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Donor stripping going well now but I reckon I should change the Head Gasket on the engine before I remove from the Donor...that way when I'm swinging the spanners I don't chase the engoine round the garage!!
...problem is where is the best source for a decent head gasket kit now that Rover is no more
Have found 'Gaskets for classiscs' on e-bay that seems a good deal....anyone got any suggestions please??
...problem is where is the best source for a decent head gasket kit now that Rover is no more
I recall that motor manufactuers have some sort of scheme to gurantee spare parts for 10 years after manufature of a car ... has that gone down the pan for Rover bits?
Even so, there are probably enough K series engines out there to justify Unipart sourcing spares for quite some time.
I have got to do the exact same thing with my K Series 1.8 VVC, plus change the belts etc.
May I suggest that you only purchase a genuine Rover Head gasket. There are a lot of generic head gaskets out there that are based on the original Rover gasket design. And to put it bluntly they are crap, as they blow through the moulded seals. Rover's latest (now last) incarnation was circa 2004.
This is much better than all previous types. And yes you can still buy them (and all other Rover parts) from X Parts:
The Rover/MG parts business was sold off to Caterpillar logistics a year before Rover went bump.
XParts have restarted production of all current Rover parts. So it is good news to all Marlin 5exi builders/owners.
Thanks for the info Mike. I've stumbled across a local Unipart centre and had the head gasket from there. Checking it out against the one I took of it looks identical and even has the same markings / stampings...so should be ok
Also had the cam belt and filters from there.
Am I right in thinking that Unipart and Rover were one and the same?
Well not for a good few years. If i recall Unipart were sold off from Rover group a good few years ago. Then Rover retained the parts business themselves until they sold it off last year to Caterpiller logistics last year.
Be careful with the gasket. If the rubber seals that surround the cylinder and oil /water ways is round in cross section then it is the old style that gave so many problems with blown head gaskets. The seals on the head gasket should be moulded in a stepped or graduated way. Also the location dowels were changed a couple of years ago from plastic (a great idea introduced by BMW that failed) to steel ones.
Thanks for the info Mike. I've stumbled across a local Unipart centre and had the head gasket from there. Checking it out against the one I took of it looks identical and even has the same markings / stampings...so should be ok 