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MG MGF Technical - Taking delivery of TF - what to look for?

Following the sad demise of my old F I'm in the process of buying a TF. :) Will be great to be back in the saddle again...it should be delivered to the dealer within the next couple of days, and I should be able to take delivery in the middle of next week.

I'm buying from a main dealer who will be doing a PDI etc. before handing the car over, so what should I look for when I pick the car up? It's a 5000 mile '03 plated TF 160 with Oxford leather, air con and sport pack 1. What areas should I check? Any recalls which would affect this car which I need to check for? I know there was the suspension bolt recall, but is this recorded in the service history when it's done? I guess the extra hood straps would also be applicable - and as a note of interest, I test drove a brand new '54 plate 160 on Saturday and the hood not only rattled but still suffered from the notorious lock up problem! No straps fitted.

TIA,
Tim.
Tim Jenner

Great to hear that you'll soon be back behind the well of an F Tim :o) The car sounds lovely too- what colour?

The suspension bolt recall was in Feb 2003 - so your 03 car could be in the affected range. A recall check should have been recorded in the service record - if not, then ensure that the supplying dealer performs the necessary checks/work.

not much else to check?
Rob Bell

Thanks, Rob - it's X-Power Grey. Can't wait! :)

The car was first registered on 27th June 2003 so I guess that's out of the range for the suspension bolt? Depends when the car was built, I suppose. :o/ I'm pretty happy with what would need to be checked if it were an F, but I couldn't believe how different the two cars are to drive. Would most of the same F issues also apply to the TF?

On a slightly different note, I squeezed the dealer as hard as I could but couldn't wangle a set of mud flaps out of him. Do F flaps (such as those sold by B&G) fit the TF with it's different sill shape??

Thanks,
Tim
Tim Jenner

99.9% certain that the F mupflaps to not fit the TF, the rear bumper molding is a different shape around the wheel arch. I think the front is also different.
Patrick Beet

Also glad to hear you are getting a new car so quickly - your cloud definitely had a silver (well grey...) lining!
Patrick Beet

I'm with Patrick here - unfortunately because the sills are a completely different profile, the MGF flaps won't fit the TF :o(

In terms of what to look for - yes, you're right - most 'F' things apply, with the exception of suspension areas that pertain to hydragas.
Rob Bell

I took delivery of my new 03 TF from the dealer in the July. Since then I would recommend you look at the door strikers. I have had an intermittent rattle from both doors, since I picked the car up. Resulting in three strikers being replace so far.
The rattle is more noticeable over the bumpier roads.
Make sure you check both doors strikers to see if there is any excessive wear (sharp point).
Test drive the car with either the hood down or windows open, so that you can hear any rattle from the doors, over bumpy roads.

But overall it has been most enjoyable. Let's hope for a better summer next year.
Bob

Tim, if you are thinking about changing the springs to X-Power in the near future apparently the mud flaps will ground on speed humps. The guys at Tech-speed warned me of this when I had the springs changed. I can't confirm as I haven't got mud flaps and I don't intend to fit them!
David

Thanks for the comments, all. Pity about the mud flaps - B&G only list them for the F and no doubt they'd be extortionate from MGR. :( Since sport pack 1 lowers the car by 10mm maybe they'd ground anyway in the same way as they would with the X-Power springs? I'll also check the door strikers (not heard of that one before). Roll on next week - it's amazing how slowly time passes when you're waiting for something, isn't it? :)

Tim.
Tim Jenner

David/Tim, yup, agree re: mudflaps and speed bumps.

Victoria et al replaced a leaking h-sphere for me just before Silverstone... the ride height was not raised to MGR spec (and thank God 'cause that makes it look like a tractor)...

... but any kind of lowering causes havoc with MGR mudflaps. Mine are coming off when I get round to it. That's 50 odd quid I won't see again ;-(

Col
Colin McIlwaine

Can't say I've had a great deal of problems with Xpower springs and mudflaps grounding yet. I do tend to take extra care over speed bumps now I've got the lowered springs though.

Regards
Pip
Pip

Are mudflaps a worthwhile investment? The paint on the old F's was pretty soft and picked up stone chips horrible quickly, are TF's just as prone?

Cheers,
Tim.
Tim Jenner

Tim
Well done with the new car - same colour as mine.

I can confirm that Mudflaps are essential as they keep the sills from constantly being dirty and the paint from being chipped. I got mine from Victoria at the MGF centre - they were £50 for 4. I also got the second horn, the cargo net, the underbody light from Victoria for a few quid.

I, too, had problems with the door striker plates but not much esle. Having owned an F you are well aware of the things to check. You will also be aware of the mod on the exhaust which makes it sound better.

David
David Stonehouse

Thanks - does fitting the flaps require drilling the bodywork at all or do they clip on? Also, what's involved with fitting the second horn - wiring alterations, mounting points etc?

Thanks again,
Tim.
Tim Jenner

Horn wise, I am sure that David will add anything that I've missed, it's very easy. The captive nuts in the inner wing are all there, ready to be used, and the TFs I've seen still have the connector in the wiring harness ready to be used. Later cars had electrical modifications (identifiable through the use of a different fuse panel under the steering wheel - and also, a different alarm/immobiliser unit? Dieter?) - which may not have the spare connector ready - but in this case, splicing in a couple of wires is no problem :o)
Rob Bell

F mudflaps do not fit the TF

My mudflaps don't ground over speed humps ( I do have sports pack 1 lowering), but then I go over the humps fairly slowly.

They are fixed with bolts rather than clipping on, but as the dealer fitted them, I cannot remember whether the holes were already there in the bodywork.

However, we did find that the bolts supplied by MG Rover are not long enough to secure the rear mudflaps on the inner side (one for each mudflap), although they were ok for the outer ones (three for each rear mudflap I think)! His answer was to reverse the direction of fitting these two bolts - ie he put them through from the direction of the front of the car to the back rather than from the back to the direction of the front of the car, as they should be. (It doesn't really matter - you cannot see them). I thought he said MG Rover doesn't make this pair of correct length bolts, would you believe!
John

Tim
the mudflaps on the TF are a brilliant design and dead easy to fit as they are held on by a bendable tag and clip on the mudflap itself.

The horn had to be spliced in to the loom but with heat shrinkable casing (available from Halfords) it made a really neat finish.

The underbody light takes the feed from the alarm sensor as per the F.

The cargo net is easily fitted by making holes in the bulkhead carpet - there is loads of threads in the archives or just measure an F (I thought I would remember the location points where to make the holes from my F but when it came to pushing the knife through the carpet on the TF I delayed until had an F next to mine).

David
David stonehouse

Glad to seeing you back on the road soon !
:-)
My congrats.

.. and don't forget the statto works, you know:
VIN ? --> of, course, forward to Dieter :)

http://www.mgfcar.de/vin
Dieter K.

This thread was discussed between 02/12/2004 and 04/12/2004

MG MGF Technical index

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