Rover 200vi first breakdown

[@furiousdriving]

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[@terryatkinson899]

Diamond bright are back 👍 You put the Mrs off rovers for life

[@ash7990]

Rad fan not working was VERY common on the mk3 200 - always a blown fuse caused by chaffed tailgate wiring loom.

[@richardhaywoodh]

Rover windows eh. My Mum couldn't get the Rover P5B drivers door to shut, so she slammed it hard, and the window shattered, the Coupe Stainless Steel window frame needed to come out, oh those rusty bolts, and then all that broken glass including from the rubber lined window retainer at bottom of the glass, we had to soak the cleaned runner in petrol to soften the rubber so we could with great effort & care slide onto the bottom of the window glass, this was all that connected the window to the very worn keep fit winder mechanism, then wait for the petrol to evaporate... fun times

[@anakinskywalker4113]

Hmm I should have told you as that as a mechanic when ever I replace a head gasket I also replace the radiator, water pump & thermostat all at the same time. There is no point going through all the fuss of doing a head gasket only to put the same old parts back on. When everything is all in bits I usually replace everything. Also I replace radiators every 10 years or so anyway regardless just because they are all plastic/aluminium which degrades over time. Prevention is always better.

[@smoothmicra]

I know the 90's is still "fresh" to most subscribers, but it is actually a long time ago chaps. So a 90's car is likely to break regardless of brand, this is not an indictment of Rover build quality. Just an issue with old cars... which break...with an annoying frequency.

[@furiousdriving]

This. Its a very old bit of plastic thats been heat cycled thousands of times, its almost inevitable sadly

[@MrSparklespring]

Still british crap car. Never any issue with my nineteen year old Toyota Corolla!

[@paulhilling6208]

I remember my 214si same colour, the thermostat going . loved that car watching these videos takes me back 😢

[@T16MGJ]

Cooling systems are something which in my experience, many car users do not take seriously. Ten years ago, at Motorway Speeds on a dual carriageway, with my recently acquired and fixed project 55-Plate MG ZT-T with the 1.8 K-Series Turbocharged engine, I heard a muffled loud-ish brief "POOF" sound followed by clouds of steam from around the bonnet of my car. Pulled over to see once I lifted the bonnet the Top Hose of the cooling system had burst cleanly along a manufacturing seam dumping most of the coolant at high pressure directly onto the Hot Turbocharger below. Cue lots of steam. Not long after, having been there and done that, I checked that same old top hose on my identical other ZT-T. Being aware of what to look for, I saw the early signs of the fatigued hose about to split along that same seam. I showed it to my older son and he said that same dimpled hose material is prone to do that. He had the same thing happen on his Rover 214 a few years back. Clearly, that material was not up to the standard I have come to expect on old MGs, We have a 37 and 40 year old MG in the family fleet, still on original "smooth" not multi dimpled hoses. By the way, on my MG ZT-Ts there is a simple way to monitor Engine Coolant Temperature by accessing the Live Data using the Trip Reset Button on the Instrument display.. I used one of my now little used ZT-Ts ( CV-19 contraints ) briskly today to blow away those cob-webs ( Spiders Love Cars especially the Door Mirrors. ) and clean up the light corrosion on the little used brake discs. On arrival back home after the shopping trip, I got one of those hot engine smells which is unusual. It was warmer and humid today so best to check it out. I used the Trip Reset Button to access and monitor the Coolant temperature of the warm engine at idle. I watched and was both pleased and reassured as the Coolant Temperature behaved as it should do and the radiator fan activated when it should do. I used my hand held Mobile Phone to record the process. Not bad footage considering. Then decided to put it on YT with a write up of the process. There's many things I like about my 1,8T ZTs. That multiple choice OBD live data selection of many options is just one of them. Trip reset buttons have more than one use on some Rovers and MGs as this short four minute YT footage clearly show :~ Search YT for .. Monitoring coolant temperature in a MG ZT-T 1.8 K-Series

[@VidzVideo]

I am not saying this is the issue but keep it in mind for the future. I replaced a head gasket on a rover 25 and afterwards it would randomly overheat. I checked and replaced all sorts before finding the issue. The problem was there is a diverter valve behind the engine on the fire wall which is for the heater matrix. It is a Saab part or at least was on my car. Apparently it is quite common for these to fall apart inside and there is a round smarty sized piece of plastic in the valve which travels down the coolant system and blocks one of the pipes to the thermostat housing. That is what had happened to me except it was able to spin around so sometimes it was blocking it and sometimes it wasn't which made diagnosing it a nightmare. I assume the thing broke when I was flushing the coolant system with a hosepipe after doing the head gasket.

