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31

Omega General Help / Re: 2.2 TDI turbo whine? is now much louder than before

« on: 11 July 2018, 07:44:02 »

Many thanks for new responses and especially for letting me know you have one - I may need to buy it!

The whine started suddenly a few weeks ago.  I then realised I was getting a "thump from the nearside back" when I started the car so, when I had the air-conditioning refilled, I asked them to look at the exhaust mounts as I thought the silencer was hitting the body.

It transpired that whole exhaust system had been pushed back a little and the pipework was slightly bent, allowing the silencer to strike the floor.  The pipe needs to be removed and straightened.

A big light then went off in my head. 

I had recently driven quite slowly over a viscous sleeping policemen hump at a garden centre in Bristol and the car - exhaust - had grounded. This is undoubtedly why the exhaust was now bent ... and possibly it damaged the flexible coupling at the front of the exhaust.  ajsphead's comment that I should check the exhaust was ringing loudly in my ears.

I will update when I get the pipe straightened and the flexible coupling checked.

Turbos are quite noisy things particularly when on boost. Normally on the Omega you have a cat and 3 boxes to quieten them down. What you described is a bit like mine when I thought I'd hear what it sounded like with everything backward of the centre joint detached while I was doing some other work. Bearing in mind I have deleted the front box and had the lot rebuilt in 2 1/2" stainless to help flow. There's the typical diesel drone coupled to a high pitched loud screaming noise from the turbo.

Pop it all back together and the sound goes away.

32

Omega General Help / Re: Tyre recommendations

« on: 04 July 2018, 07:43:44 »

Wouldn't normally contribute to a tyre thread as we do all have our own choices but having had experience of accelera and landsail tyres on the Omega, I thought I'd chip in.

The acceleras were passable for something cheap to get through on MOT but chirped around every mini-roundabout and slow sharp turn particularly in the hot weather - got really annoying after a while
The Landsails were truly awful and the only tyres I have felt blessed by getting an irreparable puncture in. Wet weather grip was particularly dangerous.

Currently using Fuldas (owned by Goodyear) and have found them to be perfectly OK.

This is a useful link to see which companies own which brands http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/who-owns-what-tyre-
brands.htm

I still have an original tyre from 2003, not on the car as that would be dangerous. The OE fitment at the time was Firestone.

33

Omega General Help / Re: Omega wheel bolt covers

« on: 01 July 2018, 11:52:19 »

My 2000 X plate were light grey, probably silver to start with, 03 plate are dark grey. Other vauxhalls from the same year I've had were all black.

34

Omega General Help / Re: 2.2 TDI turbo whine? is now much louder than before

« on: 08 June 2018, 18:44:44 »

I tend to agree. If it's boosting fine then it probably is fine. If you really want to take all the oil pipes off, clean them, check the spindle for excess play and also check all the grommets in the bulkhead to see if one has dislodged then by all means do. Otherwise I'd live with it.

35

Omega General Help / Re: 2.2 TDI turbo whine? is now much louder than before

« on: 25 May 2018, 07:32:38 »

Do you have any holes in the exhaust pipe, particularly near the front end. The box under the driver's seat is often a good candidate ?

36

Omega General Help / Re: These here DTI pumps

« on: 12 March 2018, 07:28:14 »

Depends if there's pressure at the fuel rail.

37

Omega General Help / Re: Misfire

« on: 08 March 2018, 14:39:44 »

With a problem like this, just chucking bits at the car has no guarantee of success. Methodical section by section, system by system is the only way. I assume all the things in my last post have been checked and are all fine. If so, that's the end of my knowledge and I hand it over to others who know more.

If not, I'd be damned if I scrapped a car for the sake of a spread or corroded connector block or a cracked filter housing lid.

38

Omega General Help / Re: Misfire

« on: 05 March 2018, 20:25:04 »

These are not uncommon combined fault codes on DTi engines. I've done a bit of digging and come up with the following from collected wisdom.

"both of those codes refer indirectly to the pump speed the p1345 is the one that will stop the engine, p1220 will eventually but is more to do with the actual and desired injection quantity, and the pump speed, if you have swapped the pump from another vehicle and the fault is still there i would expect it to be a wireing [sic] fault my hunch would be one of the connectors onto the pump i think you would have to do a drag test on each of the connectors many holes to see if one or more has spread, bit of a bugger but the only way forward i think"

"Maybe, could also have been dirty connects on that electrical connector for the fuel pump!"

"The pump camshaft speed sensor is the small sensor thats attached to the pump control unit via a small ribbon, this sensor detects the pump speed by using a sensor wheel that is attached to the pumps main shaft, if this wheel becomes loose or broken then the pump may need to be replaced BUT the sensor could be faulty and sending a bad signal. Replaced sensor, unsoldered from my edc and replaced with one from a breakers pump edc" - needs a diesel injection specialist to sort out unless you're good with a soldering iron.

"Hi this whole state of affairs, points to lack of fuel, either the injector pump can not suck the fuel through or there is a restriction. You could try a few cheap options first, replace the small valve on the return pipe from the injection pump. The fuel inlet pipe is 17MM the outlet/return pipe is 19mm. keep your vectra above 10L, change the fuel filter top cap for cracks, (you get it separately from the whole unit), check the hose from the fuel filter to injection pumps for air leaks"

"Although most people seem to think that the fuel pump was on the way out and it might well have been, but where the crank sensor went in to the bottom of the engine, the contact where the sensor is was extremely dirty and clogged with oil/greasy black crap. So I think because of how dirty it was down there, the sensor was probably not working correctly and would cut the engine out"

"For anyone else with this code I think I have fixed the problem now. I was on the verge of getting replacement pump and paying to get it fitted but didn't in the end. I didn't want to spend the money on a fault where it might be something as its alot to spend. In the end I think there was a blockage in the sender unit. I read about there being a sort of plastic mesh on the bottom and that gets all blocked up so the fuel pump can't get the fuel quick enough.
Im yet to take mine out but I lifted the seat and disconnected the pipes and blew down them into the tank. One of them took alot of blowing before I could hear bubbles in the tank. So I had a bit of a blockage in the one pipe. 

