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MG MGF Technical - N775 FOO Smells hot

Foo smells very hot after pulling away from standstill and randomly other times too. Ive checked water oil e.t.c. The temp gauge never goes over the half way bar and the oil temp never gets to 120 so whats going on? also the engine costantly ticks like tappets or something. Im Not very well educated on the k.series yet as ive only had her two months. cheers all
Nick Lewis

<<smells very hot after pulling away from standstill>> would suggest clutch more than temperature? Mine produces a hot, almost, spicy smell if I slip the clutch too much on rapid getaways.

Tappets are hydraulic (engine oil) and often rattle a bit after startup. Oil needs to warm and circulate. Can be / are sensitive to oil level rather than oil temperature. How old is the oil? How old is the car? Is it MPi or VVC? How many miles? etc etc
JohnP

Its just had an oil change and its a heavily modified 1.8i N reg. its ticking all the time not just after start up
Nick Lewis

A hot smell Nick? Can you elaborate a little more (hard I know)?

You might get more 'hot filter' smell thanks to the big pipercross filter on your throttle bodies.

Regarding the tapping - could be the tappets. Check the oil level, as John says: although the oil's just been changed, it doesn't mean that it is now at the correct level. Mind you, for the engine to continue to tap, the oil would have to be very very low! Perhaps more likely a sticking tappet (I'm assuming that Jason resisted the temptation to fit solid tappets!). A noisy tappet can be due to either:
1. blocked oil feed - an oil flush can sort this out
2. wear on the crown of the tappet/ failure of the tappet

Hopefully the former, as the latter requires replacement of all 16 tappets!

There are other causes of tapping noises of course. I should ask - is it engine speed related, and how?
Rob Bell

I dont really know how to describe it its just a ticking simalar to tappets increasing with speed with the revs. I have just been out in her and this time no smell, strange! Where can a get a new pipercross filter for my tb's cos i think its getting abit old now. I have checked the oil and topped it up its a pain in the backside as i have to take the engine cover off. Other than that i dont really know what it is.
Nick Lewis

No need to renew the filter Nick - the filter just needs cleaning and re-oiling. The 'recharge' kits are very cheap - and might actually be available from Halfrauds? If not, then any one of the on-line mg specialists can help :o)

Hmm - ticking... without hearing it there is a large amount of doubt as to what it could be - but I'd say that a sticking tappet is going to be the likiest explanation here.

Time to seek the advice of your friendly neighbourhood mechanic?
Rob Bell

Hate to be a "black cloud" but......... A Mates 214, was doing the same, only ticking noise was "pinking".
Next day, HGF :o( .
Mark

Nick - pop out the spark plugs and inspect them - the colour will give you some information on how hot they've been running...

This site may be of help - but there are plenty of others that explain the same thing: http://www.strappe.com/plugs.html

If the engine is pinking, then the spark plug will be too hot.
Rob Bell

I will get a mechanic to look at it, better safe than sorry. Cheers for the advice tho
Nick Lewis

"I have checked the oil and topped it up its a pain in the backside as i have to take the engine cover off. "

Has someone removed your dipstick/oil filling tube then Nick?

jt
John Thomas

yes mine has mtb's so there is no room for the tube, so every time i top up i have to take the 10mil socket out it gets quite tedious after a while.
Nick Lewis

oh yes, i took FOO in to the garage and the mechanic who is a top bloke checked it out and it was the tappets, but its fine and just me being paranoid!
Nick Lewis

This thread was discussed between 29/09/2004 and 30/09/2004

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