Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: x25xe on 28 March 2007, 14:09:06
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Omega went for a MOT today. I expected it to fail on the exhaust which it did. :( Vauxhall want £500 just to do the exhaust!
It has also failed on a trackrod and on the steering idler.
In total, the bill for that lot will be around £900 at the dealer.
I will post up the failure sheet later but for now, I think that the best course of action is:
1. Buy one of those Halfords socket sets that are on special offer
2. Join Autobahn stormers for the TC
3. Get the bits and do it myself.
How hard is the above to do? I will tackle most things but of most concern is the exhaust and dealing with sheared off bolts etc.
So, one word sums it up Bu**er!!
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If its exhaust from the cats back make sure you order new bolts with your exhaust.....about £215 on TC IIRC :y
I've seen the how to's you did in the maintenance section, I'm pretty sure the exhaust wont cause you any problems at all.
PS. My abs trade card took about a week to arrive, so get onto it straight away.
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Sorry to hear about the new hole in your pocket. :'(
If you shear off the bolts, drill the rest out and use new bolts and nuts. Before taking any thing off try soaking the bolt/nut in penetrating oil. There are plenty around on the market place. I tend to use Plus Gas but every one has their preferences.
I have even used Diesel before now to free off bolts on an aero rotary engine that had been in the North Sea for over 20 years!! :o :o
Might be worth your while to join AS to get the TC.
8-)
DaveL
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your plan is perfect.
Do it yourself with help from a new socket set, trade card and us on here :y
Oh and the hardest part will be do they or dont they shear :-/
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Best of luck, keep us informed.
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Not a big failure at all... do the bits and retest it :)
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track rod £30 ebay
steering idler £30 ebay
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£900?? ;D ;D ;D
Part will cost around £300 all in.
Exhaust bolts can be a complete :-Xer! >:(
If you don't feel happy doing it, an independant exhaust place should charge £30 or so.
Track rod and idler are easy, but tracking will need to be reset afterwards.
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Thanks for your responses and your confidence in my ability to fix it myself! All moral support is much appreciated!
I have had a peek at the exhaust tonight - at the cats the two flanges "simply" bolt together but look VERY corroded :(. However, I reckon that I can simply hacksaw these off and use new bolts as already suggested :). I generally use Plus Gas in these situations and I will give all bolts a few liberal soakings first. So, the exhaust, on the face of it, does not look too bad. I will do a how to when I change it. :)
However, here is the failure sheet. You already know about the exhaust.
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h207/x20xev/MOT%20Fail/MOT_VT30_sized.jpg)
What do they mean by "Nearside steering arm has relative movement at it's fixings"? Does this mean the bushes or that the arm itself is worn?
Track rod end ball joint - hopefully this will be a case of releasing the old joint and replacing with new - I just hope that the thing is not riveted to the bottom suspension arm like it was on my old Astra.
The other thing that worries me is the "Lambda reading outside specified limits" - I hope that this is simply caused by the exhaust not being sealed.
What do you knowledgeable people reckon?
Have a look at the prices written next to the failure items. £192 for a ball joint to be replaced, £144 for the steering arm and £500 for the exhaust!
For interest, I also attach the emissions failure sheet (which I hope you can read OK).
(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h207/x20xev/MOT%20Fail/emissions_sized.jpg)
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well regarding the track rod end, a complete replacement track rod is about £36 from vauxcentre - fleabay link here (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330053451277&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNASIF:UK:12) - the advantage with replacing the entire rod is that you can make the replacement the same length as the original. Still a good idea to get the tracking checked though ...
a scissor-type splitter which makes removal laughably easy is about £15-20.
... so that's about £140 saved already ...
the second fast idle test shows a lambda sensor reading of zero - I'd therefore think it's a fault with the lambda sensor or its' wiring ...
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Cheers for that sounds2k. If that fleabay seller is any good which it appears to be the case, then I will get the bit from there.
