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[Pmacca2000]

Ever since a mate of mine has owned Wilbury Bodyshop, MOT and Service Center in Hitchin I have taken my cars there for tyres etc, since having my Omega I have had a lot of help of Paul, Nick Chris and sloth to restore my CD to a proper condition, I adopted her from my Dad in 2008 after a lot of arguments regarding weather I can afford a car doing 28 mpg.

Sadly she'd been a victim of the low walls eather side of our drive and had primer coloured scrapes on both corners of her front bumper, removing what was left of the mud flaps I descoverd light rust on the lower front wings.

Restoring the Omega kind of crept up on me, I noticed the number plate light was mouldy and spent an afternoon stripping and cleaning it before reassembleing it, in her last few years our CD was used to ferry our dog about and after a good day hoovering her out and polishing the glass she was beginning to look half decent although there was plenty left todo.

Thanks to Paul's help I was able to get the bumper and wings stripped and repainted to a really high quality and with a perfect match.

Over the coming years the wheel arches were thoroughly washed clean of the 100,000 miles of road dirt as we're the inside of the wheels.
Months of washing and polishing left her looking far better than when I adopted her and I began to take her out on sunny summer days, the sound of a petrol V6 sounding more appealing than the diesel I used for work.

As time went on the omega began spending longer and longer in the garage to the point we're service parts were exceeding there service life.

The change of management at my local VX dealer and subsequent drop in customer care resulted in the car being recovered to Wilbury for major service and MOT as well as sorting the rear bumpers cracked and peeling lacquer.

Wilbury last saw the car at the end of last year when the fuel tank and rear suspension were dropped off the car to re seal the floor and deal with any rust issues.

Pleasingly these were few and light although the compleat underbody was reseated to protect against the dreaded Tim worm.

I have been making notes on my adventures with the car and how I got into  Vauxhall when I was at secondary school (yes it involved a girl) so maybe put them together at some point.

[Pmacca2000]

Despite the continued low grumble and very wet looking sump I'm pleased to say Wilbury have today taken my CD in for a major service, they will be busy over the coming three days with the drivers door latch, external temperature sensor and rear brakes as well as looking into the low grumbling noise when she's started, something I suspect a replacement water pump will cure.
As useual Paul, Nick and sloth were welcoming and for my interest they will email me pictures of the work in progress for this thread.

[Pmacca2000]

Sadly my CDs wows continued this week, Paul telling me the oil leak was in fact both cam cover gaskets and leaking oil cooler.
Unlike my local VX dealer Wilbury have received the genuine VX parts the following day and by Friday replaced the thermostat and gaskets as it would appear to be the source of the coolant leak.
The clean up from the oil leak has been extensive with one bank of cylinders flooded by oil to the extent the plugs were swimming and Paul couldn't believe it was still ruining.
For the time being I'm in a corsa while the rebuild continues, but it's clear she's in good hands

[Pmacca2000]

A little over a week after I dropped my omega at Wilbury I'm pleased she's back together and running without leaks.
With a couple of tweaks to the pretensioners and the main oil leaks sorted I was hoping to pick her up this coming Friday.
As with cars of this age the work is never finished and I think we on here can all relate to that, a rattling exhaust mid section sounding like a slot machine means I may not get her back yet.

[VXL V6]

With a couple of tweaks to the pretensioners

I'm intrigued, what 'pretensioners' are you talking about? The only ones i'm aware of are fitted to the seatbelts.

[Doctor Gollum]

£1350 clearly buys alot of fluff

[Pmacca2000]

There not happy with the auxiliary belt tensioner

[Doctor Gollum]

There not happy with the auxiliary belt tensioner

New pulley is less than a tenner... new tensioner is a waste of £80

[Pmacca2000]

I'm useing genuine VX parts and service practices as she's always had, the good news is Wilbury are looking after my CD for sensible money

[Doctor Gollum]

We clearly have different perspectives on the phrases "looking after" and "sensible money"...

[Pmacca2000]

mantinance can be done properly or cheaply, if done cheaply it can cost far more long term.
As with any mechanical thing, the higher standard achieved in mantining the car (in most cases) the more reliable it will be.
In my CDs case it's had little use since 2008 as it's been lightly restored and was a second car for the past 8 years.
It's  of an age were mechanical and electrical parts are coming to the end of there fatigue life so yes it's more costly to service than a brand new insignia and it can become frustrating when she goes in for a service and extra work is needed but if I look after her, she will look after me!

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

On the other hand, proper care and maintenance needn't cost an arm and a leg if time and intelligence is put into researching the subject properly. 

