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[VR4Dave]

Hi all,

One month after buying my first omega for 6yrs I've bought another!!

I've got an '03 2.6 MV6 estate now as a fixer upper (wife will be happy, last fixer upper I bought was a bike and I sold it for parts!!). It's got oil in the water so I've taken the gamble that it is oil cooler faliure.
I bought the car for £500 with the view that If I can't fix it then I'll break it as it has nice wheels and tyres, sat nav etc. And many new parts.

Anyway, I've seen a link somewhere that has all the parts listed (and instructions) for performing an oil cooler change but i can't find it now

Also, as i'm not in a hurry to do this I think I'll change all the coolant hoses while I'm at it, is there any info on the replacements I'll need?

I would also like a procedure for flushing the coolant system and any recomended detergents for cleaning out the crap that is now lurking in all the hard to get places.

Cheers in advance
Dave.

[Kneepad]

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1221081908

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1211220529


http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1167917774

 

[VR4Dave]

Excellent, thanks.

One other thing, If the cooling system is really sticky with oil i read somewhere about running engine with with rad drain open and expansion cap off with freshwater running in via hosepipe. Would this circulate water round the whole system or just some of it?

[Entwood]

Excellent, thanks.

One other thing, If the cooling system is really sticky with oil i read somewhere about running engine with with rad drain open and expansion cap off with freshwater running in via hosepipe. Would this circulate water round the whole system or just some of it?

If the engine has not heated up, the thermostat is closed, and the fluid "inside" the thermostat loop .. ie the engine .. is trapped.  To clean/flush properly you must run the engine until it is warm and the thermostat opens.

You also need the heater set to max HOT

Doing what you suggest the engine will never warm up.

When I sorted a mates oil cooler we used a "low suds biological" soap powder. Mixed a strong solution outside the car, poured it in, ran the engine until well warm, left to stand overnight. run engine until slightly warm (thermostat JUST open). Switch off. Drain, flush lots - including several "run until warm" flushes.

repeat.

Took about a week of doing this everyday to get rid of all the oil to our satisfaction.

[aaronjb]

Forte have something specifically designed to remove emulsified oil from coolant passageways:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Forte-Car-Bio-Cooling-Coolant-System-Degreaser-400ml-/280563464899?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4152e2bac3#ht_2374wt_902

[feeutfo]

There have been posts re burst coolant pipes after oil cooler failure. But iirc instances where related to driving the car for some considerable time with the cooler fault and oil eating the rubber pipes. Depends, if not driven/recently failed, I would think the pipes would be ok if flushed thoroughly. But then there is the better safe than sorry approach 

[Elite Pete]

So it was you that outbid me then

[VR4Dave]

I prefer to think it was you who made me pay £7.80 more than my "limit"

Did you view the car?

[I_want_an_Omega]

Is this the one near Huntingdon that was on the bay?

Looks a nice car, parking sensors & a sunroof as options I see.

[Elite Pete]

I prefer to think it was you who made me pay £7.80 more than my "limit"

Did you view the car?

I didn't bother, I knew it was worth more in bits or repaired than the amount I bid

[Elite Pete]

Is this the one near Huntingdon that was on the bay?

Looks a nice car, parking sensors & a sunroof as options I see.

St Neots Rob

[VR4Dave]

Well i'm cracking on with changing the oil cooler (with thanks to the help from you lot!) new cooler is in and plenum back on etc, waiting for sealant to dry now.

I may have dropped a clanger as I'm struggling to reconnect one of the oil cooler pipes near the filter, I think I should have conected them both by hand before tightening them up on the cooler, doh.

Any way will try again on Friday and if necessary take the top bits off again.

One question i have for the experts; when i took the old cooler out I was expecting it to be coroded, but it's not. It is well covered with mayo though. The cooler had been fitted with the sealant rather than a gasket, does this mean it's been swapped before or did they use sealant in the factory on '03 models?
The engine did have a vauxhall rebuild a couple of years ago following a cambelt failure, would the oil cooler be changed when that was done?

Cheers
Dave.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Depends who did the re-build....if a Vx-Pro engine then yes, if some third party then very unlikely.

They tend to leak at the seams and rarely show any corrosion, plocking one end, submersing in a bucket of water and applying air to the other end will reveal the leak.

They used sealent in the factory from pretty much day one.

And yes, you should have located the lower ends of the pipes before tightening the tops, sometimes you can just wiggle them in though 

[VR4Dave]

thanks mark, I shall try wiggling until i get fed up with it and then do it properly.
weirdly I actually quite enjoyed removing and refitting plenum and other bits on the top.

Didn't enjoy cleaning header tank, removing old oil filter housing (changed to metal one now), cleaning sludge out of oil cooler housing, but I am looking forward to repeatedly flushing system and seeing how she runs!

Dave.

[VR4Dave]

Now then miggers, got the oil pipes back on ok and been flushing the coolant system most the afternoon (i've learned that is not a good idea to clean the header tank before flushing as it was a waste of time!!)

Couple of questions for the experts;

I seem to have a very slight misfire although I've done the pedal trick and have no codes, spanner light flashes repeatedly with no pauses.
Car was virtually empty of fuel so I could have picked up some crap, as I've put 10 litres in and fuel light is still flashing.

Is the steering heavier on an MV6 than a standard mig? I moved the car round on the drive (to a flushing location) and it seemed awful heavy compared to my CD. I can hear the noise of the pump when I turn the wheel, not dugga dugga,  more of a whirring.

Cheers in advance
Dave.