Looking at the emissions sheet in detail, the Lambda failed on both tests, the first one had a value of 1.12 whilst the second was 0.00.
So, another question. What is the Lambda reading? Is this a measurement as to how the sensor, or on the V6, sensors are switching and if so, how can the emissions tester possibly know this? Looks like I am going to be bu**ered on the emissions after the new exhaust goes on then. I will check the wiring to the sensors though.
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I've bought a track rod from them myself. And an EGR valve. And wishbones. They're a good seller :y
My understanding of the lambda sensor is that it measures the amount of oxygen (related to the amount of unburnt fuel as that goes into the cylinder with the air) in the exhaust gas and therefore allows the ECU to calculate how complete the burn is and accordingly adjust much fuel to inject?
I may be waayyyyy out though of course!!
I'd expect a leaking exhaust to affect the reading adversely but not to make it disappear completely!
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I paid for my new exhaust today - £256 TC including new bolts. Also order new clamps, as they don't come with it and will be required.
My steering idler also needs replaced, anyone know how much these are at Vx? Perhaps better to try fleabay?
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No idlers on VSC at the minute but will phone tomorrow. Anyone dealt with this seller, who has 10 idlers?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OMEGA-STEERING-ARM_W0QQitemZ170093935498QQcategoryZ10404QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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Idler is an easy job, this seller looks fine - price is right. Rest as said is easy enough, complete track rod, change exhaust. Then do air filter before going back. Try to give it a goodhiding on the way to get those emmisions down. All in about £300, one saturday morning and a new MoT. Then relish in the £600+ you will have saved!
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Thanks for all the replies.
Lambda does measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas. I am still not sure how the mot test equipment knows how the lambda sensor is switching though. I guess that it measures oxygen levels over a set period and works out the lambda switching from that? As there are 2 sensors on the V6 I would guess that they are both not switching in the second fast idle test.
I tend not to drive hard so the system could well do with a good blasting I guess. Air filter was changed about 5 months ago and during that time I have covered 3 thousand miles. Looking forward to saving the £600, but it will take me more than a Saturday morning to do it all!
I feel that some of my questions are of a technical nature and therefore this ought to be moved to the General help section. Could one of the admins do this for me please? I apologise for this thread becoming more technical. I started it just making general conversation - sorry :-[
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I am still not sure how the mot test equipment knows how the lambda sensor is switching though.
I think it deduces the Lambda value from the balance of gases in the exhaust to check that the sensors are doing their job. It's a bit odd that you've got a value of zero in one of the fast idle tests. Almost looks like the emissions tester gave up trying to calculate it.
If the Lambda sensors aren't switching you'd get a fault light from the ECU so my guess is that they're working but being disturbed by an air leak. The emissions are pretty clean on the natural idle test (below the speed at which the Lambda sensors are active) so I'd Hazard a guess that the cats are OK.
You can sometimes clean Lambda sensors by removing them from the exhaust and heating the tips in a blowtorch flame but giving it a good spanking would probably achieve the same.
A fill up with good quality petrol might help too. It didn't get upset by the recent contaminated fuel issue I suppose?
Kevin
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Hi Kevin,
I think that I managed to avoid the petrol issue - the last time I filled up in the Omega was the Brackley cam belt party. This thought did cross my mind though. I generally use Shell fuel and never go to Sainsbury's etc for petrol.
There has been no fault light showing which I partly why I could not understand why the zero reading.
So, it looks like it is the leaks that are upsetting it then and, hopefully, nothing else to worry about.
Thanks for your input :y
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It was on the way home from Brackley that mine expressed its' dislike for Morrisons' fuel. Edwardmickey got a bad load of fuel from Tesco in Brackley at the same time.
Kevin
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Oh dear,
Maybe I did not escape then. However, it was Shell fuel used - I thought that only supermarkets were affected.
I will get the new exhaust on and worry about the emissions side of things after that I reckon.