MG Rover 25 Build Blog

This service spanned a 1000 miles, from 67,000 to 68,000, due to needing the car intact for a month, meaning the discs and pads couldn't be changed in case anything went wrong. Anyhow all parts have now been changed.

Parts that have been changed:

Fuel filter - MG Rover original part - WJN 101191
Oil Filter - Halfords - HOF213
Mobil Super S - 10W-40 Semi Synthetic Oil
Castrol Differential Oil - EPX 75W-80
Mintex Brake Box - MDK0008

First thing changed was the engine oil, this went without problem as its changed regularly, as with the oil filter.

The fuel filter however was a pain to get off, one of the bolts would not budge. At almost the point of rounding the bolt gave way luckily. The old filter had some surface rust, but obviously its not possible to see the state of inside. I decided to change it because at one point it was run constantly on only £10 worth of fuel at a time, so I thought some crap might have been drawn up, and the car is now 9 years old so it was about time.

Brakes were next. The discs on the car were low, and hadnt been changed since I bought the car. On first inspection it was clear they weren't in good condition but on measuring and comparing with the trusty haynes it appeared they were below the minimum threshold. The disc was not only low but wavey on the surface, so it was now not wearing uniformly.

On a recommendation mintex discs and pads were bought to replace them. Fitting went smoothly with no problems or dodgey bolts, thankfully.

First impressions were that they need bedding in, very spongey and didnt exactly stop too well. After about a week they are as good as the previous brake set up, and also no squeaking. It might almost be a valid comment to say they are slightly better.

Whilst at the job, the brakes were bled as well, make sure there was no air in the system.

Lastly and most surprising in its results was the gear box oil change. The gearbox had become pretty problematic, not going into gear and feeling generally rough. The swap to the castrol oil cured all of this, gears now change very smoothly and is a pleasure once again to drive. It must be noted the large amount of filings on the drain bolt though, which was cleaned off as well as possible. This could have contributed to the dodgey gear changes.

Service Parts