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1

Omega General Help / Switchover valve

« on: 26 January 2025, 13:00:50 »

I've recently found that the intake duct switchover valve on my 2.5 V6 is broken, the top pipe connection having snapped off. I have no idea how this happened or how long its been broken but the break doesn't look like a fresh one. This is not a part I've had experience of previously but after having looked on here and in Haynes I now have a rough idea what it does. My questions are: 1) is it easy to replace? - sounds simple enough in Haynes; and 2), what affect will/ should this break have on the performance of the vehicle?

My reason for question 2) is that I've noticed no difference in the running of the vehicle so I'm curious to learn what difference replacing the unit should make? If I'm understanding what I've read I would expect a faulty unit to lead to a loss of power and worse fuel consumption - is this correct and would it also have an affect on exhaust emissions? I had trouble getting through last years MOT due to exhaust emissions (high in CO2 if memory serves, but it finally passed after a lot of revving) and am wondering if this faulty unit may have played a part in that.

Thanks for in advance any replies given.

2

Omega General Help / Starting issue

« on: 07 July 2024, 11:03:23 »

Hi Folks,
I've been experiencing an inconsistent starting issue with my 1996 V6 recently and would be grateful for any advice given.

Sometimes it starts up with no problems but on other occasions when I turn the key I can get either nothing happening or at best a 'click', which I've assumed was coming from the starter solenoid. I thought this was most probably due to the starter playing up so I removed it and had it refurbished by a local company - new brushes and a new solenoid were fittted. I did test it off the car before giving it to them and it did turn over at the time, but pretty slowly, so as it was off the car and was the original unit I thought reconditioning wouldn't hurt.

When I got it back and refitted it the car started immediately and has been fine for two or three weeks since then. On Thursday, however, I had the same thing happen again - either nothing at all when the key was turned or at best a click. It did eventually start so I got home ok, and its been fine on the few occasions I've used it since then but it seems there is still a problem somewhere.

Any suggestions and advice would be much appreciated.

3

Omega General Help / Handbrake cable

« on: 19 February 2023, 10:23:04 »

Hi, Are both sides of the handbrake cable on the 2.5 V6 estate the same length? If one side is slightly longer which side of the car does it go on? Thanks.

4

Omega General Help / Rear brake back plate

« on: 02 October 2021, 18:23:04 »

Hi All,
I need to replace the OS rear brake back plate on my 1996 Omega estate and would be grateful for some info.

Firstly, does anyone know where I can get hold of a plate? The only one I've been able to find is this pattern part on eBay - right rear brake backing plate *NEW* for Vauxhall Omega anchor plate back cover | eBay, eBay item number:114637224698, from a seller in Germany, but I was wondering if these can be sourced in the UK? Has anyone used this German supplier?

Secondly, could anyone confirm that only one brake plate design was used for all Omega B models? The eBay ad implies that this plate fits all models but I seem to remember reading somewhere that there were two designs or maybe two different handbrake shoe arrangements that could be used depending on whether the car is an early or late model? My handbrake shoes are held in place with springs and twist pins so the plate pictured looks correct.

Lastly, what's the best way to fit these plates? I've heard that some people have cut the plates in half then welded them back together in situ to avoid the grief of having to remove the wheel hub, etc, but is this a good option or a botch? The corrosion hole on my plate is too bad to cover with something small like a washer but I've made up a temporary bit of plate to cover the area that is working for now.

Many thanks for any replies,
Graham

5

Omega General Help / Pas pipe advice needed

« on: 23 May 2019, 10:20:07 »

Hello everyone,
I have a leak from a badly rusted pas pipe of my 1996 V6 estate and would appreciate some information about the part. Its the lower of the two pipes visible in the gap in the front bumper wraparound. Its course is a bit difficult to trace but as far as I can see one end finishes at a jubilee clip more or less below the air filter box and the other end fits to the pas pump. I'd be grateful for answers to all or any of the questions below please.

1) have I traced the course of the pipe correctly and is it easy to remove?

2) does anyone have the part number for this pipe and can you tell me if it was common to all Omegas or just to the V6?

3) does anyone know where I can get one of these pipes either new or good secondhand?

4) if I get desperate could the pipe be repaired by cutting back to a good part of the steel pipe and adding a section of hose secured by jubilee clips, or will there be too much pressure in the system to get the clips to seal?

Thanks for all advice given. I was planning add some photos but can't find a way of doing so here without signing up to photobucket - is there a way to do this?.
Graham

6

Omega General Help / Brake bleed screws

« on: 08 July 2018, 19:08:00 »

Could someone tell me what the correct bleed screws are for the front Lucas calipers please - i.e., correct thread, length, pitch (if relevant), part number and where to get some if possible. Biggred seem to have loads but I'm not sure which ones are right.

The same info for the rears would also be appreciated.

7

Omega General Help / Fuel filters

« on: 07 July 2018, 13:20:36 »

Does anyone have any thoughts on petrol fuel filters - i.e., Mann, Crosland, Comline, Meyle, Bosch, etc. Is there much difference between them in quality and do they all come with new clips?  Thanks.

