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[bomberdeluxe]

Hi all, 
I have an 03 V6 2.6 Omega which has only done about 70,000 miles.  Some time ago I had to have a new oil cooler fitted as the old one went badly wrong and totally contaminated the coolant system with gunge.  When fitting the new oil cooler the garage also did an engine/coolant system flush.
Since then, the water system has never been reliable as I have had to keep topping up the header tank.  But yesterday it totally boiled over with the temp gauge reaching 100c and steam coming from somewhere down the front right hand side(looking at the front of the car).  I filled the header tank up after it had cooled down and drove home okay.  Went out this morning and checked the level which was okay and after driving round different places got home and have just checked it again and no loss.  The cooling fan cuts in at about 90c and cuts out again at about 87c so that seems to be working okay.
The thermostat opens up at about 90c and drops down to about 95c so I'm surmising all is okay there.
If anyone has any ideas why I should be losing water and overheating I would appreciate your views.

[zirk]

Takes ages to flush the oily crap out after a Oil Cooler fail, and if not done properly lingers in the system.

Also takes a while for the coolant to get back to its original level.

Best case, check the Rad Drain plug (lower front NS), is, a, fully closed, b, nice and clean and not full of crud still.

Could also be a perished  hose or joint somewhere, if the Oil Cooler wasn't corrected within time.

[driver115]

Had similar problems with my 2.6 at about 70000 miles 7/8 years ago, and after it was repaired like yours henceforward only used the GM coolant .I have also replaced the heater breather valve twice since owning it ( now has circa 145000 on the clock ), and have learned to live with the periodic tendency for the temp guage to rise upto 90C (usually during the Summer months) before the fans kick in by putting on the heating( and opening the windows when necessary)which brings the temperature down to setlle circa 60C.

During the winter months there can be a tendency for the oil/water mayo to form under the engine oil filler cap, and I always check the coolant level at least once per week, and before and after long trips.

You will no doubt get helpful replies and fixes for this from the forum as others see and respond to the post, and the forum has an excellent maintenance guides section eg heater breather valve replacement, and info about the correct running temp of the coolant