[@SPTSuperSprinter156]

Overheating and similar associated issues like this is definitely part of the "lottery" when driving older cars. When I was a kid my dad picked me up from a "midway point" between his house and where I lived which was a good 150+ miles back to his place. The mark 3 Astra he was driving at the time wasn't in the best of fettle and decided to start leaking coolant. He had "get home itis" and just drove home down the motorway, I think stopping periodically to pour more water in. The answer in the urban part of the journey? Switch it off at every traffic light. My dad had managed to invent stop-start technology some 15-20 years early and got us home... just.

[@alanwhite5160]

I had a Fiat 131. The radiator header tank split from the core. It was a copper radiator with soldered joints. Later I found out the head gasket had gone when I saw grey smoke coming out the exhaust. Think your Rover head gasket failure may have weakened the radiator.

[@cameronlaw9363]

I've had a V reg rover 45 coneseur saloon for 2 years 8 months and nothing has gone wrong, I've only had to have the windscreen wipers replaced, it's quite reliable

[@eggy1962]

direct wire the fan to battery, if it runs then go to the fan switch....its a common failure of a cheap part well it was on skoda estelles...i just wired it to a switch in car and be done with "sometimes" thermo switches...... could of course be yet another relay

[@repairupdaterepeat5815]

I'm going to say, air in the system, it expanded more than the plastic could and keblamo!

[@jamesatkinson6480]

I came across a similar problem with a Toyota Camry (2000 build, Australia) at the 230,000km mark; the top tank of the radiator is plastic, clamped on by the aluminium core assembly, but sprang several leaks by the plastic becoming brittle, and perhaps would have decomposed to a powder (over a long time). In the days when brass and copper was used, a repair using soldering would have been cheap and effective, but I ended up replacing the radiator for about A$160.00 with my labour. I used 33% ethylene glycol solution in my coolant, which boils at about 130°C (about 250°F), and freezes at ‐15°C...

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

I put a new Nissins rad in my Fiat Brava 1.2 16v last year.. the original developed an undramatic drip from the bottom of the core. Cheap and straightforward apart from slicing knuckles on new razor sharp core fins.

[@timbutton4990]

Reference the window regulator, it looks like the regulator is bent, that has bust the glass clip. They can be glued back with Tiger Seal.

[@timbutton4990]

After doing away with the filling point around the back of the engine on the single point injection 1400 K Rover developed a vacuum purging system to refill the K Series. People advise to fill from empty with the engine running to avoid air locks in the system. It can take a very very long time to bleed out the air otherwise; 2 or 3 weeks the system runs fine, until you idle the engine for extended periods. The other issue to check is the thermistor for the rad fan. It's main job is to provide additional cooling while stationary.

[@PaddyWV]

Random thought: Why not "Furious Driving Tea"? There must be an Independent Coffee Roaster or Tea supplier in deepest Kentishire that would slap your logo on a packet for a small cut? 😉

[@Thanos.m]

When you mentioned the bubbling last time I thought it would have been the fan or the cap had a similar thing happening to my 75 recently were the fan broke. I also have a suspicion that perhaps this was the reason it blew the hedgasket in the first place. And a tip these window clips tend to break because dirt and muck gets in the window channels thus putting a lot more force to them so clean the channels well and put some silicone spray to help the window slide easier.

[@chilternman]

Hi Matt make sure that you DO NOT buy a new brown coolant sensor that is made in China. Make sure it is an Elmwood sensor made in UK and nothing else. Unfortunately a very popular company with a good reputation have a bad batch at the moment from China and they were very apologetic about it. The brown sensor controls the coolant fan kicking in so easiest way to see if fan is working is just to unplug it and it should run. I notice how high your coolant is in the header tank so please don't fill that high! It should be on the seam of the header tank unless there are markings that say otherwise. Too much pressure will be generated if filling that high!!

