ludsonline
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| posted on 26/10/02 at 02:37 PM |
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Rover K Series Engine
Hi,
Has anybody used a Rover K Series engine if so what box did you use?
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 26/10/02 at 10:21 PM |
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you need a bellhousing adaptor for these - i know they are available, but i dont know where from or what they adapt to, so thats not very useful!
Try a web search or kit car mag.
As a word of caution, there are bad stories about older K engines. A large proportion corrode internally and cause head and leak problems.
on TOL there wasa disucssion by a breaker who used to sell K engines from scrap cars. A lot of them were possessing faulty heads. I know a guy
where I work that had a head problem and it took about 450 quid of work to fix it - was using water internally.
The K is apparently a great engine - light and powerful, but it does have drawbacks as described. If you use one, beware.
If you want light and powerful, a bike engine seems a good idea.
And if you dont want to spend a fortune, consider something like a water cooled cbr600 - around 100hp - slightly more than a 1.4 K with 16 valves.
smaller engines are less favoured. As I thin Jasper said recently, spend around 1k for a gook big four pot engine.
To me, something around 600cc looks good value.
search ebay
www.ebay.co.uk
there is a cheapish cbr 600 engine on there now.
atb
steve
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Squirrel
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| posted on 1/11/02 at 03:11 PM |
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I owned a Rover 214 once, which I believe had the K series engine in it, and sure enough the head gasket went, as did the water pump, and I had to get
a garage to do a bodge repair and trade it in against something else. When I talked about it to the garage, they said the 'new' (at the time) Rover
engines were notorious for it.
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DEAN C.
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| posted on 12/12/02 at 07:14 PM |
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Hi, the breaker mentioned was me!
I now bloody hate K series engines with a vengeance,They're fine new but it's only a matter of time.
My cousin works for Aerospace and they used to get really good deals on new Rovers when they were linked companies.
Almost every week another Rover bites the dust in the car park.My cousin delights in telling the owners the typical symptoms without even looking
under the bonnet."losing water,snotty scum in the header bottle,overheating,etc etc!"
It's up to you!Also,very rarely does a head gasket cure the faults because the liners move and the liners stop sealing.
Go for a reliable Ford,or Vauxhall,or a sweet Jap engine,Toyota or similar,think hard before you start.
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 12/12/02 at 07:36 PM |
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Hi Dean.
Now you know your posts are read and remembered!
I also told the guy at work what the problem was when he had a small water loss.
Took it to a garage to have it re-gasketed at around 80k miles, and its done another 15k no probs.
I had a 214 L reg for a week once as my rover 820e was being fixed - (it committed suicide by having the flywheel come off!!!) and I found the 214 to
be quite a nice, revvy smoot powerful engine. 95hp out of 1.4l for the 16v is attractive - if you can get a good one!
atb
steve
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david walker
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| posted on 12/12/02 at 10:31 PM |
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I work with engines running a business involved with everything engine wise from general head repairs to full preparation of F3 race engines. Pretty
well everything said here about the K Series is true although I don't really agree that they can't be fixed if done properly. In the last 4 years we
haven't had one back and do about one per week on average.
To be fair to the engine, as Steve says, they really do go well and given the number on the road, the incidence of head gasket failure is not totally
guaranteed!
It's actually rare for liners to move and particularly in the old (pre '96) engines the liners can take some shifting if you want them out. They
are an interference fit in the bottom of the casting and don't rely totally on rubber O Rings per old petrol Peugeots (where liner movement / O Ring
rot can be a real problem), although there is a thin section O Ring at the bottom of the liner.
One final note of caution - don't think the problems are restricted to the "old" units. Liner porosity seems to be the curse of the newer style of
engine along with head gasket failure. Whenever we repair one of these, be it in 1400,1600 or 1800 form the liners come out and are "dye penetrant"
inspected before going further. Unfortunately the need to replace is not uncommon.
Dave Walker, Race Engine Services - 07957 454659 or 01636 671277
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johnston
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| posted on 12/12/02 at 11:53 PM |
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i know the k has its probs but i know a guy who bought his when it was only a couple of years old had it 6 yrs had about 170k when he got rid of it
apart from the usual service stuff and timin belts trackrod ends and a loose engine mount after the local rover dealer (and biggest car dealer in n.i.
think boucher rd any1 over here) done the clutch he had no hassle
even after his son (my mate)started drivin it at 19 and it got drove hard
the engine gave no hassle as far as i have know as long as theres a gd corrision inhibitor in them they run ok
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jollygreengiant
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| posted on 13/12/02 at 12:34 AM |
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K series engine is a nice lump if looked after. Abuse them and you get problems as with any other.
General rule of thumb is that the engines "DO" their cylinder head gaskets every 80K, due in part to the design of the head gasket and to a degree
the nature material used in the head (Corrosion due to iregular changes of the coolant & inhibiter).Some times the failure is caused by the thermostat
sticking(always replace at regular intervals).
The usual cause of the failure of the lower cylinder liner seals is overheating (usually caused by head gasket failure).
If the repair job is done properly then it is good for 80k.
You do get the very odd one that is the exception to the rule but then that is life (18k is the earliest that I have done outside of warranty). As
with all things the later or newer the engine then the better it usually is. pokiest incarnations of them are the VVTI units fitted in the MGF's.
Just a shame about the 2 Metro sub frames!.
Oh & if you change the Cam belt then its worth changing the Water pump as the gland seals fail at about 85K
Enjoy.
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Mike McKinstry
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| posted on 13/12/02 at 09:48 PM |
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k series adaptor plates
Hi all,re adaptor plates for k series I suppose you want to fit type 9 ford box to k engine.caterham do this all the time and I am trying to get
supply of a plate from a Caterham supplier locally-if I had enough interest I could try and negotiate some prices etc.-Mike.
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LancasterBob
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| posted on 16/12/02 at 11:54 PM |
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bellhousings...
Caterham do make these to suit the K-series to the type 9 box. But they cost silly money (eg 250 notes) new. I've just tracked one down (got a 1.4K
supersport for next project) on blatchat for about 100. They come up every now and again for that sort of price.
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