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16

Omega General Help / Smoke from dipstick

« on: 28 June 2010, 21:53:59 »

After thinking I had found a car from JB my wife has veto'd it on the irrational grounds that she wont drive an ex-police car............

So, back in the hunt for a cheap driver i've gone to see a 2.5 tonight. It looks and drives well enough but has the usual signs of leaking gaskets, the oil looks like it needs a damn good change but I see no sign of mayo build up.

The only problems I see are 1) after 5 mins warm up if you remove the dipstick or filler it tube it is smoking, I couldn't tell if it was steam or not. 2) it had a coolant warning up but the header tank looked clean enough. In my mind i'm thinking if the breathers are blocked it is pushing the oil back up the tube etc but i'm also mindful that is wishful thinking on my part and it could be a head gasket. What i'm after is an opinion on what people think it might be.

17

Omega General Help / Water leak just like to double check

« on: 29 November 2009, 15:58:27 »

Quick analysis, the last week i've started to lose about 1.5l of water every other day. Been over the engine bay a number of times and I can't see any obvious leak, having difficulty checking from underneath as it won't stop pi$$ing down long enough to dry off.

The only 2 things I have spotted is that the front of the sump (as looked down from above) is a bit wet but not 1.5l worth. And on driving last week I spotted what I initially thought was smoke coming from between the passenger side wing and bonnet, i'm now assuming this is water.

Obvious assumption is the HBV but as I say I cant see any water there, I did also wonder about water pump as I know it's never been changed and it was dampish below it. What i'm confused by is what might be causing the water vapour from the passenger side, is there anything on that side that I need to check?

Cheers
Baz

18

Omega General Help / Any recomendation for a standard exhaust supplier

« on: 21 June 2009, 13:00:19 »

Seeing that my rear pipe has rotted through I need a nice bog standard exhaust. A cat back system from exhaust centres seemed to average £280 vs £120ish from online so an easy choice there.

All i'm after now is a reputable dealer with a half reasonable product. The only 2 options I can see are buypartsby who i've seen mentioned here for other parts and www.onlineautomotive.co.uk who appear to be selling the same mfr system for cheaper.

Has anyone used either of these suppliers or have any opinion on the quality of exhaust?

Cheers
Baz

19

Omega General Help / Self levelling questions

« on: 10 March 2009, 16:19:51 »

So, next job on my Elite is the suspension, the rear end has felt soft for a while and while doing the brakes I noticed the o/s strut looked a bit oily.

There's a few things I cant decide/work out, in no particular order...

If I retain the self leveling can I use MV6 springs in place of Elite ones? (and will it ride OK as below?)
If I dump the self leveling and go all MV6 springs/shocks will it still ride OK on the Elite alloys (225/55/16s)?
Is there a cheaper option for self leveling shocks than VX?
Will it detriment my ride too much by putting on MV6 gear?
Have I missed out anything important or other possible options?

My temptation is to stay with the original setup but the cost of genuine VX gear is making me break out into a sweat!

Cheers
Baz

20

Omega General Help / Update to wheel noise/pads

« on: 07 March 2009, 11:47:06 »

Another thank you for advice received, calipers freed up, discs and pads changed and everything is nice and quiet again.

And just so you can say "I told you so"!

First set of pads were Mintex, even after cleaning and sanding the caliper bracket they would just about fit inside it but they wouldn't move at all. When you looked at them the top and bottom edges weren't straight, they were angled at about 5-10 degrees.

Refund and back to Vx for a set that slipped straight in

21

Omega General Help / Clunk from front wheels

« on: 03 March 2009, 16:44:20 »

So, I finally refit my coil pack, clean the breathers and it runs great again (thanks to the many posts and how-to's).

I pull out of the drive, get a jerk like stuck brakes and then notice a 'clunk' sound like something catching, definitely speed related.

When I parked it 4 weeks ago it was fine apart from the misfire. A couple of other points that now make me wonder if something else has gone, at the beginning of Jan my drivers side front wheel shredded around the inside rim, it was old and I just assumed a lot of wear. When I was in Protyre getting it tracked the guy doing the job had trouble with what he called the 'roll out', it took 3 x roll forward/backward to get it stable, he said at the time it usually indicates some kind of steering wear.

