elastomer gasket was going to seal this as it looked similar to the one we took off. He seemed happier with one having an overall elastomer coating which he thought would seal the leak area. The one we used was BGA kit HK6554UM from a local motor factor which uses gasket CH9353M (the one Crepello recommended earlier). Over the years he’s done numerous head gaskets on Rover and Lotus K-Series engines, so I decided to go with his preference. Time will tell if it was the right decision. As I understand it, all these gaskets have a crushable ring over the top of the cylinder liner and an elastomer seal round the coolant channels, so the space in between should be inactive when the gasket is working properly and wouldn’t require gasket material.

I was impressed how quickly they did the job. The first day they got the head off and took it to a machine shop in a nearby town had it skimmed and tested and brought it back. The following morning, I went round to discuss the head gasket. I was surprised the local motor factor (Dingbro) had the BGA gasket set in stock and delivered it to the garage in about 20 minutes, but I guess it would be also used on much later cars. It was a lot more expensive than the discounted set I'd got from DMGRS, but they were happy to take the unused set back for credit. We did use the BGA head bolts. The valves looked OK so we decided not to take them out. It would have added to the cost, and the engine did seem to be performing well. Something I would have done if I'd been doing the job myself. The mechanic did show me the tiny collets that hold the 16 valves in place.

So far the car has performed well and the pressurisation of the coolant system has completely disappeared. Fingers crossed I won't have to revisit this for a while. As others have noted, it's harder to find garages and mechanics who know about this engine. Our mechanic previously worked for Rover garages and is now near retirement. The machine shop I've used myself for many years to get bits machined for my other cars, the guy is near retirement and only operates part-time. Anyway, I'm 75 so the 214 will probably outlive me!

My only issue was that the garage refilled the engine with OAT coolant which I've since removed, the subject of another thread. https://www.rover200.org.uk/forums/topic/15408

[Topcat Tomcat]

I’m pleased everything has turned out well.

A good mechanic who understands and likes older cars is worth their weight in gold! The chap who works on mine prefers older vehicles both to drive and work on, even though he can turn his hand to anything. He currently restoring a Gorgeous P6.

And best of all, he’s a lot younger than me and will still be working long after I’ve gone!

[g259fsg]

The mechanic who worked on my car also does old cars. He's got a separate section in the garage where he works on bigger jobs like engines, gearboxes and clutches, not every-day servicing. When the 214 was in for the HG job, alongside was a rare 1950s Jensen Interceptor 541 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jensen_Interceptor_(1950). He'd got the engine out for refurb, a straight six from the Austin Sheerline, the later Interceptors from 1960s and 70s used an American V8.

Hugh