Rover 214si

[tenwierdufos]

Here we have it, my belated project thread for the car that replaced the 318TDS

I have a 1993 Rover 214si, that doesnt work

Bought it a couple of months ago and did did a couple of thousand miles fine then (don't laugh too hard) the headgasket went.

Had the head skimmed, got an mls headgasket set and rebuilt it all yesterday, cylinder 1 is still filling up with water. Not amused!

However I guess it's time to ditch the K series and look for something else.

It will be another slow project but here you go.

Options for engine wise are (all of these were fitted from factory at some point in these)

Another K series, however probably not this because I am not a fan of self inflicted pain.

Honda engine, D series vtec maybe?

PSA XUD



Oh yes, its RED, with bumper coded bodywork! Not body coded bumpers... AVO coilovers, has just over 50,000 miles under its belt in 21 years and is pretty immaculate engine fail aside.

[Piggy]

Is there not a gasket on the inlet which fails and allows water into the cylinder on these?

[tenwierdufos]

Aye, there is a water way at both ends of the inlet manifold.

100% worth double checking although will be surprised if that is that case.

I couldn't get my hands on a proper gasket for the inlet as its not the same as the later models with multi point injection. So made one out of instant gasket haha.

[procta]

Now that's a proper rover! none of this posh rover shite! these used to get the Tseries engines dropped in, you could even drop the vvc engine in from the coupe.
Just a shame these were binned before their time.
give you a tip. put on the later kseries mpi manifold and down pipe, as that opens these up, don't bother converting it to mpi as its not worth the f*ck on!

[tenwierdufos]

Is there not a gasket on the inlet which fails and allows water into the cylinder on these?

Taken the manifold off and resealed it, running on 4 again but still steaming a lot, taken the plug out and looks dry though.

Probably false hope hahaha.

I did manage to break the fill point round the back of the engine while doing it though, so covered that in goo and will have to wait a day or two to brim it and test properly. Will let you know the result!

Now that's a proper rover! none of this posh rover shite! these used to get the Tseries engines dropped in, you could even drop the vvc engine in from the coupe.
Just a shame these were binned before their time.
give you a tip. put on the later kseries mpi manifold and down pipe, as that opens these up, don't bother converting it to mpi as its not worth the f*ck on!

Interesting... how to you run the SPI and the MPI manifold together? I wouldn't have thought that would work.

[billythekid]

1.6 hdi.

[madwelshman]

Those Rovers came with the 1769cc n/a and turbo PSA engine, so in theory, the 1.9 and possibly even the Hdi would fit (with a bit of electrical know how).
What about PSA petrol engines, are they the same bellhousing pattern as the diesel (I don't personally know, hence asking the question)?
If so, more options again.

Will

[tenwierdufos]

1.6 hdi.

We have talked about this Billy, I want the car to work more not work less

Those Rovers came with the 1769cc n/a and turbo PSA engine, so in theory, the 1.9 and possibly even the Hdi would fit (with a bit of electrical know how).
What about PSA petrol engines, are they the same bellhousing pattern as the diesel (I don't personally know, hence asking the question)?
If so, more options again.

Will

Possible, have been looking into the Honda and PSA options, they appear to have welded totally different mounts to the car itself depending on what engine was being fitted though, so anything other than the K will need some fabrication. Although I love the idea of a turbo XUD or HDI lump going into a light car like this.

The PSA petrol probably aren't any better and also harder to fit than a K series unfortunately.

[DavidA]

I used to have a beige/grey one of these, Pipercross air filter, Superchips icon, fsi fuel boost valve, 4 branch manifold and exhaust system saw me getting 30bho over standard.

[madwelshman]

a lightly 'tweaked' 1.9 dTurbo lump I reckons :-D

[procta]

Is there not a gasket on the inlet which fails and allows water into the cylinder on these?

Taken the manifold off and resealed it, running on 4 again but still steaming a lot, taken the plug out and looks dry though.

Probably false hope hahaha.

I did manage to break the fill point round the back of the engine while doing it though, so covered that in goo and will have to wait a day or two to brim it and test properly. Will let you know the result!

Now that's a proper rover! none of this posh rover shite! these used to get the Tseries engines dropped in, you could even drop the vvc engine in from the coupe.
Just a shame these were binned before their time.
give you a tip. put on the later kseries mpi manifold and down pipe, as that opens these up, don't bother converting it to mpi as its not worth the f*ck on!

Interesting... how to you run the SPI and the MPI manifold together? I wouldn't have thought that would work.

you can leave the spi inlet on and run the later mpi manifold, as the 16v block is the same. The spi manifold is very restrictive compared to the mpi one.
basically all you are doing is just upgrading the exhaust side of it.

[tenwierdufos]

Oh nice

May invest in one, if this engine ever works again haha

[DavidA]

I was almost tempted to drop the 2.7 V6 into mine by the guys at Moto-build...

