Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: rhydV6 on 01 October 2006, 20:14:23
-
Bought the car on friday having sold my Astra GTE the week before.
Yesterday coolant started leaking out of the header tank cap (over pressurising?) once engine switched off.
Bubbling noise can be heard from top of engine too (engine turned off)
Runs at 90-95 C round town in 1st and 2nd, and about 85 C on the m'way over 170miles friday night.
Heaters work fine.
Here's some pics..
(http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3693/picture22sz8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/710/picture21da5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Cheers in advance for your input
-
That my friend is probably your oil cooler. Is there signs of water in your oil? or just oil in your water?
-
Check if signs of water on dipstick, but that is classic oil cooler failure symptoms :(
You really want to sort it asap, as continued use like that will cause further damage - eg blocked radiator, failure of coolant hoses (the oil softens them, causing them to fail), heater bypass valve. Sounds like the cap has already failed (they do, as again the oil kills the rubber seal)...
-
I am also hoping it's the oil cooler, no there is no water in the oil, there is no mayo on the oil filler cap or anything, just that buid up of froth in the header. Why would the cap be leaking?
-
Incidentally, not that bad a job if you're handy with spanners. Seems scary when described (cooler sits way down in V of engine), but even I managed it...
-
Why would the cap be leaking?
The oil softens it, causing it to break its seal as soon as it starts to pressurise...
-
Check if signs of water on dipstick, but that is classic oil cooler failure symptoms :(
You really want to sort it asap, as continued use like that will cause further damage - eg blocked radiator, failure of coolant hoses (the oil softens them, causing them to fail), heater bypass valve. Sounds like the cap has already failed (they do, as again the oil kills the rubber seal)...
Thats sound advice. I wouldn't drive another inch in that car until sorted
-
I'm very handy with spanners, however this is the first V6 I've touched, apart from a cambelt once on a mondeo st24
-
Thats sound advice. I wouldn't drive another inch in that car until sorted
I'm not planning too ;) Car hasnt moved since coolant started leaking out
-
I'm very handy with spanners, built my GTE etc from bare shell, engine rebuild etc, however this is the first V6 I've touched, apart from a cambelt once on a mondeo st24
You'll find it easy then. My tip (from Marks_DTM) is to undo oil cooler pipes from near oil filter, rather than bend out of way - they are a pig to get back on otherwise....
-
I'm very handy with spanners, built my GTE etc from bare shell, engine rebuild etc, however this is the first V6 I've touched, apart from a cambelt once on a mondeo st24
The Boy and myself have had recent experience of oil cooler failure, its a bit of a bugger to flush all the oil out but the job itself can be done with limited spanner experience ( I did it )so its not one to shy away from if your a handy spanner man. Firstly you need to confirm it is the oil cooler that has failed
-
So you all think cooler at fault then?
-
Oil cooler would be my opinion matey
-
The Boy and myself have had recent experience of oil cooler failure, its a bit of a bugger to flush all the oil out but the job itself can be done with limited spanner experience ( I did it )so its not one to shy away from if your a handy spanner man. Firstly you need to confirm it is the oil cooler that has failed
How?
-
How?
I guess you could compression test it to ascertain the condition of the head gaskets if you wanted.
But the oil cooler is the only other place where oil could physically get into the coolant, causing the mayo you see.
99% of the time this is oil cooler rather than HGs.
-
If there are no signs of water in the oil or on the dipstick it will be 99% oil cooler. I had exactly the same symptons, thinking it was head gasket but it wasn't. Check your oil and report back. Commonly wrongly diagnosed as HG
-
So any way apart from taking it all apart to ascertain if it is defo the oil cooler?
Apologies for my ignorance, I'm normally helping others out with queries on 8v and 16v engines lol
-
Its deffo oil cooler....nuff said.....its worth flushing the hoses etc when you do it to....if your not going to do it soon then flush the coolant system to stop the rubber absorbing the oil.
-
Ok thanks for all your help 8-)
-
Got to the oil cooler today..
I'm confused. Was expecting a little rad type thing.
All I have is a length of copper pipe roughly 12mm in diameter, connected to the oil pipes by two right angled connectors :o
This right??
-
It doesn't sound right to me.
Does it look anything like this, ebay link for omega oil cooler
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vauxhall-Oil-Cooler-Cavalier-Vectra-Omega-Sintra-Signum_W0QQitemZ190020255540QQihZ009QQcategoryZ10404QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
HTH
-
No it looks nothing like that lol, I know what one looks like but thats not what I have removed today..
Will try borrow a camera and take a picture for you
-
I bet somebody has been in there before and bodged a bypass pipe in....post a pic (or send to me and I will host/post it)
-
I bet somebody has been in there before and bodged a bypass pipe in....post a pic (or send to me and I will host/post it)
I was thinking exactly the same thing but being as I dont have a v6 thought maybe its a different design or something.
-
Here's the pics as promised..
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4876/dodgycooleram5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img426.imageshack.us/img426/8541/dodgycooler3gy1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Quite clearly not GM ;)
-
No huge surprise that it failed then....classic!
So, do we start a poll......Vaux dealer fit?
-
Cowboys.... >:(
-
So whats the outcome here - oil cooler yes? problem resolved? :)
-
WOW. HAha it looks like a real plumber went at that!
Kind of funny because i rigd my HBV like that. But thats what you have to do when people want $115 US for a plastic valve...
The not so funny part is I have sludge in tank :(
Oil cooler failure? Very rescent, Im quite sure. Since when i did my HBV a flushing of the coolant was clean.
Im optomistic that its just the oil cooler because I have no mayo in my filler or on the stick.
Also i notice that Im not loosing water at all.. but that im loosing oil. Does this further point to oil cooler? Any way I had no idea how serious oil in coolant was and have been driving it around.. Hope my hoses are ok.
Lacking confidence, im having a friend do the replacement for me.. but as funds are tight, might be ill find a money tree some where... Damn the luck.
-
Yes, yours sounds like oil cooler failure to.....oil coller kit is about 70 quid ($120) plus you need some coolant bridge seals and sealent.
-
I took a whif at the header tank and it smelled of fumes. :'(
any ideas?
-
I took a whif at the header tank and it smelled of fumes. :'(
any ideas?
Oh bugger, that does sound like head gasket then :(