Also the code description is a bit of a giveaway - P1220 injection timing control Insufficent/excessive flow detected"

Only one of these things is remotely expensive, but I still want to know what the mechanic who looked at it actually checked.

Without ruling some things in or out it's a bit difficult to know where to direct you.

39

Omega General Help / Re: Misfire

« on: 05 March 2018, 07:23:47 »

Yes, it does have a cam sensor. Haynes manual is for the Vectra C.
Failing sensors should give error codes. I assume when it plays up there's no flashing EML light, however brief?
How methodical were the garage that looked at it. Section by section, system by system is the only way you'll find a seemingly random problem.

40

Omega General Help / Re: Snow performance

« on: 02 March 2018, 08:26:41 »

Omega defeated this morning - by 3ft snow drift which I left a lovely reverse image in. Never mind, just backed it up the hill back home.

41

Omega General Help / Re: Misfire

« on: 01 March 2018, 20:52:08 »

It was with the garage for a week, they could not really find anything wrong with it they moved the crankshaft sensor cable as it was rubbing up against a block and a water hose. They were saying that they had a corsa in that had a misfire and they came to the conclusion that it was the way the cable was routed that it was picking up a false reading. They drove it around and could not get it to misfire at all. We collected it put some more diesel in it and as we drove away it played up for a couple of seconds then settled down. At home took out the sender unit in the fuel tank and cleaned out the filter which had some bits in it but it was not to bad.

Just have to try it now that the problem with intermittent faults. The garage have not charged us but we have said we will come to some arrangement if it is solved.

Always best to rule out the simple stuff first. Hope it's a permanent fix. Just a matter of using it to get the confidence back that it's now fine. Assume you also blew back down the pipes to the tank just to make sure they are clear too.

42

Omega General Help / Re: Snow performance

« on: 01 March 2018, 17:38:28 »

Overtook my first incompetent twit today. Long 1/2 mile hill, 10mph, just drove straight around them. That was in my old FWD diesel astra (78 bhp & skinny Winter tyres).

Looking forward to going to work tomorrow, if it wasn't for the need for extremely defensive driving to make allowances for all the other incompetent twits in over sized over tyred over powered over priced washing machines it would be great fun.

43

Omega General Help / Re: Snow performance

« on: 01 March 2018, 07:43:18 »

Fundamentally, I agree with James's advice...

However with front wheel drive, once you lose traction, you're totally opposed as you lose steering as well. The only crash I have had in snow was in a diesel auto Vectra C... It wouldn't slow down, at all, and when it came to it it wouldn't steer either... Reverse and handbrake didn't even stop it from sliding across a junction and into a telegraph pole even though I was doing less than 15mph when I lifted off well before the junction (T at the end of a very gentle downhill). 

Personally, I try to make a point of driving in as much snow as possible in order to keep my hand in. It's all about driving to the conditions and your ability.

You can't control the conditions, but you can do something with your ability...

Mum bought me a skid pan course within a month of passing my test, and I can honestly say that it was invaluable and something that should be part of the driving test... Car control isn't simply keeping it between the lines whilst following the idiot box

Totally agree. Omega has good Winter tyres on it - fresh snow no problem, bit loose at the back, no problem. Provoking a 16 1/2ft diesel powered pendulum teaches you throttle and steering control if you never learned it years ago. Then again, I sometimes provoke little tail slides just for fun - then chastise myself for being naughty and unkind to my rear wheel bearings.

Cars with auto boxes I would leave at home.

Good FWD cars are fine - my old classic Saab 900 was a doddle to drive in slippery conditions but was so cleverly designed it's not a surprise. modern FWD cars - totally different.

Would I encourage the wife to drive the Omega in the same conditions - no.

Would I encourage everyone to learn how to control a car properly - yes. It might just save your life as well as your bank balance.

44

Omega General Help / Re: Tyres

« on: 28 February 2018, 07:35:06 »

Or if you can, 1 set of nice summer tyres on refurbed wheels and 1 set of winter tyres on old slightly scabby ones.

Even though I live in the South of England,  where the house is makes it a very good idea to have plenty of grip up and down hills. Even with 2mm of snow, it's the ice from the frozen stream underneath that'll get you and the protruding rock is nicely placed to finish the car off.

45

Omega General Help / Re: Swirl Flaps anybody ?

« on: 27 February 2018, 17:04:23 »

It wont make any difference, diesel engines always run with an excess of air and the swirl flaps just operate to create more tumble in the cylinders (swirl) for better combustion at low revs and hence better low down torque. There is nothing to compensate as the air flow into the cylinders will be more or less the same. 

Above 1600-1800 rpm there is no difference.

Very lucky with the pump though!

My advice would also be to scrape as much as you can out the inlet ports.

And of course yes, its not a great way to prime the system as it will impact the pump.

I should add, had I got to that stage and found the swirl flaps in that state, I would probably have done similar 

OK

Think I was assuming the fuel pump is more sensitive to mixture ratio than it probably is.

Have to admit if it was me I'd have had a go with a gas gun and solder first, then a second hand good manifold, then some ingenuity if that failed, then given up, but I am a persistent sod.