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Thread: Is Ford RS the new K series?

  1. #1
    Master
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    Is Ford RS the new K series?

    Is this the dreaded "They all do that" debate starting again?
    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/...id=HPCOMMDHP15

  2. #2
    Craftsman
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    There were rumours of it happening within weeks of them going on sale . I held back ordering one and still won't buy one with with the revised v5 block as some of them have gone pop too . Ford are replacing stuff but long term I'd be wary . The RS ltd edition is out too now

  3. #3
    Craftsman ray_li30's Avatar
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    had a old MG ZR with the k series engine, 2 full rebuilds in 4 years and a 3rd one on its way led it to being sold to WBAC

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by ray_li30 View Post
    had a old MG ZR with the k series engine, 2 full rebuilds in 4 years and a 3rd one on its way led it to being sold to WBAC
    Who rebuilt your engine?

  5. #5
    Master
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    If the K series is repaired properly, along with the use of the most suitable (choice of two) new,improved gasket for the state of the liners, they should last the life of the vehicle. Most of the gaskets failed due to ancillary failure (water pump, inlet manifold gasket, thermostat etc.) leading to overheating and HGF. Some of the later models had a low coolant indicator, which for the few pounds that they would have cost, would have saved the engine/HG failures. The K series was a fantastic design, let down by skimping of the ancillary components. There are lots of similar failures in other marques but they have not had the bad press that MGR received.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by tixntox View Post
    If the K series is repaired properly, along with the use of the most suitable (choice of two) new,improved gasket for the state of the liners, they should last the life of the vehicle. Most of the gaskets failed due to ancillary failure (water pump, inlet manifold gasket, thermostat etc.) leading to overheating and HGF. Some of the later models had a low coolant indicator, which for the few pounds that they would have cost, would have saved the engine/HG failures. The K series was a fantastic design, let down by skimping of the ancillary components. There are lots of similar failures in other marques but they have not had the bad press that MGR received.
    Most of the gasket in the early days (new engine- not tampered with) failed due to the fact the cylinder head reaches 220 plus degrees c under normal operating conditions.....there is nothing normal about that.
    When I say 220 degrees I actually mean metal temperature and not the water contained within the head.
    When you consider most other standard engines run at 80-120 degrees it's clear to see where the initial problem stemmed from.
    The old design HG was fine, there was basically nothing wrong with it however it had certain failure points causing leakage around the silicone beading and externally.

    Any subsequent repair where the MLS gasket was used and then subsequently failed were quite simply not repaired correctly and as you rightly say failing due to many issues.

  7. #7
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    They are generally driven very hard - I have seen the 4wd system get itself in all sorts of bother when the e-diff's have a 'computer says no' moment (albeit on a car video shoot).
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  8. #8
    Craftsman
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    I had a freelander it had two new engines in three years all under warranty. I’m looking for a hot hatch think I get a golf gti

  9. #9
    Master
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    My best mate traded his John Cooper works for the RS earlier in the year despite concerns, and has never looked back. That is the most fun I've ever had in a car, I say engine problems be damned ; )

  10. #10
    I have a mk3 rs for a weekend toy, engine doesn’t concern me, if it blows it will be towed outside the dealers and a refund requested.. quite simple really. Just driven, looked after, and don’t worry about engines blowing!

  11. #11
    Master -Ally-'s Avatar
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    If I had one of these I’d be selling it when the warranty was up. The more of them I see on the roads though, the more I’m convinced they are the choice of yobs.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by -Ally- View Post
    If I had one of these I’d be selling it when the warranty was up. The more of them I see on the roads though, the more I’m convinced they are the choice of yobs.
    What hot hatch isn’t for yobs? I mean they are all chav magnets, the rs just happens to be one of the best ones!

  13. #13
    I've been looking for a hot hatch and narrowed it down to a JCW and an RS. I've had a couple of tests in the RS and it is fun. Mind you the JCW was great fun too for different reasons. Both great cars. The engine issue wouldn't put me off

  14. #14
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by -Ally- View Post
    If I had one of these I’d be selling it when the warranty was up. The more of them I see on the roads though, the more I’m convinced they are the choice of yobs.
    Every single RS has been and always will be.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  15. #15
    Craftsman ray_li30's Avatar
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    Local garage did the first one, and the second was taken to an MG specialist in Kensington.

    Quote Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers View Post
    Who rebuilt your engine?

  16. #16
    Master -Ally-'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    Every single RS has been and always will be.
    They’ve certainly always had a bit of a bad image.
    But that seem to be getting worse rather than better. I’d still rather my old one.

