Rover 200 & 400 Owners Club

Hi Everyone,

My friend and I have just bought a 1998 214i SE. It was a one owner car with 38k and has spent the last 17 years parked up in a garage.

After a false start, we managed to get it home. Immediate list of jobs are:

Cambelt & Aux Belt change (Inc water pump)
New tyres to replace 20 year old wheels with flat spots

Does anyone have any tips or don't dos for a DIY belt change? This will be our first time doing this on any car. We have bought the Haynes Manual as guidance, but lived experience is appreciated! Especially with regard to flushing and bleeding the cooling system when we change the pump.

Are there any other things you might recommend looking at as a priority on the car during the process of getting it ready for use?

Metal coolant pipe under inlet manifold rot from the outside and inside especially if coolant has not been change available new still I get mine plated .

Thanks! We will check the condition of it next weekend when we do the cambelt

I would also add a brake fluid change to your 'to do' list, along with removing the rear brake drums and checking the cylinders for leaks or seizure.

Also check that the front brake calipers slide freely and that their pistons are not sticking.

My first Rover was a 214i SE. Loved that car and it served me well despite the engine sounding like a bag of spanners. The 214i SE is very unusual for an R3 200 in that it had standard fit air conditioning.

As suggested, replace all fluids and filters. Do multiple flushes of the cooling system. After standing for so long with old coolant in the system, they're be plenty of crud built up, particularly the radiator and heater matrix. The cambelt is pretty straightforward to change. Cam locking tools are cheap and easy to obtain. Turn the engine over a few times by hand when the new belt is on to check the timing before running.

If the brakes are sticking, it'll be the pistons or slider pins sticking. New calipers are cheap if it's the pistons. New slider pins are cheap and easy to replace if they're corroded and beyond saving.