[lolsteve]

Helllloooooo

It's the plastic inlet manifolds that have a habit of leaking into the end cylinders. Did you put the head saver shim on as well when doing the head gasket? Mine didn't have that on and was leaking oil and water
Drop a vvc lump in and have yourself a whale of a time.
Think this chassis is where my front half is from so (i think) any front suspension components for ZRs will fit this too (strut brace, poly bush, anti roll bar etc)

[306Dan]

Helllloooooo

It's the plastic inlet manifolds that have a habit of leaking into the end cylinders. Did you put the head saver shim on as well when doing the head gasket? Mine didn't have that on and was leaking oil and water
Drop a vvc lump in and have yourself a whale of a time.
Think this chassis is where my front half is from so (i think) any front suspension components for ZRs will fit this too (strut brace, poly bush, anti roll bar etc)

Tell my freelander that only the plastic manifolds leak please
I borrowed one of these off my grandad whilst he was still around had a vvc lump dropped in and fully poly bushed etc it was like driving one of my karts but road legal

[Poodle]

Good to see you back with another ill-advised project, look forward to seeing some progress.

In terms of swaps, a good rule of thumb is if it didn't come as standard then you'll need to do some/lots of fabrication to make it fit. My personal opinion is that you should avoid the k-series like the plague it is, so any fab work has got to be worth it lol.

[THE_Liam]

Good to see you back with another ill-advised project, look forward to seeing some progress.

In terms of swaps, a good rule of thumb is if it didn't come as standard then you'll need to do some/lots of fabrication to make it fit. My personal opinion is that you should avoid the k-series like the plague it is, so any fab work has got to be worth it lol.

K-series is actually a great engine and a very clever design, ruined by Rover penny-pinching. Few mods and its pretty strong, just the head gasket that lets them down, what else goes wrong on them? They make a lot of power per litre, and love to rev, plus they weigh nowt!

[procta]

If he can get his hands on a tomcat for a donor car, then its a case of shoving the full tom cat stuff into this.

[306Dan]

Use the uprated headgasket and good quality mtf 94 gear oil and them series engine and pg1 box will go on forever with regular servicing

[lolsteve]

Must....not....open....can...off....worms..... ERrgghh...cannot resist..


The...k...serries...is...quite good....even with...a shagged...gasket...still...ragged...it...to...death....veryy easy...to..work on....diesel...is...for....faggots...bleggghhhh

[tenwierdufos]

Did fit the head saver shim. Not getting too much hope up about this engine tbh, although it would be nice if it was as simple as the manifold. Still got to wait a bit before trying that,

I do like my diesels... had a fair few now.

The K series was a nice engine, for the very short time it lasted. Got me stuck a reasonable distance from home though... wasn't going another mile, as soon as you put water in it launched it back out hahaha.

Poodle, what is the point of a project if it isn't ill-advised?!

[DavidA]

The only issue I had with my 1.4 K series was when one of the bolts from the Pipercross air filter came loose and dropped into the throttle body...never had head gasket issues in over 70k miles.

[tenwierdufos]

The only issue I had with my 1.4 K series was when one of the bolts from the Pipercross air filter came loose and dropped into the throttle body...never had head gasket issues in over 70k miles.

Lucky!!

[zx_volcane]

Rover4Life

[Iceman299]

Brings back memories! First car was a nightfire red 214sei, followed by a 420 turbo, 220gsi then 216 coupe.

I think i kind of loved Rovers back then

[madwelshman]

I worked as a car valeter for a local Rover dealership in 1997 and drove loads of K powered and diesel Rovers. The old K series doesn't half sing, It's so willing to rev. Rover 600's I quite liked. The 620 GSI and 623 went very well and were quite a sleeper as they didn't have the image that they were a quick car.

[DavidA]

Brings back memories! First car was a nightfire red 214sei, followed by a 420 turbo, 220gsi then 216 coupe.

I think i kind of loved Rovers back then

I always wanted a nightfire red SEi and a Tahiti blue turbo coupe, but only ever managed the beige 414 SLi and a 420 GSi which admittedly was a bit of a lemon.

[Poodle]

Poodle, what is the point of a project if it isn't ill-advised?!

Precisely.

I'm sure the k-series is great, my view is just skewed by the fact that every single last one that i've known has blown it's hg. Totally minor detail tbf, i probably over-value reliability.

[THE_Liam]

Poodle, what is the point of a project if it isn't ill-advised?!

Precisely.

I'm sure the k-series is great, my view is just skewed by the fact that every single last one that i've known has blown it's hg. Totally minor detail tbf, i probably over-value reliability.

Its a design flaw. The basic design of the engine is brilliant and a good one is a joy to drive. MLS head gasket kit fitted before the head boils will solve it all. All engines have flaws, just a pity the K has such a big one.

[tenwierdufos]

UPDATE.

Still need to replace that fill pipe, held out long enough for me to get a test drive in though.

No longer getting water in cyl 1 after re-sealing the manifold, which is fantastic!

Now it's good enough to drive another big flaw has shown up though.

Smoke... it smokes really badly, idle is fine, any load creates smoke. Hmm :/

Engine has 53,000 miles on it and didn't smoke at all before the head gasket issue, can anyone think of anywhere oil could get in after doing a head gasket swap, other than the head gasket itself?