[@timbutton4990]

Another thought if the thermostat is still behind the water pump I would take out the jingle pin & fit with the hole uppermost.

[@nekite1]

Don't give up the Alfa!

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

Nah… get it moved on…

[@barryhumphries4514]

You can test the fan motor. Maybe the fan switch is dead?

[@greengrass9572]

That is the result of not bleeding the system properly and there being air in the system. I made the same mistake on a 147 TS but it was the thermostat housing that blew in half!

[@tides2002]

Whilst the relief valve in the coolant cap usually fails open sometimes the can fail shut often resulting in the header tank exploding or another part of system that has already weakened.

[@andrewthompsonuk1]

I would replace the radiator cap as well. Looks like it did not release pressure properly. Looks like it was caused by the fan problem in combination of an over pressure.

[@ivanfernyhough3851]

I would change the thermastat to if not allready bin done.had this problem of water bubbling in my v12 jag,only occasionally and once moving was fine.turned out one of the 2 thermastats was sometimes sticking shut causing a partial block.as you csn imagine,i changed both,never a problem after that.goodluck with it.👍

[@RogueRestorationsLTD]

I had a keady lover radiator fitting my Rover and its fine brilliant

[@danielbliss8014]

LOL moment -- Alfa failed on a speed bump because the immobilizer broke! I lost it there.

[@Coorsdrinker]

The coolant expansion tank on my 1.8 k series would bubble in hot weather. Think it was cracked and wouldn't pressurise the cooling system. Fitting a new one solved the problem.

[@ianjenkins4641]

That Rad doesn’t look very old. I’d be looking to why the system has pressurised enough to blow that plastic off!?

[@furiousdriving]

it was [pretty rusty

[@andyliv78]

Agree. Probably a symptom not the cause.

[@benday1218]

sneaky little ptchoo at the end there 🙂

[@paultaylor9652]

Nice to see the Rover fixed Matt, it brought back memories of my late friend and his Morris Minor, the AA brazed his radiator when it sprung a leak.

[@brianknowles1727]

Looks like the incredible hulk trying to get in your window 6.11 🤣🤣🤣.

[@focusrssteve]

Damb! I was genuinely wanting a cup of tea! And you gave me hope I could get one delivered, and at the same time help out a friendly youtuber, but now I'll have to drag myself to the kitchen and make one myself! Keep up the great work really enjoying the vi!

[@richardhaywoodh]

My mates BMW 325 estate was within minutes of a catatastrophe like yours, the top of the radiator decided to bend up like a banana 🍌 just about to burst 💥

[@SM-dt1pr]

Oh! I saw a Rover 200 by the side of the road on Tuesday. I didn't recognise you!! That traffic was awful all week.

[@EmilysDadd]

We have a bulkhead on cars on this side of the Atlantic Matt .... Americans have firewalls! 🙄

[@toppledgod]

You cou;d save our nerves alot by not putting your tools on the terminals of the battery, or maybe not putting them on the battery at all.

[@zkcessnaguy]

i was shouting at the computer screen about that!

[@grayfool]

The use of plastic in cooling systems has always been a pet hate of mine. Bits will break. I know everyone does it now but it seems like a cheap solution to me. Glad it turned out to be a relatively easy fix though.

[@markonmotoring]

Thank you for the video update Matt. I saw your social media post following the event and was very concerned considering all the work done to put this one back into service. I've never seen that kind of failure of a radiator. I hope that no lasting damage has been caused. The radiator fins actually looked in far better condition than the Cristy one I replaced before putting my car back in the road, actually replaced all the hoses while at it too. At least the window looks to be a simple fix with only a bracket/clip to replace. I think a replacement dash centre vent will be worth what I expect will be a small investment to get this car looking really nice. It's good that Mrs F likes the car and I hope this experience hadn't put her off. You can not underestimate the benifit of the support of your significant other I find when it comes to justifying spending money on old cars. 😅

[@James28R]

you were concerned? jesus christ get some real friends.