So with that info i'm wondering if the steering idler has gone (would it just fail while laid up?) Is there anything else I should look at while i'm down there with the wheels off? (i'd be checking it now if it wasn't pissing down and blowing a gale here )

Cheers
Baz

22

Omega General Help / Breather pipes/misfire

« on: 27 February 2009, 16:24:17 »

Finally got around to working on my long suffering miggy and i've picked up a couple of questions.

I took the scuttle off to get to the dis pack, decided it was still too far down so took the plenum off so I could do a breather clean as well.

This has left me 2 questions, first in the Y pipe on the plenum I have what looks like what I consider head gasket emulsion, a kind of golden yellow colour. Is this normal as the only pictures I have seen show black gunk?

Second, I have found a spare breather (I think) pipe that isn't connected to anything (teach me to take it to a mechanic!). I've looked at the various pictures in the how to forums but cant see anything similar to it. It appears to start dead centre at the rear of the engine and even with the plenum off i've tried to follow it down and haven't reached a clip. The loose end ran up and towards the passenger side behind the wiring although this could be a red herring left by whoever took it off. Diameter wise it's about the same as the Y pipe. Hoping someone has an idea what it might be.

Cheers
Baz

23

Omega General Help / Multitude of questions!

« on: 24 October 2008, 16:34:09 »

Hi guys, first time here

Just lately i've gone through hell on my 99 2.5 Elite, it seems like after 8 good years everything failed at once!

In the last few months i've had the egr system cleaned, new gaskets & new oil cooler (unfortunately the cam covers looked straight but it turns out they weren't and are still leaking a bit). The problem now though is i've developed a huge misfire, with limited cash I took a chance and got the plugs/leads changed on the basis they had been boiled in oil previously but to no avail.

Now that pay day has rolled round i've got a game plan to kill (myself) or cure (the car)! I'm planning to get the dis pack and HCV changed (in case it's leaking) and put on a pair of vectra covers. I believe the EGR valve has also blown but was planning to do that as a seperate job as it's an easy location (lets me see how much the main job will cost first)

I have a couple of questions though.

Do all Vectra B V6 covers fit Omegas? (i'm looking at 97 onto a 99 car)
Do I need Vectra gaskets or will Omega ones do?
And a curve ball question. My mechanic did a check for exhaust gases in the head gasket using a device he wedged in the top of the water filler. He said I definitely showed "some" gas in the water.
Should I worry about this? Are these devices accurate? (never seen one before) If so is there anything other than head gasket that could cause this symptom?

Thanks in advance
Baz

24

Car Parts, bits For Sale & Wanted / Wtd estate centre seat belt and split seat bracket

« on: 01 September 2010, 17:44:29 »

This is a bit doomed to failure I sense...

This weekend i'm off on hols and need an estate centre seat belt by friday.... I didn't realise they were so rare and more importantly didn't realise removal butchers the seat to a degree.

Additionally I need the hardware that joins the split seats and bolts to the floor, again by friday....

And now the kicker, I dont really want to spend that much on it  it was my plan to just replace the seats as a unit because they are all crap, unfortunately the MOT took longer than planned.

25

Cars for Sale & wanted / 2000 MFL 2.5 Elite for spares (as a whole)

« on: 26 June 2011, 12:39:43 »

OK after a few weeks in my Mondeo I realise I hate it but also I realise with current values and the number of things my old Elite needs

doing it's just not economical to repair.

I'll start by saying this is a spares car, you could repair it but realistically people are scrapping better, I just want my driveway

back so ideally I want it gone as a whole.

It's a 2000(V) 2.5 Elite in Z266 black (A pig to find colour match spares for), 105k miles, about a months Tax & MOT left, I was the 2nd

owner from new for the last 9 years. It used to be well maintained but the last year and a half it has had a bad time and I have let it

slide badly (money, time, health, etc).

The bad
Suspension is shot, I knew it was going soft but about 3 months back it deteriorated badly, it still drives but you need to be aware in

fast corners. Rear tyres are legal, fronts have scrubbed out (happened around the same time)
Pretty much every panel has a problem, doors and arches have rust, bonnet and front bumper took a hit in Asda's car park, rear bumper

took a hit in the same car park on a different day. Boot has a scratch and the spoiler has a slight mark where I reversed into a

protuding brick in a car park!
Cats passed the MOT but i'm sure they are shot, it has an intermittant water leak from pass rear bank, I suspect head gasket. Has a

manifold tick when cold, not had an oil change in over a year.
Boot carpet is shot due to a leaking oil container.
Hazards dont flash when the remote is used, Vaux said a diode had blown in the ECU.

