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[omegalord]

Hi,

No dampness in the car at all. The car took ages to warm up to temp just with the cap off , which makes me think with the cap on it is overpressurising or running hot. Cant be the HBV as that was replaced 2 days ago and is not leaking at all.

Matt

It will always take ages to warm up with the cap off that is normal for any car unless it is a pressurised system like a golf then it just spews the contents with the cap off.

If it is over pressurising  then it can only be the rad cap if it is overheating then the thermostat.

Really?

Would that cause all these problems.

Matt

[omegalord]

Still stinking of coolant. Pulled up at some lights earlier and smoke coming out of the bonnet the passenger side.  Pulled up about 2 mins later , jumped out and popped the bonnet quick and not a sign of nay spills, smoke or anything!!

Getting fed up now sick of this bloody omega.

Matt

[omegalord]

Anybody?

Matt

[Elite Pete]

Have you tightened the drain plug on the radiator enough?

[omegalord]

Yeah.

It isnt leaking coolant , but definitely saw some steam passenger side of bonnet

Matt

[justme]

Hi Matt,


      Right lets go back to basics, what was the start/symptoms of your original problems.
why did you change the hbv : you say it was us, did you put the pipes back on correctly.

You say smoke from under the bonnet was it, or was it steam.
when the engine warms up to temp with rad cap on, do you get any water from under the cap :question
if not then the cap should be ok.
what temp does the coolant get to now / got to before doing anything.

what have you got to be sick about
just accept the challenge and dont let the being thing beat you, if you work through it logically, the answer will be there. Plenty of peeps here who will try to help you, may not have had the exact same problem with thier meegas, but you will get ther.

[omegalord]

Right...

Had steam coming from the back of the plenum. Turned out to be rocker gaskets. Replaced the gaskets with genuine gaskets, sealant and o rings. Then i noticed the smell of coolant , and it kept flashing "coolant low" on the MID.

So... went on for a few days and noticed steam coming from behind plenum but this time not an oily smell , more of a hot water smell.

So asked on here and was told it might be HBV.

Changed that last week and it had a white stain on the back of the HBV so was probably leaking. Pipes definitely on right as asked marks dtm and no leak at all from there.  Did that and did a coolant flush until it was running clear water out of rad.

Put 5ltr of genuine red vauxhall coolant in and then topped up the following day to mak level.

Still smells of coolant, still flashes up "coolant low" , and thats after sitting for half hour with cap off to get rid of airlock.

Today just pulled off and after 3-4 mins of driving , smoke/steam coming from the passenger side of the bonnet , by the wing.

So pulled over after about 1-2 mins and jumped out and openend bonnet. Not a sign of steam/smoke water leaking or anything , but a strongish smell of coolant again.

Matt   :-/

[Entwood]

Right...

Had steam coming from the back of the plenum. Turned out to be rocker gaskets.

rocker gaskets can't make steam ... they make smoke from burning oil dripping onto exhausts

Still smells of coolant, still flashes up "coolant low" , and thats after sitting for half hour with cap off to get rid of airlock.

"Coolant low" warning can easily be checked .. visually by looking at the water level .. if it is NOT going down it is a false warning

Today just pulled off and after 3-4 mins of driving , smoke/steam coming from the passenger side of the bonnet , by the wing.

So pulled over after about 1-2 mins and jumped out and openend bonnet. Not a sign of steam/smoke water leaking or anything , but a strongish smell of coolant again.

Matt   :-/

I'm no expert here .. but ..... If you are losing coolant ... ie you have to keep topping up... you either have a bad joint or a leak ... could this be an oil cooler problem ?? I would lift the plenum and check the oil cooler thouroughly, afetr checking EVERY pipe in the coolant system. If you are NOT losing coolant it is something totaly different !!

[ffcgary1]

 check the top rad hose that goes to the engine ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE ENGINE BAY for any signs of leak. use a mirror to check the underneath of the hose as these can leak and you will not see it. failing that then get the system pressure checked.

[Entwood]

Just had a stupid thought .. and no insult meant here .. so please forgive me in advance ........  

As you "thought" (from your previous post) that the "smoke" from the rocker gaskets was steam, are you also thinking that hot/burning oil smell is coolant smell ??

If you are NOT losing coolant, you don't have coolant leak .. but you MIGHT have an oil leak you think is coolant smell.... if you get my drift.

I would have a long look for a snmall oil leak .....Did you change BOTH rocker gaskets ?? have you checked to ensure they were not overtorqued ?? are they seated properly ??

[omegalord]

What i cant understand is... if im parked up with teh bonnet open and the engine running it will sit there all day and not show any signs of steam but will still smell of coolant. It only has steam/smoke coming from the engine bay if im driving and doesnt do it all the time.

Matt

[Elite Pete]

The only things that have been messed about with are the HBV which is at the back of the engine or the radiator drain tap and thats where my money is going

[Entwood]

If your breathers are blocked the crankcase pressure at tickover may not be sufficient to force oil out from a rocker gasket, but when under load . ie driving, especially open throttle, the presure might rise enough to do this ..  

I'm only guessing but I'm not convinced you have a coolant leak if you are not topping the system up with water every time !

[justme]

Ok So why would rocker gasket have anything to do with coolant :question oil yes coolant no.

So you thought that the hbv needed changing :question, but that has not sorted the problem.

You have not yet isolated the problem, by doing any of the above so back to the drawing board

Just noticed an answer to a new thread by  loo knee, about the pipe from the top of the hbv going through the bulk head apprantly there is a joint there that can give problems. Which would also account for the stench in the car, worth a check. Dont forget with the temp of the coolant you would not neccessarily be looking for a huge leak more a slight weep.

given that you have observed steam from under the bonnet then start there. check every pipe carefully for any cracking, check all clips are in place and tight, doing this with the engine cold to start with.

Having satisfied yourself that all seems ok, get the coolent to normal temp. now repeat the process of checking, dont be afraid of moving the pipes around, there may be a split there that you cannot see or feel. i'll gaurantee you one thing it is there somewhere, with patience you will find it and curse it, but you will never be caught by it again.  

In future dont jump in with both feet, you can normally check these things out without changing everything in site first. just ask and keep asking the answer will come

[omegalord]

I cleaned the breathers thoroughly and torqued the rocker gaskets up to 8 , which is right.

When i noticed the rocker gaskets were leaking oil there was smoke coming from the pasenger side manifold as hot oil was hitting the exhaust , and also steam from behgind the plenum as the HBV was gone too.

The rad tap is tight , i checked it and the HBV is definitely not leaking as i have had a feel round there with teh scuttle off and engine running.

Matt