[@ashlovatt2756]

My 95 Rover coupe 216 went exactly the same way, also the head gasket failed on it too :(

[@ash7990]

Tailgate wiring loom chaffed blowing fuse for rad fan

[@davidcooke6803]

Years ago I had a Rover 414si and the drivers door did exactly the same, I never repaired it, just didn’t open the window too far, which was ok until I went to Sicily in September and literally boiled! I changed it soon after for a Peugeot 406 which had aircon….a God send! You are far more mechanically inclined than me, I can break the unbreakable😁🤪 Great video as always!

[@peterriggall8409]

Could be an air lock and that is why fan is not being triggered. Rest overnight and could be ok in the morning. Great insurance to have that new radiator.

[@huwdavies6650]

The question 3, what caused the radiator to fail? Was it a defect in the rad or did the cooling system overpressure to the point of explosive failure?🤔

[@nickmoore2301]

Radiator failed because the cooling fan is not working so the car overheated and blew the rad, must of been the first weak point.

[@SuperFIFTHGEAR]

I thought that too.

[@cmartin_ok]

@@SuperFIFTHGEAR That's also what I am thinking

[@dudleycollyer3181]

I've seen them go like that if the all the air is not bleed out of the system. But it's rare and a quick squeeze of a hose when it's hot will tell you if there is air trapped because the hoses go really hard. But as the fan is not working I'd look at that first, as the head has been off recently I would not trust it until i had measured the coolant pressure. K series engines don't like getting hot, when they were current alot of people either fitted a kenlow fan, just the controller or a manual override.

[@rimmersbryggeri]

Yeah that radiatour was probably quite fatigued by age.

[@goblin457]

Look forward to the next ep my fans have packed up as well

[@timbre7999]

So glad it wasn't anything worse! Well done and must say; for a moment @ 19:12 in, I thought you were going to put tea in the reservoir :-)

[@cliveprocter3698]

Hope it is a fan/fan switch issue and not more serious. Many many years ago on a VW Diesel I slowly replaced various blown hoses, heater matrix and leaking core plug. It was the head gasket pressurising the cooling system and killing each weakest link inturn.....

[@danhoppy5517]

When I owned my Proton, putting the windows back on to their runners was a job that needed doing several times a week! In the end, the passenger window was bodged with a lump of cardboard. Terrible build quality, but it was mechanically very reliable.

[@jamescross2229]

Your wrenches were so close to the battery terminals! It was making me nervous just watching! Perhaps this is why you're always buying batteries! lol. My P6B has just had a similar failure where the window winder has separated from the glass inside the door. I can add it to the list with the shock absorber bushes and the oil pressure sender! Cheers.

[@retrocarsyndicate8867]

Hi really enjoying this but you might want to consider fitting a revotec Electronic fan controller have one fitted to my 309 never look back fantastic little grey must have in my opinion for any retro classic car

[@GEOFFCLARK2]

Could be a bad thermostat? I’d replace both thermostat and switch as both are cheap items?

[@mrcogginsgarage7062]

Matt check around the inlet manifold make certain that the seal is ok after being subjected to all that pressure.

[@lordbrennanofsealand5772]

Jeeze the same thing happens to my R8, I ended up bonding the window to the clip to the window me h with strong epoxy.

[@Mrcento]

I'd guess the rad failed after being weakened previously by the head gasket failing, must have experienced a lot of pressure/exhaust gasses in the coolant and been weakened. A few more heat cycles and boom....

[@admiralalcatraz6080]

Does make me wonder whether the issue with the radiator was what caused the HGF to begin with.

[@gareththompson538]

That must have been some pressure to blow the rad. It could have been damaged by the previous owner running the car with the failed head gasket but I'd be worried about why there is/was so much pressure in the system when Mrs F was driving it.

[@mattk4530]

Loving the fact the video is called first breakdown. Are we expecting more?

[@Phiyedough]

Well it is a Rover!

[@SuperFIFTHGEAR]

I've noticed a trend with older cars that I've bought, the coolant systems in them tend to be neglected. Either old fluid, contaminated fluid, low level, broken thermostats (very common), broken coolant temperature sensors, really worn out jubilee clamps (just rough and rusty) or coolant pipes that look ready to burst.

