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[egcc]

Hi all, recently my coolant needs replacing more than usual, saw no signs of water/antifreeze on the drive.. i got underneath for a better inspection and found a clean orange thickish in texture substance. my antifreeze is orange(longlife). the substance doesnt drip like water.. i noticed a orange ' ish area nearer the top n/s/r of the engine only visible from underneath.. sounds to me like a cylinder head gasket.. checked the oil no water contamination, filler coolant bottle is also clear.. the car performs as it should.. running temp normal. 2003 2.6  a liitle over 50,000 miles lol serviced every year.. thought the gasket would last longer than that lol... any ideas..?

Thanks Dave

[JamesV6CDX]

Hi Dave

It is VERY unlikely to be the head gasket, failure of the HG is extremely rare on the V6, especially low mileage examples such as yours.

It sounds to me like a compenent is leaking - coolant loss, especially towards the rear passenger side, is likely to be:

* HBV (heater bypass valve) leaking. This is located near the bulkhead on the drivers side, but it usually drips onto the bellhousing and falls on the passenger side of the engine. This is about £25 to replace and held in by three clips - easy job.

* Something in the V of the engine - either:
 - Thermostat housing leak
 - oil cooler plate leak
 - coolant bridge seals leaking
 - split in hose near the rear of engine.

Is the cooling system over pressurising at all? Do you have normal levels of heat in the cabin? Do hot and cold controls work correctly?

Be aware that when you have a leak towards the back left of the engine - especially if it's the HBV (Which can "spray") - this can result in water being sprayed on electrical components and damaging them - the DIS pack which provides spark to the plugs is very suseptible.

To check for leaks in the Valley, you'll need to remove the plenum and inlet - not at all difficult. There is a plenum removal guide in the maintenance section - then the inlet consists of 6 bolts, and then the bridge below has LOTS of bolts !

Make sure you stuff rags in the valve holes, so you don't potentially drop anything down there and cause damage.

Check out that little lot, and let us know how you get on.

[egcc]

Hi James and thanks for your quick response.. with the hot weather recently, i have been able to test the heater in the cabin.. all is well .. hot is hot, cool is cool and the air con is working fine... i've found the leak  falls and holds around the left of the autobox..There are no signs of water spray more of a stain a i'd say a very slow trickle. will need to inspect more.. i was thinking about taking it to vauxhall for their opinion ...  i'm sure i'll get a list of what can be wrong and leave it with us and get areal hefty bill...

cheers
Dave

[Martin_1962]

HBV is most likely.

Get the wipers and scuttle off and feel for moisture

[TheBoy]

if you say looking from underneath that it is running down n/s of block, I'd say stat or its transfer pipe....

[BrianH]

I am in process of finding leak with same symtons as you discribe.(In bits as I type) After stripdown I am sure its seal on Oil cooler plate coolent stains around complete plate before removal. Its a bit of a pig to get to but possible. Also Oil cooler feed and return pipes and one of the bolts on coolent bridge proved difficult but after a bit of cursing and swearing its all apart now.
Following previous threads on site I am going to change Thermostat which includes housing whilst apart
but it is quite expensive and along with all seals puts the overal price up quite a bit but much better than having to strip down again if it was leaking.
Got all parts bar one of the oil cooler seals need to go to another dealer tomorrow then start rebuild if I have any probs will post then.

Best of luck
Brian  

[Markie]

Note to all contemplating doing this sort of work, many of the parts are not on TC and i have found that an online etailer on ebay such as vauxhallpartswarehouse are cheaper. Will help to keep costs down.

Got my water pump, trasnfer pipe, thermostat and oil cooler off them all vx parts  

[Darth Loo-knee]

A job well done there Bri

[egcc]

Hi all,   water to oil seal/s leaking after further investigation by vauxhall ... they did do a compression test previous to this ..which passed. £725..  DAMN BEER MONEY LOL

Cheers
Dave

[BrianH]

So have they actually fixed it for £725 or just told you what they think it is.
Dont know what other members think but just quoting Water to Oil seal is not a clear diagnosis in my mind.   :-/ :-/ :-/

Brian

[egcc]

Hi, At this time for further investigation vauxhall have dismantled part of the engine ..and found the seals to be leaking.. the dismanlting to this point is £188, to have the repair carried out the final bill will be £725. unfortunately i am not a competant mechanic and would be reluctant to dismantle to the point i am at with vauxhall so atm i dont really have an option but leave it with them and have the work carried out.

Thanks
Dave

[Kevin Wood]

That's very expensive if it's the oil to water cooler cover that's leaking. I'd say that's about a 4 hour job!

Kevin