    Last edited by -Ally-; 14th December 2017 at 21:40.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by -Ally- View Post
    They’ve certainly always had a bit of a bad image.
    But that seem to be getting worse rather than better. I’d still rather my old one.

    Had one of those too, don’t miss the torque steer though! Decided the modern image is a little too on the yob side for me, so went JCW with a tune & Bluetooth exhaust; it can be subtle when required, 6am starts as an example!


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  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by ray_li30 View Post
    Local garage did the first one, and the second was taken to an MG specialist in Kensington.
    You should go back then and get your money back or at least ask them what's happened.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by -Ally- View Post
    They’ve certainly always had a bit of a bad image.
    But that seem to be getting worse rather than better. I’d still rather my old one.

    I had the mk1 too Ally, superb cars, would have one again without a doubt! guess you were in the rsoc?

  20. #20
    Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    Every single RS has been and always will be.
    +1.......fast Fords have always had a knobhead image, that goes back to the 70s. An acquaintance of mine owned a fast Focus a few years ago.....and he’s a knobhead. First time I met him was when I gave him a lift in my Jag and he stated how he didn’t like Jags......he’s an OK bloke in many respects but he’s a knobhead where cars are concerned.

    In a past life I owned an XR3i.....not my finest hour but I’m man enough to admit to past indisecretions.

    On a more serious note, I have every sympathy for anyone who’s bought a modern car that turns out to be a flawed design, customers expect and deserve better thesedays. I’m surprised that manufacturers can still get things wrong, but squeezing big horsepower out of realatively small engine is always going to be a challenge.

    Paul
    Last edited by walkerwek1958; 15th December 2017 at 00:12.

  21. #21
    Grand Master
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    I’ve run a 1.4 K series in a Midas Mk IV 2+2 for the last few years. It’s in the same state of tune as the Elise running the same engine and it has been faultless for years. For a year and a half I commuted from Canterbury to Redhill daily and have used it for track days a couple of times a year. I can’t think of a better engine for an ultra kightweight sportscar.

  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by M4tt View Post
    I’ve run a 1.4 K series in a Midas Mk IV 2+2 for the last few years. It’s in the same state of tune as the Elise running the same engine and it has been faultless for years. For a year and a half I commuted from Canterbury to Redhill daily and have used it for track days a couple of times a year. I can’t think of a better engine for an ultra kightweight sportscar.
    Its good to hear of someone who's had a reasonable service life from their engine. I would say however that the problem effects the whole K16 engine range but it is nowhere near as bad in the smaller engines than the 1.6-1.8.
    Many years ago I was in contact with a prominent race engineer with many years experience with building tuning Rover V8s, Mini,Coventry climax engines and he spent a long time looking in to the problems with this engine.
    There is one single inherent design fault with the K16 which basically means that ALL K16 engines will fail its Hg before it reaches a decent service life.
    My advice is to check your coolant level weekly, it's the difference between a HG change or totals engine failure.

  23. #23
    I once had a rover 200 vi,which had a 1.8 k series in it and I blew head gasket the first night I had it ,too many revs when it was cold probably didn’t help


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  24. #24
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mj2k View Post
    Had one of those too, don’t miss the torque steer though! Decided the modern image is a little too on the yob side for me, so went JCW with a tune & Bluetooth exhaust; it can be subtle when required, 6am starts as an example!


    Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
    Having had a few of the current crop of 300bhp+ hot hatches over the last 5 years I think you made the correct choice.

    I've not had the RS but all the others I've owned have just been very normal uneventful cars with more power than they ever needed.

    I'll be buying something like a JCW next I think. Slightly more usable power without going down to a shopping trolley.

    Sent from my Swift 2 Plus using Tapatalk

  25. #25
    Master
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    I’ve had a number of k-series engined cars in the past. Fantastic engines when they run right (and in my experience, I never had any issues - with three of them).

    My brother used to build high powered k-series for a living though so was always on hand if anything did need doing.


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  26. #26
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by -Ally- View Post
    They’ve certainly always had a bit of a bad image.
    But that seem to be getting worse rather than better. I’d still rather my old one.

    There's a MK1 Focus around the corner (just a fairly normal one in dark grey) and I still think it's one of the best looking hatchbacks anyone ever made (They drove well too).

    Ever model after (whether dynamically/quality/whatever better) has been a generic Eurobox styling wise (I can't tell most of them from Astras or SEATs these days)

    M

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