[@KernowGarage]

i agree 100% the amount of 90s cars I've had that have had brown sludge in them for coolant. no one ever puts any focus on the cooling systems

[@furiousdriving]

very true, it gets overlooked

[@benday1218]

guilty, I have parts and a rebuild to do (or pay someone to do) on my 90s car.

[@konradc12]

Aging plastic sections will let go. Happened to my old Avensis which was leaking, so not as dramatic as exploding. Within a couple of hours of discovering the crack, I installed a new radiator myself for £40. If the radiator had been all metal, this would not have happened.

[@eddiecleaver5376]

Great video Matt, looking forward to the next instalment…need to get that cooling fan working..

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Great little tinkering video, hopefully you can find out what is causing it to overheat.

[@furiousdriving]

hopefully a switch or sensor

[@Simon-ui6db]

I do hope you have done a manual check on the fan and thermostat to turn it on, its not the same as the temp sensor for the gauge in the car.

[@Simon-ui6db]

whoops serves me right not to watch till the end before commenting, sorry Matt.

[@greengrass9572]

When you refitted the new radiator did you turn the interior fan to hot air and run the fan in the interior. You should always do that on all cars when bleeding the system.

[@andyliv78]

Not always true. Often they are just one big circuit. No valves etc as such

[@greengrass9572]

@@andyliv78 as a matter of course. It costs nothing.

[@dudleycollyer3181]

Just something to keep in mind. My son had a pug that burst it's radiator and soaked the alternator. The alternator packed up a week later because the coolant had coated the slip rings. I stripped it and cleaned it and all was good from then on.

[@squeakers27]

Funnily enough, I had a pug where I spilt a bit of screenwash on the alternator by accident (since the fill hole was right next to it, great design) and my alternator decided to throw foul smelling smoke everywhere and had to spend that weekend afternoon replacing it.

[@chrisbury4635]

Sounds like a fault with the cooling fan switch or wiring, fault scanner probably won't pick that up tbh, check power/earth to fan motor, bridge wires on switch etc, deffo replace that header tank cap too whilst you're at it mate 👍🏻

[@raysmancave1]

Identical thing happened to the Rover 200Vi I used to own, BIG BANG. I changed the Rad and on the first drive it started to bubble once more, it ended up that the thermostat was sticking in the closed position, plus the fans were not engaging I changed the fan sensor, thermostat and the temp sensor and everything was fine once more. Unfortunately after a few days the car was rear ended by a white van man and written off 😭.

[@Swans_And_Ducks]

My coupe cable driven windows were very problematic.

[@sleepycatpictures1176]

Gaffa tape, can't beat it!

[@carlreading9916]

Bet when you were at the roadside with steam coming out of the bonnet some know it all said "it's a Rover it'll be head gasket".

[@davidlloydjones752]

A bit off topic, but as a watch nerd, I'd love to see your watch collection. You seem to have one or two interesting pieces (Ball, Omega?)😉 A Furious Tea-Break maybe?.

[@markmoore2625]

Can you 'trick' the fan to work by pulling out the coolant temp sensor with the engine running?

[@iam433]

Love watching your work and problem solving on the Vi, I have a 98 VVC Coupe and there aren’t many about to compare any weird noises etc.

[@matthewking5612]

Such a shame Rover did a Harkarkaton on the HG's on these. Actually a lovely engine, nicely made manifold etc.

[@richardhowlett9424]

Thank goodness it didn’t happen on the way to The Motorist the other week .

[@Captain_Scarlet_SIG]

Nice one Matt 👍nice cheap easy fix.

[@NEILB1989]

My fan stopped working on my mark 4 Golf years ago. Turned out to be a strip fuse. Hopefully something as simple as that.

[@keithmatthews1673]

Plastic parts in the cooling system. System runs under pressure. Plastic degrades over time. Miracle it lasted as long as it did. How good is the plastic in the new rad one wonders!

