HGF on a late KV6 isn't something I have come across to be fair. It does point to something less worrying.

£1800??? A good used kv6 can be had for peanuts and most garages will not charge anywhere near that amount to swop an engine.

My "Bittersweet" ZT-T had HGF.

Get another engine in there mate .... belts done when out of the car.

If it is hgf get another engine chucked in it.like the other guys have said new belts before it goes in and it wil be miles cheaper than that quote having said that every garage I ever went to with my 180 pretty much blamed any fault as hgf .it's like a default response because of the 4pot engines. they always were taken by surprised when you tell them the v6 doesn't normally suffer it.hey you could always t16 it.��

HGF on the KV6 in the ZS is almost unheard of and is normaĺly due to poor maintaince, something this car doesn't suffer from.

It is far more common in the KV6 ZT.

It may be worth getting a cheap sniff test from ebay or similar to rule out HGF (although it only rules out a break into the cylinder and not oil/coolant only failure).

My 180 turned into a Hellman's production unit and would drink coolant. Assumed it was HGF and the belts were due this year so bought a 80k engine with new belts and water pump fitted for £95. Paid £300 to have the engine swapped over and after a few teething problems now running sweet again. Cheaper then getting just the belts done.

Hope it is something like the oil cooler but plenty of good second hand engines around if not.

Did you change the belts and pump before the engine went in?

Yes....the guy that I bought it off had it as a spare engine and had just changed the main belt and waterpump. He shipped it with the 2 new smaller belts and the mechanic put them on before fitting the engine. Had new spark plugs, thermostat, coolant temp sensor, aux belt, inlet gaskets etc done before it went in too.

Well she's finally running. Mark from MG Mobile Mechanics arrived this morning and changed the thermostat, inlet manifold gasket, coolant cap and fresh coolant. There was coolant all in the V, despite the previous garage claiming they had fixed the leak. Also goes to show how quick even specialist garages are to diagnose HGF. Won't be using them two again. Anyway, took her for a good hours drive on all sorts of roads and the temp gauge remained he same , just above the quarter. Fan kicked in at 105 degrees C as it should and switched off when cooled down. Forgot what she sounded and drove like, so back in love for the meantime.... Discovered the throttle cable is on its last legs as there was a tremendous amount of slack, the spring under the pedal was also missing so will get that sorted. Gave her a good wash and polish as been sat around for the last few months, think she looks quite good now :)

All the cars lined up including Marks ZR-T Express

http://i64.tinypic.com/2cicgn7.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/3313x90.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/6i8wib.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2jd11yu.jpg

Should I go back to the garage who changed the pipe they claimed had split and was causing the leak or is there nothing I can do?
I wonder if the second garage would have still gone ahead with the head gasket repair even if they discovered it was just a thermostat issue....

So chuffed for you ..... great news.

Honestly - if I were you - I'd let it go with the other garage. You'll get nothing out of them.

Just enjoy ..... :yes:

That's what I was thinking, just a shame as the family have been using them for 30 of years. Just feel a bit let down.
Time to enjoy the car now over the summer. Fingers crossed for the MOT in August!

Great news! I still love that car! Looks stunning. As for the garage, let it go. You are happy now so why take a step back and get annoyed with them? They'll only make you feel worse with poor excuses etc. Sometimes these things happen with garages used for years, they grow old, get complacent and take on technicians with no savvy.

Happy days Matt.glad you stuck with it.enjoy it now.:trampoline:

If you've recently previously had good service, I'd be tempted to pop in and let them know what happened.

P.S. Pleased it is sorted.

Fantastic, glad to hear she is thinking sweetly again for you. The best thing is just not go back to them again and move on now. Now hope you get some pain free motoring and really get to enjoy her, looks great on your photos

Although this does make sense and could be worth a polite word^^

TBH with the poor service you have received over the years from your long time garage, I'd just walk away, unless you wish to tell them why you are walking away.... (If they are friends rather than just a garage etc)

My folks had been using their local man for years, until it was proved that they failed to replace something that claimed they had changed - how do I know it wasn't changed - because it was filthy and covered in 20+years of crap when it failed and not shiny and new as I was billed for!

My dad then simply stated he wouldn't trust them for anything other than tyre changes, and that was that!

Thanks for the advice and comments chaps. I did call the garage back, suffice to say it didn't get me anywhere. However, I had to do it, it was just building up inside until I let them know. All done now though. There argument was that I've paid to have the leak stopped and pipe replaced, any other work would have been extra.
Since it's been fixed I've done about 200 miles of driving, mainly in lower gears listening to that exhaust popping haha!
Must the throttle cable replaced for the next job.