[minifreek]

If any of my cars need over £1k spent on it just to keep it alive, it'd be baked bean cans quickly....

[2boxerdogs]

On the other hand, proper care and maintenance needn't cost an arm and a leg if time and intelligence is put into researching the subject properly. 

.     







I bought my 2.6 CDX in 2010 one owner with full history (2001 MY) with 50,000 miles apart from service items nothing had been replaced or repaired. I ran it for a further 5 years it was serviced as per schedule it only failed the MOT once on the exhaust system which was replaced at the supplying dealership with OE parts, the only other repair I had was the usual HBV ,I sold it to a member on here in 2015 .Was I just lucky or did regular & correct maintenance prevent some of the problems I read about on here occuring ?    If my memory serves me correctly it had covered almost 100,000 miles and never missed a beat.

[Pmacca2000]

Define reaserching the subject properly and inteligance?
Inteligance suggested I booked the omega in six months ahead of its service date because it sounded like the water pump was beginning to fail and the cam cover gaskets were weeping slightly.
on further investigation the team at Wilbury found a cracked oil cooler (not un common aparantly) and failing thermostat gasket.
Neather capable of inspection as they are berried in the heart of the V.
 

[Doctor Gollum]

Everything that goes wrong, and it's only a handful of things, happens between 80-120k miles.

With this car, I cannot help but think that instead of worrying about what a model that will never exist might be called, time and effort might have been better spent actively researching the common issues and how best to approach them... and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the next thing we here about is that it's up for sale because this fantastic garage wants £1,500 to change the wishbones

Don't get me wrong, I probably spent £2,500 on my plod one over the 175k/seven years I had it for, but after 275k, it had never needed an oil cooler... as for Vauxhall service schedules, 

Oil and filter every 10k, (5k if you're bored or do alot of short journeys), plugs, air and pollen filter every 20k, coolant every 2 years/40k and cambelt every 4 years regardless.

I would suggest that your car has been mechanically neglected and that you are now paying the price.

[Doctor Gollum]

Both of those items would have been evident from the coolant loss and oil in the header tank... which a quick search would have told you... (hbv would have quickly been ruled out as they either leak or don't according to heater settings).

And you can see the thermostat with nothing more than a torch and the bonnet open

[Pmacca2000]

I don't think the oil cooler has a predicted service life but is known as a weak point in the engine design.
I was a bit surprised the water pump was failing given the car has enjoyed a near 200 mile a year between services but I was able to sort it with Wilbury help

[Kevin Wood]

Oil coolers fail due to poor coolant maintenance, generally. You have several dissimilar metals in contact there - iron block, Ali cooler plate and a stainless steel cooler. The corrosion inhibitors in the coolant need to be in good order to prevent problems.

[Pmacca2000]

The coolant level and quality have all been maintained to VX specification although the leaking thermostat gasket won't have helped despite taking her in promptly.
The good news is that I will have her back about Friday/ Saturday

[2boxerdogs]

Changed the oil in mine every year approx 10,000 miles pa I think 20,000 is far too many,  coolant twice in the five years I had it, filters I did twice (air & pollen) easy job. Never used for short trips so no mayo problems , never had to top the oil up between services,always used fully synthetic. Timing belt was done when I purchased it and again not long before I sold it .

[Doctor Gollum]

Hopefully for the time it has taken the breathers have been cleaned out along with all the gunge from the failed cooler

Coolant loss is probably what killed the water pump as they don't take long to cook the bearings once the level drops...

[2boxerdogs]

If all the work has been done properly on the car in this post all that needs doing is regular services, which considering the amount spent on repairs will be cheap as chips . The only downside is you will probably get fed up with it like I did  & get yourself a V8 of some description. 😉

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

If you didn't have oil in your coolant, then you didn't have a split oil cooler.

[Doctor Gollum]

If you didn't have oil in your coolant, then you didn't have a split oil cooler.

You wouldn't be suggesting that the passenger side head gasket has failed would you? That would be outrageous

 

[Nick W]

We clearly have different perspectives on the phrases "looking after" and "sensible money"...

The OP does sound like a perfect customer.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

If you didn't have oil in your coolant, then you didn't have a split oil cooler.

You wouldn't be suggesting that the passenger side head gasket has failed would you? That would be outrageous

 

I'm suggesting that the garage may possibly have very big windows. 

[2boxerdogs]

If you didn't have oil in your coolant, then you didn't have a split oil cooler.

You wouldn't be suggesting that the passenger side head gasket has failed would you? That would be outrageous

 

I'm suggesting that the garage may possibly have very big windows. 

.   




It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the final bill , to see how many hours have been spent repairing the vehicle & what the labour charges are per hour.

