MG Rover 25 Build Blog

The exterior of the car is now looking pretty darn good, the MG ZR body kit, Cupra R splitter, de-tango'd indicators etc. all complimenting each other perfectly.

Wanting to make use of the good weather, I focused on an area of the car that was looking a little lacklustre, the engine bay. Being a bit of a wuss, I chickened out of using a pressure washer to tidy it up as I didn't want to mess up the electrics.

Instead I resorted to some good old fashioned elbow grease and a new product I'd not tried before, Autoglym Engine and Machine Cleaner.

Using some old brushes I found lying around in the man cave, I worked the cleaner fluid into all the surfaces. I didn't go too mad, only addressing the worst of the grime, but it was making quite a difference.

After wiping all the surfaces to remove any excess cleaner fluid, I applied a coating of Meguiars Vinyl and Rubber Protectant to give everything a nice sheen.

Before and After

MG ZR Rover 25 1.4 K Series Engine Bay Detailed

MG ZR Rover 25 Engine Bay Washer Fluid Refill Cap

MG ZR Rover 25 Engine Bay Coolant Reservoir

For a couple of hours work, it was well worth the effort, transforming the engine bay from that of an unloved commuter vehicle to someone's pride and joy.

MG ZR Rover 25 K Series Engine Bay Injectors

This service spanned a 1000 miles, from 67,000 to 68,000, due to needing the car intact for a month, meaning the discs and pads couldn't be changed in case anything went wrong. Anyhow all parts have now been changed.

Parts that have been changed:

Fuel filter - MG Rover original part - WJN 101191
Oil Filter - Halfords - HOF213
Mobil Super S - 10W-40 Semi Synthetic Oil
Castrol Differential Oil - EPX 75W-80
Mintex Brake Box - MDK0008

First thing changed was the engine oil, this went without problem as its changed regularly, as with the oil filter.

The fuel filter however was a pain to get off, one of the bolts would not budge. At almost the point of rounding the bolt gave way luckily. The old filter had some surface rust, but obviously its not possible to see the state of inside. I decided to change it because at one point it was run constantly on only £10 worth of fuel at a time, so I thought some crap might have been drawn up, and the car is now 9 years old so it was about time.

Brakes were next. The discs on the car were low, and hadnt been changed since I bought the car. On first inspection it was clear they weren't in good condition but on measuring and comparing with the trusty haynes it appeared they were below the minimum threshold. The disc was not only low but wavey on the surface, so it was now not wearing uniformly.

On a recommendation mintex discs and pads were bought to replace them. Fitting went smoothly with no problems or dodgey bolts, thankfully.

First impressions were that they need bedding in, very spongey and didnt exactly stop too well. After about a week they are as good as the previous brake set up, and also no squeaking. It might almost be a valid comment to say they are slightly better.

Whilst at the job, the brakes were bled as well, make sure there was no air in the system.

Lastly and most surprising in its results was the gear box oil change. The gearbox had become pretty problematic, not going into gear and feeling generally rough. The swap to the castrol oil cured all of this, gears now change very smoothly and is a pleasure once again to drive. It must be noted the large amount of filings on the drain bolt though, which was cleaned off as well as possible. This could have contributed to the dodgey gear changes.

Service Parts