Bonnet stuck type problem

Rovertoyou

Rovertoyou

New Member
This is not my P6 but my W plate 45. We took it up to Shefield from Essex and the alternator light came on about half way :shock: . The car was coping fine so I carried on, once we got there I begrudgingly got a local garage to check and change the dead alternator. That was fine if a lot more than i wanted to pay out on my £500 motor. Having got the car home yesterday, (cursing the fact that the air con doesn't work!) I thought I'd check out their handy work and guess what only one of the bonet catches will release, keeping the bonet firmly closed! Both cables are attached at the release end one is much toughter than the other. I have tried pulling the slacker one with pliers and only ended up damging the cable a bit :oops: ! The only thing I can think to do is break the "teeth" out of the grill and try to get in there to fiddle the catch open, then replace the grill. Any better ideas to this anoying problem? Oh and just to add to the fun when they replaced the alternator the did the correct thing and dissconnected the battery, fine except I didn't have the radio code! It was a very hot quiet drive home.................frayed tempers......no.........
 
A trick used on many a stubborn bonnet is for you to pull the cable with another person drum roll thumping on the bonnet above the catch!
 
Don't know this car but if the charging light was on and the AC wasn't working I would be checking the fan belt 1st.

Also if the fan belt had gone I wouldn't be driving it around as the water pump wouldn't be working
 
I found this on line http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=253488 Doesnt give the 100% solution though.

What you may be able to do is get one side up as they suggest and try and feel the cables. You may also be able to undo the release catch and push it forward.

Might also be able get the wheel arch liner off and get to it that was.

Good luck
Colin
 
keanej said:
Don't know this car but if the charging light was on and the AC wasn't working I would be checking the fan belt 1st.

Also if the fan belt had gone I wouldn't be driving it around as the water pump wouldn't be working
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Thanks for your concern I did of course stop and check the fan belt was intact before driving the last 150 miles. The air con dosen't work as that would be a bit much to ask of a car I only gave £500 for with tax and MOT.
 
Bonet stuck no more! :LOL: I squirted a load of WD40 at the catches (and all over the engine as I found out later!), proped the bonet release up, bumped the bonet up and down a bit, gave it a yank and hey presto, open sesame. 8)

It did make me realise how lazy I have been with this car though, I had never oiled any hinges, greased any stays or bonet pins! I blame this squarely on my previous modern, a retched Audi A3 it was a truly dreadful car, badly made, dull, slow, totally uninspiring. I had tared the poor little 45 with the same use and abuse brush, not any more! Despite beeing £1200 cheaper than the Audi its a far superior car and I intend to treat it as such.

Thanks for you help and advice, there would be a big hole in my grill with out it!
 
DaveHerns said:
It will be fine till the head gasket goes - I assume it's a K series engine ?
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Yep 1.8 K series with 119K on the clock (a good few thousand of those are mine in the last few months). The head gasket had alread gone before I bought it and has been replaced. The guy I bought it from buys K series engined cars replaces the head gasket with the upgraded Lotus design, he has also changed the rad, water pump and cam belt on mine. The inlet manifold gasket can also go on these giving HGF type symptoms, its a really easy one to change and you guessed it thats been done too! The exhaust system was only a few months old when he got it so that too is in good knick. That allied with the 10 months MOT, 6 months tax, full leather, electric windows/mirrors/sunroof and if I recarge it air con made this too good a yr 2000 car to miss at £500.

People are very hard on the K series it is a technically brilliant engine and if used properly is very reliable. The key is in those long head bolts that hold the whole thing together, they are only fully tight when the engine is hot. So if you don't thrash the car when cold or use it for lots of short journeys and keep the cooling system in good condition (as you should on all cars) they are unlikley to give trouble.

If the gasket goes again I'm putting the black leather front seats in my P6! They are so comfortable, I drove the 4 hours from Sheffield through the city centre traffic back to our home in rural Essex with out the slightes hint of a numb bum :LOL: .
 
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