[Pmacca2000]

In its 120,000 mile life it's had two sets of cam cover gaskets and regular servicing, even being recovered to Wilbury three and a half years ago after it had spent two years in the garage and the cam belt had exceeded its service life.
There was no research into buying the omega as I adopted it for sentimental reasons from my Dad and I have spent time, money and blood bringing her back to show room condition were until recently she enjoyed a 200 miles a year existence coming out on the few sunny summer days.

Now pressed into regular use there have been mechanical issues, the unuseual robling from cold and loss of coolant lead me th believe the water pump was failing so she's been at Wilbury for two weeks.
There had been little change in the oil level and it wasn't near minimum so I'm assuming failed about the time the water pump began to break up.

[Doctor Gollum]

Fair dos re the sentimental connection  It will alter the budget boundaries somewhat...

Main dealer service schedules leave a lot to be desired, assuming they actually carry out the work in the first place. Two sets of camcovers in 120k is alot, and suggests breather blockage issues

The research point is as much about identifying problems from the symptoms... was there any evidence of oil in the coolant for example?

[Pmacca2000]

No mate, just a grumble from the water pump bearing as it began to fail and sudden drop in coolant that was haistily topped up.
So while I was sharing my ideas for a VX super brand with the class there was no real hint of any issues, all I can say is that she's been taken from retirement and very reluctantly been put into regular service and maybe that's caused coolant losses through cracked gaskets etc?

[Doctor Gollum]

Then it's highly unlikely that the oil cooler had failed

[Pmacca2000]

After seeing the photos I'd guess that if any oil was in the coolant it was a minimal amount, one plug bank  was swimming according to the photos

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

A short time after an oil cooler splits there will be thick blobs of coffee coloured goo floating on top of the coolant in the header tank.
In my experience, its always pretty obvious and an absolute nightmare to clean it all from the cooling system.
Plug wells full of oil means blown cam cover gasket on that bank, due to poor maintenance of breather system, but I'm guessing you already know that.

[Pmacca2000]

When she went in for re-undersealing before Christmas a small weep was noticed from the cam cover, it was also thought that the engine rear main seal was leaking due to a small amount of oil on her bell housing, thinking back I'm wondering if that was the first sign of oil cooler trouble?
I can't say I saw any oil in the header tank but maybe I was lucky and it failed compleatly on the way to Wilbury, the oil level was at a constant level.

[Doctor Gollum]

The oil cooler leaks into the coolant, turning it into a revolting mochachino smoothie.

Oil on the rear sump bolts is either cam cover seals or rear crank seal. It might also have got there from a front or sump leak, but you'll note that none of these are the oil cooler

[Pmacca2000]

I'm pleased to report my CD is home, a massive thanks to the staff at Wilbury of Hitchin for sourcing parts no longer avalable through the VX parts or dealer network.
The major service was clearly complicated by the failing water pump, thermostat gasket and oil cooler but the professionalism of the staff at Wilbury has shown through as usual and the offer to take her back in the coming weeks for a check over is only appreciated and I will be useing them again.

[Pmacca2000]

After our trip back to Wilbury yesterday to check my CD over I'm pleased to report that there are no leaks from the engine and after a trip to my local dealer today my mate has commented on how much quieter and smoother she seems to be.
All in all, a massive thank you to Wilbury for the help and support with my pride and joy.

[STEMO]

Do these marvellous mechanics do a mobile service? They could call themselves...erm....let me think.....The Travelling Wilbury's.

[ronnyd]

Do these marvellous mechanics do a mobile service? They could call themselves...erm....let me think.....The Travelling Wilbury's.

Is Tom Petty the only one still above ground?

[Andy H]

Tom Petty, Jeff Lynnne and Bob are still going.......

[X30XE]

Tom Petty, Jeff Lynnne and Bob are still going.......

And as funny as stemo's joke was, unfortunately so is this cringenizzle thread   

[Pmacca2000]

You thought of that on your own right?
They are in Hitchin heartfordshire, 01462 422833 if your local?

[Lincs Robert]

You must love your CD. I suspect that you have spent more than its value in Garage bills recently.....

[Pmacca2000]

Depends on how you look at it, trade my CD is probably worth £200 at best, to me it's sentimentaly priceless so I feel justified in spending the money.
When our Omega took over from the vectra my Dad owned for about 3 years i couldn't understand why he never bought the elite.
After looking at the 2000 model year broacher I realised the picture of the CD all in black had massive appeal so when he came to trade her for his signum elite I persuaded him to let me restore her.
I've always liked the Omega from launch and now I'm enjoying positive comments as they become less common.