Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: V6Rich on 23 January 2009, 08:43:59

Title: Head gasket labour time
Post by: V6Rich on 23 January 2009, 08:43:59
My Omega 2.5 V6 Petrol has been diagnosed with head gasket trouble (combustion gases in the coolant).
I have yet to have a discussion with a suitable spannerman about fixing it, but in the meantime could anyone please give me an idea of how many hours labour involved in h/g replacement?   Many thanks.
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 23 January 2009, 09:00:28
8-10 if doing both banks....
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: jonathanh on 23 January 2009, 12:27:37
oh and where are you?

are you sure it is a HG failure: often confused with oil cooler failure
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: V6Rich on 23 January 2009, 13:34:17
Quote
8-10 if doing both banks....
Thank you; looks promising for getting it fixed then, as it is a decent old thing in other respects.  I feared it might have been an uneconomic repair.


I'm on the Herts/Cambs border.

Presumably an oil cooler problem will result in an oil/water mix; mine has combustion gases in the cooling system - would anything other than the head gasket cause such a problem?
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: Lazydocker on 23 January 2009, 13:43:57
Quote
Quote
8-10 if doing both banks....
Thank you; looks promising for getting it fixed then, as it is a decent old thing in other respects.  I feared it might have been an uneconomic repair.


I'm on the Herts/Cambs border.

Presumably an oil cooler problem will result in an oil/water mix; mine has combustion gases in the cooling system - would anything other than the head gasket cause such a problem?

Has this been confirmed by a sniffer test??

HG on the V6's are pretty sturdy normally :-/ :-/ :-? :-?
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: V6Rich on 23 January 2009, 14:15:27
My brother has the car at the moment and is the one who had it checked out; I'll be speaking to the mechanic tomorrow so will have more detail then.

When he checked the car earlier in the week, the engine was warming up and running fine, when the heater then lost warmth due to what appeared to be air in the system.  He carried out a combustion gas check which it failed.  Left to run, the temp gauge keeps rising.

I did have a top hose burst at high speed a short while back and it was probably a minute or two before I saw the temp gauge at max, so I fear this may have been a contributory factor.  The car still appears to run very well but the temp gauge that gets very high after a while, and the heater is erratic.
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: Lazydocker on 23 January 2009, 16:32:33
Not 100% definitely HG yet... Need to do a compression test :y :y :y
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: RolfeyV6 on 23 January 2009, 16:51:59
Cylinder Head & Gasket (Both)                     9.1hrs
Cylinder Head & Gasket (Both) AC               10.6hrs
Cylinder Head & Gasket (Both) Auto             9.3hrs
Cylinder Head & Gasket (Both) AC+Auto      10.8hrs

A Courtesy Of Autodata.
As Said Would Defo Get Compression Test Done Before I Took Anything Appart. :y
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: humbucker on 23 January 2009, 21:29:41
i just had my hg done, and im not too far from you. Can recommend place near me, excellent job, they are vx racing development specialist and recon experts, all vx trained chaps. Had a few bits done by them and they are well priced. Pm if you want the detaili
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: humbucker on 23 January 2009, 21:31:47
as mentioned above though, get a sniffer test and also check oil cooler not to blame.
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: humbucker on 24 January 2009, 09:56:32
dont forget the possibility of a new timing belt when the job is done if yours hasnt been changed for a while
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: lpgelite on 24 January 2009, 11:23:03
Too many symptoms present not to be HG, esp running hot, unexplained air locks in the system and previous hose burst (excess pressure?).

Is it losing much coolant?

False economy not to do both banks if you decide to strip down. This is not a job you want to do twice...  :o

Because the engine has been overheated, have both heads skimmed as it's almost certain to have warped one or both of them.
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: V6Rich on 24 January 2009, 15:07:13
Thank you all for the input.

A compression test is my intended next step, and if it is narrowed down to the h/g, the cam belt kit will get done too as it is due for replacement in a few thousand miles anyway.

ilovemyelite - I shall drop you a line.
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: humbucker on 24 January 2009, 15:20:58
replied to you with details richard, hope theyre of some use to you  :y
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: pscocoa on 24 January 2009, 16:14:20
Quote
Too many symptoms present not to be HG, esp running hot, unexplained air locks in the system and previous hose burst (excess pressure?).

Is it losing much coolant?

False economy not to do both banks if you decide to strip down. This is not a job you want to do twice...  :o

Because the engine has been overheated, have both heads skimmed as it's almost certain to have warped one or both of them.
 


I would reiterate remark re head skimming - had an issue under warranty like yours a few years ago and everyone was concerned at refitting without skimming - as it happened VX replaced the heads as opposed to skimming but it can be a big job on V6 I am told due to high quality of metals
Title: Re: Head gasket labour time
Post by: Kevin Wood on 24 January 2009, 20:31:21
I still wouldn't skim the heads unnecessarily though, TBH. Measure them and see if they are warped or have any damage around the fire ring areas. If they are OK just clean the faces and refit.

Kevin