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[cyberfarmer]

June 9, 2015


Hi Guys,

I recently purchased a rear wrecked omega sedan to transplant all its mechanical including engine to my omega estate and while doing so I would like to ask if its possible to simplify the engine by removing the water system, egr system etc since I come from a tropical country and emissions are not strict? Suggestions are most welcome.

I was also about to install an external oil cooler but seems complicated due to the routing of the oil cooler lines. Just to ask, would this be significant to run the engine coolers and to avoid the dreaded oil cooler problem? What modifications would you recommend to make the engine run cooler?

Pix to follow.

Thanks in advance guys.

[deviator]

I believe you can bypass the coolant hoses that go to the throttle body. These are there to warm the air up on a cold day. You could fit an external oil cooler, but I suspect it would be quite expensive once you've piped it, fastened up an oil thermostat and radiator.

You can get a cooler running stat which can take 10 degrees C off your gauge and even radiator switches that cut in earlier, but I have never done the radiator switches.

[cyberfarmer]

Thanks Deviator,

Yeah, I reckon the external oil cooler would be more expensive and timely to do. I'll remove the heater components and plug the heater matrix and see what happens.

[Bojan]

Hi,

there is actually quite a lot that you can discard from the v6 engine bay, depending on what are you willing to give up from.

- EGR - you can blank off at the exhaust header and intake plenum, and remove all the piping. However, the EGR module must stay pluged on (or you can make an emulator) -> otherwise you will have an engine error
- SAI - this is definitely something to get rid of -> remove the pump, pipes and hoses, valve and it's belonging vacuum hose (blank off the connect fitting on brake-servo hose). Also, remove the metal SAI pipes that go into the exhaust headers and blank off the holes (or get a pair of 2.6/3.2 headers)
- Aircon - you have to decide if you can live without it - remove compresor, pipes, aircon radiator and two fans (in front of aircon rad), fit a short aux-belt (I think it's 6PK1900).
- cabin heating - if you are in a hot climate, you could live without this,too - remove the HBV, auxiliary water pump (electric), all the pipes that go from the engine to the heater -> basically, you short cirrcuit the water flow from the engine heads (from the coolant bridge at the rear of the V) to the coolant main pipe (just bellow that)

Don't bother with external oil cooler, it's too complicated.
I have done the following to keep the engine as cool as possible -> fit new unused coolant radiator and new coolant thermostat. Wash the radiator with de-greasing solution (like dimer) and mini-wash several times a year. Additionally, I don't have the aircon (so, no aircon rad and fans, which are an airflow obstruction). The result is that engine temp is almost always below the 95°C, even in mid-summer.


Also, while your engine is outside, it would be very wise to do the following:
- Remove exhaust headers, get them plained, fit new exhaust header gaskets (make sure you have 3-layer metal ones  - GM original or Victor Reinz, don't use Erling single layer) and new studs
- Fit new valve cover gaskets – this is much easier to do with engine out of the car – you need new gaskets, O-rings (again, use original GM, or Victor Reniz set) and a sealant
- clean the crankcase breather system (pipes, 'box' at the back of the engine and top 'ecotec' plastic part)

[cyberfarmer]

Hi Bojan,

Thank you for the information.

1. EGR - I'll block it off and also plug the manifold

2. SAI - Its definite that Ill remove them. Can you share the main components location?

3. Cabin Heating - Definitely its always sunny here! The reason to retain the aircon system

By the back end, Top circle can I remove this? Bottom circle where it is held by the large bolt, can I remove all the hoses and plug it, I believe that a sensor is held here. I would just like to have a simple radiator upper and lower hose to the engine.



By the radiator, can I plug off the radiator holes so I can remove the motor and the long hose?



Underneath the reservoir



I already bought an original oil cooler rather than installing an external oil cooler.

Thank you very much.

[cyberfarmer]

Hi to all,

Just a thought, can I relocate the coolant temp sender to the metal pipe (intake coolant) if I consider removing the coolant bridge manifold at the back end (replacing the banjo bolts with bolts only)?

Would this have problems with the temp reading?

This is in consideration of easier access to the sending unit on the future.

Thanks again.

[05omegav6]

That would remove the self bleeding ability of the Cooling system, resulting in airlocks and their consequences

Why break summat which works perfectly by design?

[cyberfarmer]

Thanks it was just a thought while removing the Auxillary water system.

[Viral_Jim]

Possible point to consider if you're removing the heating system:

The heater matrix will contain a volume of coolant, as will the pipes going to the throttle body (someone also mentioned bypassing those). So you are reducing the volume of coolant in your system whilst expecting it to do the same level of work. I don't know what percentage of the coolant capacity would be reduced by but this could give you overheating issues - especially as you live in a hot climate.