Ok if you got this far you're wondering what has it got that's worth buying.
Bose CCRT700, phone and autochanger in full working order with codes.
Fully working rear blind.
Working photosensitive rear view mirror.
If you feel lucky trying to get it out, it has a 2 year old Autoglass fitted UV windscreen.
Oil cooler done approx 4yrs ago, Bosch dis pack fitted approx 3 years ago.
The interior is black velour, people may love leather but in my opinion this is head and shoulders above that. Drivers heater doesn't

work but the electrics do, not sure about the other heaters.
Display unit has all pixels.

I'm looking for 300 quid, that may sound expensive considering the problems but if you have a MFL CD/CDX you have have all the parts

here for transplant and at the end a bodyshell worth a few quid. If you bring 2 legal wheels you can also drive it home (carefully), you

can also drive it home if you dont but thats your choice!

26

General Car Chat / I hate you guys!!

« on: 17 June 2011, 23:51:02 »

I spent 3 months trying to find a suitable replacement for my aging elite, a couple of occasions I was outbid on the bay by breakers on here, on the forum I had one enquiry not replied to, another I was too slow, finally I HAD to buy something as the old girl was on the verge of collapse.

So last month I crack and pick up an ex-works 55 plate Mondeo. What happens next, the board is flooded with 3.0 and 3.2 migs within my price range!!!

I'm beginning to feel royally persecuted!

27

General Car Chat / Another one moving on

« on: 21 May 2011, 22:29:38 »

A few weeks back an opportunity presented itself and i'm sat here now the proud owner of a 120k mile '55 Mondeo 1.8LX estate.

For over a month I was considering the merits of doing the work needed on my MFL or buying another and having limitless spare parts. Then I added up that it needed/was about to need wishbones, 2 tyres, rocker cover gaskets, rear shocks (and possibly springs) and it was coming due a cam kit (I wont include the rust to all 4 doors & the front/rear bumpers/bonnet needed due to the b******s in Asda's car park).

Unfortunately in turned into a no brainer when I was offered the Mondeo for 800 quid, no rust, averaging 37MPG & I can actually see and reach engine parts

It's a horrible car to drive compared to the mig but for now practicality has to take over, i'm going to leave the mig on the drive for a month or so and see if I get the urge to repair it over time. I'm not convinced it's a valid use of the cash though after seeing Fiend unable to move his in which is in a lot better shape (and 3.0l) 

28

General Car Chat / Is my Mig jinxed?

« on: 28 April 2011, 20:02:54 »

Last year I bought a FL estate, 2 shocks and a handbrake cable later it has a years MOT, 1 weeks holiday later it is a basket case due to massively overheating from an oil cooler leak (my recovery had a crap 25 mile limit so I drove it most of the way rather than pay 600 quid).

This week now the better weather is here I book the 3 days off and start stripping, most parts are 'just in case' spares but the Elite is getting soft at the front so i'm planning to reuse the 1 week old shocks. That was until the internal splines on the shaft sheered as I went to remove the top bolt.......

I'm just amazed that a part that has such huge torque applied to it can strip so easily, and yes I used the correct sized star bit and plus gassed it. I'm really thinking this car has some voodoo jinx on it and i'm tempted to just call the pikeys in to get rid.

29

General Car Chat / Insurance, just how do they calculate it?

« on: 19 February 2011, 12:51:53 »

My insurance is due up next month and Zurich have decided that I am an extra £300 risk over last year, same car for 10 years and 23 years NCD.........

So I take my £799 quote and start getting quotes from those annoying TV add people, best quote from a reputable company is £450. Not bad i'm thinking, out of curiosity I change from a 2.5 to a 3.0 to see what the premium is, £423 from the same company....

So wait i'm considered a safer risk in a more powerful car, just off to get quotes for some V8 muscle cars, should be able to get it down to £300   

30

General Car Chat / 3 days in a Zafira....

« on: 01 October 2010, 12:51:20 »

Just took our pool car up north for a trip, Zaf 1.6 Club, quite possibly the worst car I have ever driven.

Gutless, unstable, uncomfortable, borderline dangerous headlights, it should come with a warning "use for school runs only"  , in fact my old CF230 from 20yrs ago outshone it in all departments.

Damn glad to get back in the mig