Help for rover 214

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sun 11 May 2003 12:45
Help for rover 214 - Mike200
I find it very difficult engaging reverse on this car. Also, sometimes when it goes in, the car starts to move backwards and then jumps out of gear.

Also, my exhaust seems to be making a noise from the back box, but i cant find a hole.

Any help greatful, cheers
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Sun 11 May 2003 17:02
Help for rover 214 - Robin the Technician
The cause may be down to the gear linkage. Check it to see if you have any wear. A classic sign is a sloppy gear lever- especially when any gear is engaged. Failing this its gearbox out and chack the selectors for wear.
Re the exhaust, may i suggest getting a piece of rag and with the engine runing, cover the end of the exhaust. If there is a leak the pressure built up will certainly find its way out!!




These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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Sun 11 May 2003 21:56
Help for rover 214 - Cheeky
Re your exhaust: I had exactly this problem some years back with the 16v version 214. After numerous difficulties starting the RAC bloke pointed his finger at the back box. He gave the box a shake, and it sounded like rust/decaying metal/bits of innerds sifting down through the box itself. This caused a blockage/poor running/excessive noise etc. and once replaced was fine. Interesting to note how much performance had gradually dipped without my noticing prior to repair - once sorted the amount of performance restored was astonishing.
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Mon 12 May 2003 22:59
Help for rover 214 - ShereKhan
I had a similar prob with my Rover 214 SEi. It went through two back boxes. But at £30 fitted a piece I never considered it to be a major pain. They always seem to fail at two years.

Usually you can tell when the back box is blown. The first one sounded initially like my heater was on full blast. I never noticed it due to the how noisy the 214 16V engine is. The passenger in my car said my engine was really loud. Then about ten miles up the M1 it just sounded terrible!

But on the last one failed in a weird way it looked as though I had a birds nest in my exhaust. When someone pointed out that there was threads sticking out of my exhaust tail pipe I thought the same! But took it to garage who fitted the box. They pointed out that the baffle had failed internally. When they fitted the new box, the car felt like it had been given a new lease of life. That is until the cat failed :(
306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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