I could be wrong on this - someone more knowledgeable than I will be able to comment - maybe consider fitting a bigger header tank to compensate?

[cyberfarmer]

Hi Jimmy944,

Yes im still on that issue of coolant volume as this engine really gets hot. Ive done the bypass but on a diesel landy with no issues. Well lets see. Hoping to find info on this.
 
Cheers

[Bojan]

1. EGR - just make sure to leave the EGR valve connected
2. SAI - pump is withing front bumer, on the left side (horns are bolted on it), then there is a hose that goes to a valve and distributor (located at the back side of the cooland radiator, behind the fans) followed by metal pipes that ggo towards exhaust headers - this all takes a bit of space and can be removed without any problems - valve is bolted onto the radiator fan housing, it has a connector on it (which can be unpluged) and vacuum hose coming from brake servo tube (this hose can be removed to, but must blank of hole on servo tube)

Image 1 - top circle is a HBV valve - if removing cabin heater, this can go
            - bottom circle - coolant bridge - leave it as it is - the central pipe (one coming out from the coolant bridge goes towards the HBV) needs to be connected directly into a coolant metal pipe

Image 2 - I think that this pupm is here to 'improve' circulation within the radiator
Image 3 - auxiliary coolant pump

Also, I see that mayority of your cable protection tapes (black fabric tapes) are gone - while your engine bay is in pieces, it would be good to renew them. This tapes are usually possible to buy in electric/electronical supply stores.

Regarding the fact that the quantity of the coolant will be smaller when the heater matrix and connecting pipework is removed -> this will not be a problem, as there is no waterflow trough the heater matrix when outside temperatures are high (because the heating is off), so, that quantity of coolant is not participating in the flow.

[Kevin Wood]

Bear in mind that the heater circuit is what causes the cooing system to self-bleed, as said. It also acts as a bypass flow when the thermostat is shut, allowing the circulation of coolant to avoid hot spots.

About the only thing I'd recommend is to remove the HBV and connect the outlet from the coolant bridge directly to the heater matrix return on the coolant transfer pipe that runs to the bottom radiator hose. You've then eliminated the HBV and heater matrix, which are 2 items that can leak.

TBH, though, might as well leave it alone.

Ditto the EGR. No harm in it being installed, and removing it gives you no advantages. The valve still has to be plugged in so why have it dangling loose instead of bolted to the plenum?

SAI system IS worth ditching, IMHO. A well documented mod here.

[Bojan]

regarding the heater matrix removal -> see image on a link:
http://www.partsbase.org/opel/omega-b-1994-2003-6--7-13-1-hoses-and-pipes-contd-x25xe-l80-y26se-ly9-x30xe-l81-y32se-la3-engines/

You must repace hose '3' (or try to use it) and connect from a coolant bridge to a nozzle at the back of the pipe '14'.

[Kevin Wood]

regarding the heater matrix removal -> see image on a link:
http://www.partsbase.org/opel/omega-b-1994-2003-6--7-13-1-hoses-and-pipes-contd-x25xe-l80-y26se-ly9-x30xe-l81-y32se-la3-engines/

You must repace hose '3' (or try to use it) and connect from a coolant bridge to a nozzle at the back of the

pipe '14'

.

Yep, that's what I referred to as the coolant transfer pipe.

[cyberfarmer]

Hi Kevin and Bojan,

I just finished with the repairs and done the following:

1. EGR -
a. Blocked of the EGR and plugged it
b. Plugged the metal pipes on both sides
c. Removed all EGR components

2. SAI - removed everything

3. Auxillary Water/Heater -
a. Heater Matrix - I basically isolated by removing the HBV and the pump underneath the reservoir tank and plugged the heater matrix. There is a vacuum line should I plug it too?
b. Coolant Bridge - Connected the middle big pipe to the coolant transfer pipe at the back end of the engine while the small pipe went to the throttle body
c. Reservoir - Connected the bottom hose to the coolant transfer pipe and the upper hose to the throttle body while the other hose is from the radiator
d. Radiator - Kept the pump and hose to work

OBSERVATIONS - after running on idle (no coolant just water) with intermittent revs for 3 hours, my temp was maximum 90 degrees. Ill do a run tomorrow to further test it. Also, a puff of white smoke when revd hard but goes away.

3. Vacuum lines - Where can I get a diagram for the vacuum lines? I'm missing the vacuum line of the intake servo.

Thank you