8

Omega General Help / Brake imbalance

« on: 24 June 2018, 12:17:15 »

Around this time last year I replaced the front brake discs and pads on my 1996 V6. Not long after that I failed an MOT with a front brake imbalance being one of the reasons for the failure - I wasn't surprised as I could feel a slight pull to the right when braking. The MOT tester said it looked like left side was working slightly slower than the right, which would explain the pull to the right if that side was braking first, and said it might be a caliper or brake hose issue. I wasn't aware of any imbalance before changing the discs and pads but can't guarantee there wasn't an issue developing. 

When I got home I checked everything, but couldn't find anything obviously wrong, so decided to work the caliper piston in and out a few times to see if that freed it if it was sticking a bit. I did that by putting in the worn pads back in so the piston would come out much further then pushing the piston back in with the bleed nipple open. At the same time I had a look under the boot over the piston and it was remarkably clean with no pitting or leaks from the seal. I also thought that rebleeding might help in case I'd missed an air bubble last time. I took the car back for a retest and it passed, but only just. I could still feel a slight pull but got the impression I might have achieved something with what I was doing.

I didn't do any more at the time as the imbalance only felt very slight and I hoped the system might bed in with use. Its now coming up to MOT time again and as I can still feel a slight use pull to the right I've had another look at the N/S front brake to see if any issue there has become more obvious. The disc still looks very good, the pads show even wear, the caliper piston still looks to be in very good clean condition and the sliders are still move freely.

As the imbalance showed up on the testers rolling road last year I'm discounting any suspension or tracking issue that might cause pulling to one side under breaking and I'm not convinced the brake hose is at fault as I would expect flow issues inside the hose to cause binding or slow brake release which is not happening. Everything keeps leading me back to the caliper being at fault and I'm wondering whether there is greater resistance on this side even though it appears to move out and push back in ok.

Many thanks if you've read through all this, I'd be grateful to hear whether others would agree that its most probably the caliper or whether there is something I've completely overlooked. I've thought about trying another caliper from a scrapper but its hard to guarantee it won't have been on the shelf for years and possibly seized and corroded.

Finally, does anyone know where I can get some bleed screws for the Lucas caliper - I'm not sure if they're a standard metric screw or if they are specific to that unit. Thank you.

9

Car Parts, bits For Sale & Wanted / Headlamps wanted

« on: 28 April 2018, 10:43:56 »

Hi, Does anyone have a set of the 1997-99 Hella projector style headlamps for sale (the ones that take the H1 and H7 bulbs) in good condition with clear lenses and adjusters that still turn freely?  Thank you.

10

Omega General Help / Headlamps

« on: 24 March 2018, 11:11:16 »

Hi Everyone,  I'm hoping to change the 'foggy' early ribbed style headlamps on my 1996 estate for a set of 1997-99 projectors as I've been advised on here they are a straight swap and better lamp too. Could someone confirm for me that this is just a case of removing the connections and bulb holders, removing the old unit, fitting the new unit, replacing one H1 bulb for an H7, then refitting the original connectors and bulb holders? Ie, no other parts, adjusters, etc are needed?

Also, I believe you can get misty headlamps professionally re-polished so they come up nice and clear and almost as good as new - has anyone on here tried this and does it work? There's someone locally who offers this service for £40 and I'm not sure whether to try this or put the money towards replacements - won't get through another MOT with the current headlamps.

11

Omega General Help / Headlamp woes

« on: 16 July 2017, 11:57:07 »

Hi All, Just failed the MOT of OS headlamp issues as its 'not giving the right pattern' (NS is also not good).  MOT man used this as an excuse to sell me an expensive Bosch bulb as he said poor bulb quality could be the cause (I only realised when I got home that he'd sold me an H7 bulb when both my dip and mains are H1 halogens so he'll be getting that back), but I suspect it could be more to do with lens being misty.  I did use a headlamp restoration kit on it and improved the lens quite a bit, but perhaps not enough.  My main question is are all the headlamps that take halogen bulbs the same and interchangeable - my one has the GM number 90457764 YX on it, but I can't find this listed anywhere.  I have found headlamps that look identical but have the number 90457572 YX so was wondering if I could use one of those if I need to replace?  A lot of the time the GM numbers seem to be production numbers rather than fixed part numbers but I've not been able to find anywhere that these units are identical.  Any help would be much appreciated! The other MOT failures were a brake imbalance and handbrake problem which I might post separately.

12

Omega General Help / Possible dis pack failure - various questions

« on: 16 April 2017, 15:53:05 »

I have various dis pack related questions and would much appreciate any help and advice people are able to give.

My 2.5 V6 has recently started to run really roughly, like its not firing on all cylinders.  This began not long after I found loads of rainwater sitting around all the plug leads after the car had been left on a slope. As this has happened before I thought it would be ok after drying and running but its still running badly so today I started to have a closer look at things.  I removed the easy to get to leads from the plugs on the drivers side and used an inline HT tester to check whether power was getting to the plugs - this showed the centre and rear plugs were receiving high tension spark potential, but the front one, no.1, wasn't. I took this front plug out and it was oily (or wet, though it seemed more oily), cleaned it, dried it, refitted it and tried again but the tester still wasn't flashing so no HT potential.  I took the plug out and tested it on another vehicle and it was working fine, so I refitted it to the V6, tried the tester again and still no power.  I haven't had a chance to look at the other side yet, but so far is it reasonable to conclude that the fault must lie with either the HT lead or Dis pack?

