2001 Rover - Austin 75 club SE from UK and Ireland - Comments

Had a problem with steering when turning knocking sound from front found to be front strut bearings, When I bought it I did some research and found 1.8 k series were prone to head gasket failure so opted for the 2.5 v6 thinking I would be safe. Found that on a weekly check loosing just an egg cup of water from header tank other day temp gauge shot up and overheated pulled over took oil cap off and founf yellow mayo, head gasket failure, not one head, but two so cost will be around £1700 to repair so not such a cheap car afterall. GUTTED no wonder rover went bust!!!

The car is comfortable and quite.

Handles well

Bit hungry on fuel

Nice gearbox

Nice looking car.

Your comments make no sense. You say that you were losing "an egg cup" of water per week. Presumably you took the oil cap off and checked for signs of water/oil mixing at this point and found nothing. From what you say, it doesn't sound like the head gasket failure caused the overheating, but that a small coolant leak caused the overheating which in turn caused the gasket failure. Had you found and fixed the coolant loss problem, you would not have a head gasket failure to contend with now.

You can't just run these engines with low coolant - they fail!

The engine is designed in such a way that it only requires aa tiny amount of coolant compared to most other designs. What this does mean is that your "egg cup" equates to half a litre or more on most engines.

All K-series engines are bombproof if the cooling system is maintained properly.

Bought Rover 75 recently very pleased with it in all respects maybe a bit heavy on the gas - then kept on overheating sporadically, eventually diagnosed as head gasket problem - have read about small water tank and not sure if I contributed to the problem!

Car has only done 50k miles so couldn't believe when told that this is a common problem with Rover 75 even at this mileage!

Have had 2 Rovers, both had problems so am put off Rovers for life!

Desperate for a fix. 2004 Rover 75,000 ks. Fuel pump pops out and the car won't start! Mechanic pulls out the back seat to fix. Costing a fortune. Help.

I too have a problem with 2.5 V6 75 engine. The vehicle uses a pint of coolant every week, regardless of journeys. I have to date removed and replaced a thermostat, although it checked out OK.

Removed radiator, flow tested (failed) removed plastic header tank to confirm that lower tubes were partially blocked.

Removed cylinder heads, pressure checked, replaced rear head as small crack was found, whilst replacing cam belts replaced water pump as matter of course, checked liners for cracks and heights.

Replaced all gaskets.

Removed all hoses and replaced, checked inlet manifold for cracks and coolant pipe blockage.

Removed heater matrix and flushed, still uses pint of coolant every week.!!!

Pressure tested system to 20 psi no leaks. Rubbish!!!

Robinson (Suffolk)

I have rover 75 1.8 club

it lost power when driving wouldn't go over 30 mph.

Took it to the garage and was told it has low compression in

Cylinder 4 it burned a little bit of oil not much now won't even start has anyone had this problem and what was it and how much to get fixed the car is 1999 only 68,000 miles I only bought it 7 months ago no lights showing on engine management.

Help Jim.

Hi guys. I also just got me a 2002 Rover 75 2.5 V6. I see the car swallows coolant like crazy. Do I refill the car with normal water, or like in the book it says a mix of water and ethylene glycol based anti freeze? And that is ethylene glycol based anti freeze?

Oh and one more thing, does anyone have a GPS navigation thingie built into their Rover 75 using the cars in-dash display (the display that shows trip information and warning lights?), instead of a fitted navigation thingie on the dash like the Garmin? I think the original was the Trafficmaster system (no south african maps, not existent in South Africa).

Thanks for any advice

Silas (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Sell it. Quickly.

I just had a steering pump fitted, do they do anything with any water pipes has since I've had it back I have a small water leak under neath the car. i have a rover 75, 18.

The 75 series has inherited the 800 series probs with heater matrix, coolant, water and pipe probs from the comments stated here.

All rovers fitted with a K series engine are designed with a cooling system that uses less water than an average car and so need the water level checked on a daily basis in case of water loss through leaks, or faulty radiator caps or thermostats of which some can be a bit prone to faults, apart from that these engines are great if maintained correctly. I had to change the cap on mine to the later upgraded one and also had a thermostat go faulty which caused the engine to push water out even though the temp gauge always read normal, I changed the stat and cured the problem straight away.

I've got a Rover 75 2002 model. I want to say that I had never driven a car like this special car before (I've also had a BMW 528i, Buick Park Avenue, and Volvo S80).

Thanks with regards.

Omar Khedher (Dubai).

If the 75 is such a great car why do so many of them over heat.

These cars do have certain weak points, as ALL cars do. The thermostat housing and water pump are the usual suspects for coolant loss. If you are losing coolant, have this checked and sorted straight away to avoid a hefty repair bill later on.

Modern Rovers are no different to other cars. With the correct attention and maintenance they will last a long time.

You wouldn't wait to be on the brink of death before consulting a doctor... why would your attitude to your car be any different?

I have a 2001 2.0l V6 with 145K miles and it is still running beautifully.

G.

It is ridiculous to have to check water on a daily basis; it's the 21st Century, the 75 doesn't run on steam although it does produce a lot whilst overheating and blowing head gaskets.

The Rover K Series engine is rubbish, especially the 1.8, which is far to slow for the big heavy 75 car.

Dodgy clutches are common, dodgy fuel pump common, dodgy fuel filter assembly, which comes apart hence the engine won't start - common problem.

The ECU, also called the brain, is fitted in the bulkhead above a water drain hole; yes, a drain hole LOL. If the hole gets blocked, and it does, the ECU gets water damaged; that's about 800 to repair. Luckily I knew about this and unblocked mine before it caused damage.

Foor cards fall off; a common problem.

Mine has 40k on the clock and luckily the head gasket hasn't blown yet, but all of the above has been an issue.

Oh, and I have a whine noise from engine when it heats up that no one can sort out.

No wonder Rover went bust.