Hiya Craig, and welcome to the Omega forum. As you'll see - I'm a newbie to this specific site myself, but I'm known to a couple of the people here from other places.
You're in the best place for the ownership of one of these cars.
I've recently been extremely busy, but I'm planning to hopefully have more of an involvement in this forum from now on.
Good choice in purchasing an Omega - I've owned 22 cars, but once I bought an Omega I never looked back, I've owned 4/5 Omega's since!
They are absolutely brilliant cars, they all seem to suffer from the same niggles, mostly really silly things such as ABS/TC lights, Heater Bypass valve leaks, cambelt failures and crankshaft sensor failures - but by no means anything sinister if they're maintaied properly (which this site will help anyone to do theirselves!)
Although it looks complicated initially - maintanance on most Omega's is pretty easy, as I've discovered by getting my hands dirty, especially changing the heads on my Elite.
I'm sure Ronald McBurger and many others will be along to preach to you soon, but if I get there first - the cambelt KIT on any Vauxhall Omega engine should be changed every 4 years or 40,000 miles, whichever comes first. By Kit - I mean tensioners and idlers as well, all sold as a package. All (especially early) tensioners are prone to failure, and can seize or fall apart, causing the belt to break or come off, and can do some serious engine damage, so it's an absolute must for preventative maintenance regardless of age. Water pump, as a rule of thumb, is recommended to be changed at every OTHER cambelt change, although personally I'd do it every time, given that it's not expensive, and is only an extra 3 bolts or so once the cambelt assembly is off. And of course, if you intend to keep the car for any time, now is a good time to change the Auxilliary belt.
Sometimes "cambelt parties" are held, where the group get together and change cambelts! I've been toying with the idea of organising one in the Gloucestershire area over the next couple of coming months, although nothing is set.
There are detailed how2's on all of this here.
Other than that, make sure your Antifreeze levels are up for the approaching winter (yep, it can't be that far away!).. .I believe a 50/50 mix of antifreeze/water is fine. If the coolant's been in there for some time, maybe worth a flush out and coolant change - not difficult, and worthwhile if you're going to the expense of new antifreeze.
Obviously if it's Due, or if you've no record of it, oil + oil filter change is a must. + then every 5000 miles after is my personal reccomendation. There has been lots of discussion about oil viscosities between the guys here, but generally you can't go far wrong with the 10/40 semi-synthetic stuff, especially the GMs own available from Vx dealers.
On three of the Omega's I've owned, the inner edge of the front tyres has been unevenly worn, I believe this is common, so check yours if needs be just to make sure the tracking is within limits.
If you ever do need alignment, it's best to get FOUR WHEEL ALIGNMENT done - NOT just front wheel tracking.
If you notice any "clonks" at the front when going over bumps, it's likely to be the "droplinks", which are only a few pounds to buy from ebay, and easy to change with just 2 bolts.
Any instability, or especially pulling whilst braking, is probably front wishbones, again, an eBay job, and good How2's for changing them.
There is no dipstick for checking the automatic transmission fluid (if yours is an auto), and I've never seen one seriously leak, but either way if you plan on keeping the car, it's worth checking the transmission fluid. It's pretty easy - just make sure the car is raised and totally level and you can unscrew the filler on the gearbox to check fluid level.
Although it's not designed to be changed (e.g. no drain plug) It is possible to change the automatic gearbox fluid if you're a perfectionist - it involves removing the gearbox sumps. Not a particularly hard job, but be prepared to get oil up your sleeve!!
If you notice sludge in the oil at any time, don't panic that it's a head gasket if you drive a V6 model - the headgaskets (although not indestructable) are incredibly resiliant, and it's much more likely to be an oil cooler failure. Although a bit fiddly to change, it's by no means difficult or terminal!
I've heard people complain about the Omega's being thirsty on fuel, but the honest answer is that although not fantastic, they are not horrifically bad either. Below are some honest figures I have personally achieved:
2.0 16v Auto
Around town, not being too careful: 24 mpg
On a run, putting foot down: 31mpg
On a run, being careful: 35 mpg
On a 60mph motorway grandad run: 44mpg (yes, really - Gloucester to blackpool!)
2.5 v6 Auto
Around town, not being too careful: 22 mpg
On a run, putting foot down: 28 mpg
On a run, being careful: 32 mpg
On a 60mph motorway grandad run: 39 mpg
3.0 v6 Auto
Around town, not being too careful: 22 mpg
On a run, putting foot down: 26 mpg
On a run, being careful: 30 mpg
On a 60mph motorway grandad run: 34 mpg
I can't comment on a TD I'm afraid as I've never owned one, although from memory I recall mr McB obtaining 38mpg on a run.
Don't take my word as gospel, I'm starting to have a fair bit of experience in Omega ownership, and I'm a fairly confident home DIY mechanic now, but I'm *NOT* an expert.
There ARE experts on here, Laidback66 and Mark's DTM Calib in particular are the one's who spring to mind.
MartinImber is also the onboard LPG man! (I need a chat with you Martin..)
Anyway, enough of me rambling on, I hope this has given you some useful reading. Hope that we see more of you , and that you enjoy the world of Omega ownership!
Kind regards
James
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