I've just looked at the Dis pack renewal guide in the maintenance section on here, which seems to show the same version of the pack as is fitted to my car so I assume the vehicle used for that is a 2.5 or 3.0 V6 http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=109316.0, and I can see that it will be an absolute joy to replace!  From what I can find out there seems to be three units inside the pack, each of which supply two cylinders - would I be right to think that if one of these units fails the supply to both cylinders will be affected, so if I find another cylinder not working on the passenger side the fault can only be with the dis pack and not the HT lead.  If correct, looking at the diagram on the maintenance guide would I be right to assume that the centre, no. 4, cylinder is the one most likely to be not sparking? 

I've removed the windscreen scuttle and had a nose down towards the dis pack but was horrified to find I could only see part of one of the four bolts that secure it (I assume all 4 bolt holes are used, not just the two on the bulkhead side which will be easiest to get at) - I can't even get my hand in and feel the others!    I was amazed that I could actually see and read a Bosch part number on one corner of the pack though some small consolation.  When I refit a replacement unit, assuming this one is knackered, will just a couple of bolts be adequate to secure it?  Also, I've seen people on here and another forum mention relocating their replacement dis pack, but is this possible without cutting into the wiring loom and will it require a set of longer HT leads?

Two final questions, for now at least. Firstly, my lovely Haynes manual and some of the posts on here indicate that the dis pack can be replaced after just removing the scuttle and wiper motor, but the maintenance guide say's to remove the scuttle and plenum - which is the easiest/ best method please.  As I've yet to remove a plenum I'm a bit dubious of touching that.  Secondly, its obviously not ideal, but how harmful is it to drive the car on 4 or 5 cylinders if I have to use it before I can get the job done - I'm thinking mainly about unburnt fuel getting to the cats, etc, but there may be other issues too.

May thanks for any help given.

13

Omega General Help / Eternalcar exhaust system - not good

« on: 16 June 2016, 21:50:11 »

Ordered a cat-back exhaust system from eternalcar on eBay after reading the recommendations on here, but despite the excellent delivery communications and fast delivery the packaging was awful and I can't say I'm pleased with the product inside.  No attempt had been made to tape around the long box and only a stingy amount of ordinary selotape had been used, so not surprisingly the box had split open.  There was some additional tape on it, saying 'packaging mended by GLS depot', but this repair had been equally feeble.  The Parcel Force delivery man said it was the worst packaging he had seen and it shouldn't have been sent or accepted for delivery in that condition.  As we could both see several dents in the backbox where the packaging was open he marked it as delivered damaged.






Opening the package it didn't get much better.  The backbox has at least six dents in it, most, but not all in the exposed upper side.  Not the end of the world if that was the only issue, but it wasn't.  The twin pipes are both bent at the ends (one looks ok in the photo, but its far from being round), and the welds around the pipes are poor - very thin and likely to corrode quickly (they're like this on the centre sections too).  Also, the tail pipe is a much smaller diameter than I'm used to on an Omega exhaust, only 1 3/4", not 2 1/8".










Did it get any better?  Not really.  The seam on one of the centre mufflers is awful, both pipes to the back box are bent and, worst of all, the mating face to one of the front sections is torn.  All parts are scratched to pieces as if they've been kicking around the warehouse for years.













What I'd like to know from those of you who have had Eternal systems before is do they always come like this or have I just been unlucky?  One or two of the issues mentioned wouldn't have been too bad considering the price, but overall the system seems pretty poor quality to me and doesn't give much confidence when it comes to ease of fitting and durability.  Should I send it back?

14

Omega General Help / Clamshell or cylindrical exhausts?

« on: 07 June 2016, 19:13:02 »

Does anyone have any opinions as to whether the clamshell or oval cylindrical middle exhaust sections are better on a V6 estate?  Neither my present or previous Omegas have had the clamshell pattern fitted, but I seem to remember reading someone say on here that the clamshell design isbetter and lasts longer.  I'm currently looking at cat-back systems on fleabay from Eternalcar for £66, premium-car for £90, and ETS for £94 - Eternal and ETS are cylindrical, premium-car is clamshell.  All brands are recommended on here.  Thanks for your thoughts.

15

Omega General Help / V6 exhaust/ downpipe flanges

« on: 15 July 2015, 21:19:44 »

I'm going to have to replace the exhaust on my 2.5 V6 but the downpipe flanges are totally knackered.  I don't want to have to replace the cats and can't see any advertised on here.  Does anyone know if a repair section, flexi section or replacement flanges are available for this - in the US they seem to sell bolt on split flanges which look ideal, but I can't find anyone in the UK that sells them.  Also, does anyone know the diameter of the pipe at the end of the downpipe where the flange sits?  Is my only option to replace downpipe and cats  ?  Thanks for any advice given.