Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Miggy24 on 03 October 2008, 17:18:11
-
Hi all well as i live right next to the sea the salt from the sea is the death of most cars down my road.As the winter will start coming soon i thought i work treat the sills on the old miggy to stop them rusting out so i brought a big tin of undersill thick black tar sort of paint.Iv done both sills and archs can anyone tell me if there is anyother places the omegas suffer from :y :y
-
doors (top and bottom), and tailgates (estates) mainly.
-
Yeah its odd really that the cars are pretty sound when it comes to rust, solid as anything and rarely see a rusty Omega of any age or hear of any needing welding...except the doors!!! Could Vauxhall just not be bothered with them??
-
Ok thanks for that guys.Yeah my miggy is in good nick really for a 13 year old car and the only bit of rust there is is on the o/s/r door but the cheapis one i have found that will deliver is £60 for the door and £20 for post as my locals scrap yards only get the salons in
-
Yeah its odd really that the cars are pretty sound when it comes to rust, solid as anything and rarely see a rusty Omega of any age or hear of any needing welding...except the doors!!! Could Vauxhall just not be bothered with them??
No I think it is all the damage they get when being used, especially the kicks they get off of me for closing against my legs!! ;D ;D ;D ;)
-
What colour Devon??
-
Well the colour doesnt really mate as i will paint it but if i can get the right colour the bonus.its nova black
-
I've just spent far too much on having rust scabs repainted on all my doors, the driver's being the worst with a scab a little bigger than a 10p piece in the middle of the area under the nudge strip. Strangley, the tops of my doors are OK, but I've small scab starting under where the boot lid closes at the top just behind the rear screen on a seam, and one of the rear arches by the black tape. Black Smoothrite I think!
-
an area that retired my old miggy was rusty front jacking point crossmember. you cant see it rusting from inside outwards. it taught me a lesson to waxoil all the little bits you cant see, so if there is a hole squirt it.
-
an area i noticed was underneith.... the two bars running parallel to the jacking points, near where the bottom arm goes on, theres that weld from front to back and looks like one of mine is getting near to wantin re-welding
-
I think the most vulnerable corrosion spot seems to be at the top of the doors underneath the rubber weather strip. I’ve had two doors repaired so far by a chap who usually restores old MG’s and Triumph Spitfires. This corrosion seems to be present on almost all Miggys of vintage age in exactly the same place. I believe this is filoform corrosion caused by defects in the process of pressing stretched steel panels. Corrosion results from a chemical reaction within the steel panel underneath the paint. This is something which badly tarnished the reputation of the Mercedes E class. Thankfully the Miggy seems much better then its predecessor the Senator in terms of corrosion durability. The Senator had a terrible (and terminal) corrosion problem on the back wheel arches hence they are now sadly pretty much extinct. There is now of course no shortage of tatty Omega’s knocking about (certainly in London) eking out their final days on the mini cab circuit, many of them late facelift cars. I seem to remember Vauxhall making a big song and dance about vulnerable parts being zinc galvanised on the facelift models. I would be very interested to know which parts this covered as they seems to suffer corrosion in exactly the same places as the earlier cars. Maybe they just galvanised the driver’s ashtray. Overall I think the Omega’s about average in terms of corrosion which is a little disappointing for a German made car but still better then many others.
-
i had rust on door tops nr weather strip only way to get shut is to strip door down cut out rust and weld in good metal which i :ydid and some filler good as new not come back and my car spends every weekend nr the sea in wales at my caravan
-
I think that a contributory factor to the door tops rusting is moisture trapped under the window scraper seal where it lies over the tops of the outer skin. Wherever water lies permanently on paint, it will find its way through, hence the importance of wax polishing the paintwork regularly. The wax doesn't just form a protective film over the paint, it also causes water to run off rather than cling.
The same problem afflicts Senators and Carltons where the front and rear windscreen rubber seal impinges on the outer panel skin.
I know nothing about rust on Omegas, but I've spent 15 years trying to stop it on Monzas, Senators and Carltons. Wherever two or more panels are joined by sealant, eg rear wheelarch, that is where rust will start. Where dirt and muck collects, in scuttles, tailgate shuts, bonnet shuts, etc, that is where rust will start. Where panels are joined by spotwelds with no sealant in between, that is where rust will start (eg rear chassis leg join). Stonechips and rubber seals trapping water over panels, that is where rust will start and spread under the paint.
The only answer is to flood the chassis sections, doors, sills etc with thin anti-rust wax which will seep in between the cracks and crevices. Waxoy is the most well known but I don't use it as it does not spray well. I prefer Dinitrol or trade waxes available from paint factors. It must be done in summer when the bodyshell is bone dry. It must be repeated in the most vulnerable areas every year preferably.
