Spunagain's MG ZT260 Pages
Spunagain's ZT260 pages are under construction.
This page is made up of my own experiences and cullings from the Xpower forums
Poor
Climate Control
The Climate control on the 260’s is
notorious! It is
significantly poorer than the front wheel drive versions (Mrs Spunagain
has a
ZTT190). The Air flow is poorer, the response time is slower and it is
much
noisier. All of this I can live with as the ZT is the first car I have
had with
any sort of air con and basically it works, in that is keeps the car
cool in
summer and warm(ish if >0 degrees C outside) in winter .
However there are some
common faults that make the Climate
control fail or perform really poorly all aof which can be fixed so
don't panic! Symptoms include no cold
air or an ICY blast only with the system set to max.
1) The hot/cold water blend valves fail and this is probably
the most common problem. The valves
replacements supplied these days do not have the correct "mounting"
to allow it to fit on to the ZT/ Rover bulkhead inside the heater
plenum this
has to be swapped over. This always led some to suggest that they were
not
original MGR equipment and possibly a modified and improved component –
possibly wishful thinking!
The valve can be removed
from the system and visibly checked
to make sure it is moving through its full cycle, you can look down the
pipe
and see if the valve is rotating inside, closing the hot coolant flow
off, if
it isn’t closing fully, hot water will continue to flow through the
heater
matrix.
How to check
the blend valve
The water blend valve is located at the back
of the engine bay on the near side. The proper way to access it (and
the pollen filter, which will most likely need changing) is to remove
the black plastic access access panels on both sides in front of the
windscreen. Remove the windscreen wipers, remove the scuttle clips
(prise out with screwdriver) and remove the whole black plastic grill
panel directly in front of the windscreen. You will need to pull off
the rubber seal at the front of the panel, to get it out. The panel
will then lift off (you may have to carefully bend it to get it out).
Beneath this panel, on the nearside, is a further black plastic splash
panel held in with a couple of screws. Underneath this, you will see
the heater valve (identify by the three hoses feeding into it and an
electrical cable harness). Behind this, sitting vertically, is the
pollen filter. These are inevitably filthy, even after low mileages, so
is worth changing. Check that the valve operates when changing the
temperature from max hot to max cold. You should see the lever arm
moving over a fair angle 90 deg+. If it doesn't move - there's your
problem. You may be able to assist it into the cold position so that at
least the car will be bearable! Sounds like a lot of work but really
only takes half an hour or so. Best of luck! (Thanks to "DWP Industries
on Xpower forum)
Improved
replacement
Thanfully Black Olive of the Two-sixties has a solution and
has made a new valve using a much more robust and better sealing valve
assembly. Costing £150 all in -less than the crap standard part..
The process is for you to post that you require a heater valve on Here.
Steve will then PM you his address to send the cheque too. This PM will
be confirmation of order. Once the valve is made you will then receive
a further PM confirming dispatch of the valve. £150 posted.
Heres what it looks like.
And fitted:
Reports from those wh have fitted them
have been very positive, and I will be fitting one soon!
2) The connectors to the Climate control unit (the unit on
the dash with the buttons and LCD temperature display) can be inserted
incorrectly causing the pins on the connector to be pushed in
preventing all
the connections to be made which can either prevent the unit from
operating
vales or prevent the temperature sensor information from getting to the
unit.
In the above case the black plug to
heater control has terminal 5 pushed out resulting in temp motor
control not working and consequently no adjustment.
3) On early cars it has been known for the temperature
sensors to be connected incorrectly.
4) Overheated compressor where it gets too
hot and welds itself together. A small company called Vehicle Climate
Control (VCC) in
Perivale - talk to Martin
(02088 107 666) can source the components far more cheaply than
through
XPart/Dealers - but still an expensive job
though!
The compressor is from Visteon the FS10
- his comment
was that if he was designing an a/c system, this
compressor would be near the bottom of his list....I think it's the
same model as used on Mondeo V6.
Apparently Visteon in the past had a problem
in sending out their
compressors with only the 'test' (small) amount of lubricant in...you
can guess what happens to these after even a short use - it is possible
MGR bought a job lot of these. When one owners was dismantled
(and it
was perfectly air/oil tight) there was no sign of ANY oil in it
whatsoever.....
The system hadn't got too contaminated from the compressor giving up,
just the drier module needed replacing, along with a system flush.
A supplier in the USA for Compressors is 001
800 993 7339 they will ship to the UK.
ZT260 page
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This web page is designed and maintained entirely
by Spunagain. Please let me know if you have new information or
anything here is demonstrably incorrect!
Thanks.
Spunagain <questions@spunagain.co.uk>