Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: infinity1 on 04 February 2007, 21:46:44

Title: coolant loss????
Post by: infinity1 on 04 February 2007, 21:46:44
evening chaps,little bit of advice please...this afternoon while taking the family out,the displays chirps up a coolant low message..upon getting home it was indeed low,so i 50/50 and filled it up again,approx 1-pint(ish).now this is all ok ,just that approx 4 weeks ago ,coolant low message was on the display ,and again i filled it up, yep you guessed it approx a pint,so in about 4/5 weeks and roughly 650 750 miles it has used 2 pints of coolant,now, the acid question is this fairly normal(cough!) or should i be starting to worry about something?no gunk in the header tank,no gunge around the oild filler cap etc,and as far as im aware no leaking hoses etc.anyone got a rough idea of what it could be?
oh yes i havent done a coolant flush yet,could that be a prob?
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 04 February 2007, 21:51:19
Check the heater bypass valve at the back of the engine

reglar culprit..
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Markjay on 04 February 2007, 21:51:27
Check HBV at back of engine.

If no visible leak anywhere, you may have the usual oil-cooler problem...



Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Markjay on 04 February 2007, 21:52:12
JamesV6CDX you'r fast mate...  ;D
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: TheBoy on 04 February 2007, 22:02:45
as said, check hbv first...  ...then move on to coolant bridge....
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: infinity1 on 04 February 2007, 22:07:32
fingers crossed its the hbv....so my next question any guides to changing this please..?????
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Markjay on 05 February 2007, 00:07:30
I claim no credit for this picture, it has been widely used on this forum as well as on the other, the HBV is item C:

(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/8870/backofv6enginepv0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)



Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 05 February 2007, 03:01:38
Quote
JamesV6CDX you'r fast mate...  ;D

Story of my life  ;)
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: infinity1 on 05 February 2007, 12:00:59
Quote
I claim no credit for this picture, it has been widely used on this forum as well as on the other, the HBV is item C:

(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/8870/backofv6enginepv0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)



markjay your a gent,cheers,
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: bestseany on 05 February 2007, 12:16:46
I have to top my coolant up every two weeks or so, although I don't have any visible leaks either. I checked my HBV when I did the rocker gaskets and that was fine.

However, I have noticed some crystals on the front of the radiator even though it's never looks damp, so i suspect it may be a slow leak from that. Worth remembering to check that too.
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Jimbob on 05 February 2007, 12:29:51
Must be the season for it!

Im getting through abou 1 litre every 200 or so miles
HBV was damp, so I replaced it, easy, but fiddly, the trick is to find a good way to remove the bloody clips!

I needed to do a coolant flush, least this has done it for me!

Gawd knows where its going, cant find anywhere else damp
No oil in water or vice versa.

Maybe we need a coolant loss party!
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: bestseany on 05 February 2007, 12:35:59
Quote
Must be the season for it!

Im getting through abou 1 litre every 200 or so miles
HBV was damp, so I replaced it, easy, but fiddly, the trick is to find a good way to remove the bloody clips!

I needed to do a coolant flush, least this has done it for me!

Gawd knows where its going, cant find anywhere else damp
No oil in water or vice versa.

Maybe we need a coolant loss party!

What's your radiator like? I took the plastic cover off the top and looked down the middle between the radiator and the air con radiator - it doesn't look damp but there's white crystals building at the side of it.
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Jimbob on 05 February 2007, 12:44:30
Dunno tbh, will have a look when I get a chance, time isnt on my side at the moment unfortunately.
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Essex_Andy on 05 February 2007, 21:57:29
'usually' if you have an external leak of coolant you can smell it.....sickly sweet smell

I sincerely hope its not an oil cooler cover erroding like I had.
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: bestseany on 06 February 2007, 11:35:30
Quote
'usually' if you have an external leak of coolant you can smell it.....sickly sweet smell

I sincerely hope its not an oil cooler cover erroding like I had.

I had a leak of gas that had a very sickly sweet smell a few months back, but that was the air con gas.
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Arrolman on 28 February 2007, 18:24:36
Hi all,

I picked my 1997 2.5 CD Omega up on Fri but didn't use it over the weekend due too work, only been using it daily since Mon and im having to top up my coolant header every 100 miles, no visible signs of leaks. It may be the valve as stated in this post, but how do you access it? That engine looks like its showing you it on the back which isn't accesible from under the hood

Daft question?!?

Cheers,
Iain
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Elite Pete on 28 February 2007, 18:29:41
Quote
Hi all,

I picked my 1997 2.5 CD Omega up on Fri but didn't use it over the weekend due too work, only been using it daily since Mon and im having to top up my coolant header every 100 miles, no visible signs of leaks. It may be the valve as stated in this post, but how do you access it? That engine looks like its showing you it on the back which isn't accesible from under the hood

Daft question?!?

Cheers,
Iain
Hi Ian and welcome to the forum

Try this http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1152710108

This should give you a bit more room at the rear of the engine :y
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Arrolman on 28 February 2007, 18:49:51
Excellent,

Will give it a go when the rain goes off.

Cheers,
Iain
Title: Re: coolant loss????
Post by: Chopsdad on 28 February 2007, 22:26:42
Is it contagious? :(  Whenever I read of a new problem on here my Megga catches it  >:(

Just checked my coolant level and its about half an inch below min  >:(  No oil on top of water and both dipstick and filler cap are clear.  I'll check for leaks at the weekend.  :-/