[@Efferpheasants]

There was a mindset back then that plastic was durable and light and was going to last forever. LOL

[@In_memory_of_Dad]

Don't worry Matt you will get there in the end...🙂

[@vbstein]

I would keep the Alfa as you have three rovers. However it must be a tough choice.

[@markf4720]

I don't wish to attract further attention to Mr Furious' Rover problem, but I'm pretty sure the Rover count is five, not three! That said, I agree with you, keep the Alfa (but keep all the Rovers as well).

[@delicavanlife9546]

Think I would go down the waterless coolant route, no pressure

[@0161pumaste]

sounds like the fan switch has gone,which if im right, will be an easy fix matt.

[@T16MGJ]

Your KZbin title and description made me suspect something very serious. CLICK.. ..😉 A healthy cooling system in any car runs well above atmospheric pressure once the engine and the coolant reaches normal operating temperature and expands. I suspect that plastic side tank had been stressed in some way to cause that fracture. I cannot believe the side tank would let go rather than a hose with possible excess of pressure. I have had TWO TOP HOSES blow on my 1,8T MG-ZT-Ts. Both along a manufacturing seam at Motorway speeds. Cue clouds of steam as the coolant hit the hot Turbocharger. . A weak point during manufacture and countless hot/cold engine cycles fatigues the aged Hose rubber compound material . I have fitted replacement superior Silicon hoses. No way will those blow as there is no manufacturing seams. That "Bubbling" sound you mentioned before the rad shed it plastic side tank has to be a concern. It suggests to me the possibility of air still in the cooling system where it should not be. Cue some coolant super heated under certain conditions. My son's 200vi twelve years ago did this soon after we got it as it had not been bled correctly to expel air from where it should not be.. That can and does tend to over pressurise the cooling system. All that happened was the Temperature needle started to climb like that on his car so stopped driving it allowing it to cool. Cue he then asked his Dad why. I suggested it has not been bled properly. We bled it again and were thorough. Then confident no air in the cooling system where it should not be, only air above the MAX index of the Plastic Coolant EXPANSION Tank. Car perfect ever since. Here's a very useful tip for anyone needing to bleed the cooling system on the Rover K-Series. Get a spare 8mm Bolt the same size as that Bleed Bolt in the Coolant Tube above the Bell Housing. I sourced several new as we have/had a wide range of K-Series cars in the family fleet. Grip the bolt upside down in a small vice by two opposing flats on the hex-head bolt ( Hex = six sided ) so the threads are upright and the bolt firmly held. Use a Junior hacksaw to carefully cut halfway down the threaded part of the bolt. I used a suitable nut as a cut level guide stop. That nut also helped clean up the threads when removed. I bought a few Dowty Seals of the correct size to use as a sealing washer under the head of the Bleed bolt. That slot will allow air and then coolant to escape during the bleeding process with the bolt still in its coolant tube location. No need for complete bolt removal to bleed, just undo half the thread length exposing the slot. You will observe as pair of coolant jets emerge from each side to the bleed bolt confirm air expelled from where it should not be.. The heater on full during this process of course. The heater matrix is simply a small radiator in the cooling system and you want the air out of there too. I can provide an image of the bolt for you if you want to include in your next 200vi progress update. A picture(s) a thousand words and all that. It works very well indeed. No more that pesky 8mm bolt dropping out of the socket down out of reach and out of sight to who knows where .. ..They all do that mate, Well known fact in the trade ..😉

[@T16MGJ]

There's more on this topic. The radiator on one of my MG Montego turbos had very small plastic side header tanks, It was actually smaller and thinner in dimensions than the superior Metal Tanked one fitted to the normally aspirated EFi MG Montegos. Smaller to allow the two large intercooler pipes to pass at the side. In motorway long stop-start traffic hold ups on a summer's hot day the fan would come on and off noisily and constantly. Very annoying and a tad worrying too. DIY Removed the Brass Metal side tanked Radiator from a scrap yard EFi. Fiver! Took that along with the smaller Turbo radiator as a pattern to my local Radiator refurbishing outfit. Asked them to custom make a Metal Tanked TRIPLE CORE radiator using the EFi Brass side tanks to the same dimensions as the smaller turbo version. I was charged £100 for that. Got image of the Triple Core jobbie over the skinny OEM Rad. It was about twenty years ago but, on reflection, was probably the best hundred quid I ever spent on a car mod. I could cruise that MG Montego Turbo all day long at well into three figures. Cue a Mercedes and Jaguar failing to keep up. No more noisy fan on-off Malarkey on a hot day traffic hold up.