For the underside, it's rather uncoventional but we apply several coats of thin wax sprayed underneath and inside all the hollow sections, then when it has dried, two coats of black underseal.
It's a messy business which takes time to do properly and means stripping out door panels and so on to gain access. That's why many people don't bother. Accident repaired cars often have their new panels rotting out faster than the originals -nobody can be bothered to wax protect the inside and all new panels got from Opel (to end of '94 at least) was a thin coat of primer when new. Also, a sill full of wax, if it does start to rot, is a sure fire way to set fire to the car when the welding torch is applied.
I really hope I'll find that that Omegas are bucking the Opel/Vauxhall rust reputation of years past. Certainly my '98 Elite estate looks fairly solid, apart from the doors....
-
allways treat the parts you dont see. my old 14year old car had 13years of myself and my fathers polishing but the crossmembers killed it from the inside out just like cancer. and it isn't just wet weather and salty roads that rust our cars its temperature change causing condensation to rise up to the door top window seals and into those ANNOYING STEELS STRIPS BEHIND THE PLASTIC DOOR TRIMS :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
-
Same problem here, driver's door top under rubber but other 3 are fine. A couple of spots on rear of door corners, so in the main not bad for a 96 model :).
The reason i went for my Mega is because my 24V Senator's rear arches simply fell to bits although the rest of the car was almost perfect, shame really as the engine was so quiet that when i went to see the car i asked the owner if i could here it running to which he replied "it is" :o.
-
..... because my 24V Senator's ....
So ...... that's quite a few of us who have made a step back by buying an Omega! ::) :y
-
Do Omegas rust out in the engine bay, and in particular the tops of the front chassis legs?
This is dreadful problem on Carltons and Senator Bs, and because the 6-cyl engines take up so much space it is very, very difficult to repair properly. You just can't get to the chassis leg top panel. Look at any of these cars and I'll bet that it has gobs of weld somewhere in the area!
So, do Omegas suffer the same way? I hope not, but this is one reason why I have decided to remove the engine and gearbox from my '98 3.0 Elite estate when I do the blown head gasket/auto gearbox replace job. I can then weld any dodgy engine bay rust at the same time. If it is still solid (and I pray that it is) I can wax treat it easier.
-
Do Omegas rust out in the engine bay, and in particular the tops of the front chassis legs?
This is dreadful problem on Carltons and Senator Bs, and because the 6-cyl engines take up so much space it is very, very difficult to repair properly. You just can't get to the chassis leg top panel. Look at any of these cars and I'll bet that it has gobs of weld somewhere in the area!
So, do Omegas suffer the same way? I hope not, but this is one reason why I have decided to remove the engine and gearbox from my '98 3.0 Elite estate when I do the blown head gasket/auto gearbox replace job. I can then weld any dodgy engine bay rust at the same time. If it is still solid (and I pray that it is) I can wax treat it easier.
not seen any rotten engine bays on omegas yet matey :y
-
Do Omegas rust out in the engine bay, and in particular the tops of the front chassis legs?
This is dreadful problem on Carltons and Senator Bs, and because the 6-cyl engines take up so much space it is very, very difficult to repair properly. You just can't get to the chassis leg top panel. Look at any of these cars and I'll bet that it has gobs of weld somewhere in the area!
So, do Omegas suffer the same way? I hope not, but this is one reason why I have decided to remove the engine and gearbox from my '98 3.0 Elite estate when I do the blown head gasket/auto gearbox replace job. I can then weld any dodgy engine bay rust at the same time. If it is still solid (and I pray that it is) I can wax treat it easier.
not seen any rotten engine bays on omegas yet matey :y
That's relief then!
-
Mine was starting to rust under the rear arches & drivers side doors. I sanded it off, then chucked some kurust & hammerite on which seems to be doing the job... the silver hammerite seems to be a better colour match than any of the Halfords touch up sticks I've tried on my cars!
-
..... because my 24V Senator's ....
So ...... that's quite a few of us who have made a step back by buying an Omega! ::) :y
Fraid so Andy, unfortunately if you want the same sort of luxury and get up and go for your buck then there's not a lot of choice out there :'(.
I loved my Senny, was a real wolf in sheep's clothing but due to the expense of the repairs needed to the rear arches and the fact that no one really make a proper replacement panel i decided to bite the bullet and opt for an Omega, and having now replaced all the usual suspects under the bonnet am hoping for a few years of happy frugal motoring :-X :).