[@lucythemoggy1970]

not a clever idea to put spanners on a battery top, only takes one to slip or move and hit both terminals....

[@PhilMakesThings]

Came to say the same thing 🤣

[@nickmoore2301]

Hate to say this but if the temp gauge has nearly hit the red its game over for the engine 🥺 Rover temp gauges will always sit on halfway as they are given their info by the ecu, they have to really over heat to go above halfway and by then it's too late ! Had the same thing on my 75 when the cooling fan failed, this is why you heard bubbling noises as the fan was not working as the car was starting to overheat. Get the fan fixed but you will have to keep an eye on the engine as you may be looking at HGF again, this is probably why it failed in the first place, no cooling fan caused it to overheat and blow the head gasket, if the radiator failed what's it done to the engine ? Good luck 👍🥺

[@roryhazlie753]

I had the exact same thing with a Mercedes Benz c class years ago at the garage. Car was in for an mot and the car was going onto the ramp and the header tank exploded with no warning at all no overheating issues at all and it was like a gun going off and I nearly had a heart attack it was so loud.

[@johnclarke2997]

Aging / cracking plastic. Future killer of modern cars. Going be a real pain for someone. Anyway I thought last time there was a problem with the fan. Should kick in and out every so often when the engine is running at normal operating temperature.

[@topspoke]

If only the radiator on my Saab 9-3 was as easy to whip in and out! Took me the best part of half a day to get the broken one out. That's turbo charged cars with air con and integrated trans coolers for you. I should have bought an old Rover.🤔

[@lt_20181]

I'm loving this journey with the 200vi so far and it is sad to see it break down. I hope it is up and running again soon. I just have one small question about the R3 200. I noticed at 07:43 the wires connected to the door handle. What are they for, and are they also found on other Rover cars too? Because I've seen a sort of similar interior door handle design on the bigger 800 too.

[@JAY61ish]

Aaaarrgh!! i have just done the drivers window on my Pug 508... what a bloody nightmare.. took me 3 hours from start to finish.. luckily i found parts on ebay for £10.. silly cables and spools . i dread to think how much the Pug dealer would've charged me... MANUAL WIND WINDOWS ARE THE FUTURE...

[@darrenwilson8042]

Jesus I did think for one second that you were going to start topping the coolant up with a cup of coffee !!!

[@davidcollins4699]

Did you plug the fan back in after install? If you unplug the ECU CTS it should run the fan in a default mode

[@frankpowell1778]

I wouldn’t expect a plastic header to last more than 10 years, especially the old ones.

[@eclectarama]

That was a bit of a half-hearted ‘ptchew’ at the end. If you’re going to borrow Ian’s USP, then go big or, I would suggest, go home. Ah, you were at home…you get my point. 😉

[@P4ULC71]

cant you get a replacement side panel installed for the blown radiator?

[@lesklower7281]

Radiator myself with aroldite and it worked it was an all metal radiator l have had these plastic tanked radiators fail on me not as bad as what happen on the Rover but they do fail as for window's l don't think the door card has ever been removed on my 1997 Toyota hilux as it has manual windows all down to Toyota build quality

[@donnysweekendvanlifetravel7854]

Matt take the spanner and ratchet off the battery or boom

[@theroomofrock6456]

I don't like to be a prophet of doom but I am wondering if it is still a head gasket issue. I had a similar thing on my MG TF it blow a plastic t piece apart in the cooling system as exhaust gasses pressurised the cooling system. I changed the t piece and hoped for the best as like you mine hadn't really overheated as I turned it off straight away. Once the cooling system was refilled it kept pressurising the expansion tank and the temperature gauge was erratic at times. I would do s sniff test on the coolant and check for combustion gasses in the new coolant. I hope I am wrong for your sake. Good luck with sorting it out.