Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 21:06:49

Title: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 21:06:49
my 3.0l v6 omega keeps over heating and theres mayo on the cap and on the neck is this the head gasket and is it now scrap?
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: Welung666 on 30 December 2010, 21:17:20
Is the coolant in the expansion bottle clean? How much mayo?
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 21:28:57
yeah water is clean quite alot of mayo it started off with a little bit on the cap now the cap iscovered in it
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: Kneepad on 30 December 2010, 21:35:08

Mayo on the cap and on the neck is not uncommon and is to be expected if you are using the car for short journeys.
Do you have any mayo in the oil? See dipstick.
Are you losing any coolant?
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: PhilRich on 30 December 2010, 21:38:31
Quote
yeah water is clean quite alot of mayo it started off with a little bit on the cap now the cap iscovered in it






Mayo on the cap can be nothing more than short runs or stop/start running! ;D If the Expansion tank has clean coolant in it & the tank itself shows no sign of sludge or gunked walls then the oil cooler can probably be ruled out  & if the dipstick is showing no signs of mayo/rust & the oil still resembles oil,  then I think the HG's are probably ok.  ;)




 ;D must learn to concentrate & not watch telly whilst typing! ;D :y
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 21:39:20
i cant see any on the dipstick it smokes alot and you can only drive it for 10 minutes before the temp goes into the red and the light comes on
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: Welung666 on 30 December 2010, 21:42:54
As there is no cross contamination between the oil and water then I'd bet the water pump has failed or there is a blockage in the radiator.

1st job - FREE! - flush the radiator in both directions with a hose, refill the system and test. If it still reheats then go on to the 2nd job.

2nd job - around the £30 mark - change the waterpump.
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: PhilRich on 30 December 2010, 21:45:23
As Julie Andrews once said, lets start at the very beginning! ;D
Is the coolant level in the bottle up to the cold fill (Kalt) level?
Is the oil level in the sump upto or very near the max level when cold?
Are there any signs of either water or oil leaks in the engine compartment?
Where is the car smoking from? (presumably the exhaust?)







tut! must not watch the telly while typing! :-[
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 21:47:22
ok thanks for the help will try it and see what happens
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: Kneepad on 30 December 2010, 21:55:24
Quote
i cant see any on the dipstick it smokes alot and you can only drive it for 10 minutes before the temp goes into the red and the light comes on

There is also the possibility that the thermostat is jammed closed, but follow mr welung's advice first.
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 22:01:58
the coolant is at the right level with no contamination i had the water cooler done a few months back the oil is on the max on the dipstick when cold and its blowing loads and loads of smoke from the exhaust plus ive just noticed theres oil in where my spark plugs are
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 22:03:32
just had a new thermostat on it last week at the garage
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: Kneepad on 30 December 2010, 22:04:06
Ah, now we're getting somewhere. Cam cover gaskets leaking oil onto plugs causing misfire.
Important that you do the gaskets and clean the breathers.
This is over and above the overheating problem.
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 22:09:32
it doesnt misfire tho sounds ok when its running
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: feeutfo on 30 December 2010, 22:10:27
Quote
my 3.0l v6 omega keeps over heating and theres mayo on the cap and on the neck is this the head gasket and is it now scrap?
Mayo is where exactly? On the oil filler or the water bottle filler? Presumably the oil filler which is common as said with short journeys. 
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 22:14:02
yeah on the oil filler and neck its quite gooey
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: feeutfo on 30 December 2010, 22:15:20
Quote
it doesnt misfire tho sounds ok when its running
Clean breathers and replace cam cover gaskets and o rings with genuine as the guide before it does misfire. Not too bad diy.

How does the over heating show itself, on the gauge obviously but any bubbles in the water bottle? Is the cap secure, is the bottle sealed, does the level rise?
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: Kneepad on 30 December 2010, 22:18:05
Quote
it doesnt misfire tho sounds ok when its running

It soon will if this is not remedied.

Also I suspect the smoke you are seeing is white which is more water vapour than smoke. This again is not uncommon especially with this cold weather.
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: feeutfo on 30 December 2010, 22:18:14
Quote
yeah on the oil filler and neck its quite gooey
Bah, nout to worry about, use Gm oil and take it for a blast.

It's purely the fact that the filler sits in colder air away from the engine that causes condensation to build up. Unless there is masses of it of course, but you say the dip stick looks normal so that's fine.
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 22:22:10
yeah on the gauge and i tried taking the cap off and the coolant just flies out the tank its got a newish cap on it about 6month old think the level stays the same cap is secure.
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: feeutfo on 30 December 2010, 22:30:23
Quote
yeah on the gauge and i tried taking the cap off and the coolant just flies out the tank its got a newish cap on it about 6month old think the level stays the same cap is secure.
It will over flow if hot, it's a pressurised system. What temp are you seeing?
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 22:35:20
its ok when left ticking over on drive.but when you drive it just goes into the red and the light comes on and it stays there.waterpump maybe?
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: feeutfo on 30 December 2010, 22:38:58
Quote
its ok when left ticking over on drive.but when you drive it just goes into the red and the light comes on and it stays there.waterpump maybe?
Possible for sure, we are narrowing it down to that I think? Have you any history to say when it was cast done? Sometimes the impeller blades brake off....? It is recommended to to the pump with the cam belt.
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 22:48:40
ill have to look through the history to see if its been done so the cam belt has to be done to i no the cam belt was done 30,000 ago the cars only done 70,000
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: feeutfo on 30 December 2010, 22:56:48
10 k left on cam belt and I'd be surprised if the water pump has been changed, I'd also be surprised if the water pump has failed in70k :-?

Has it had any rad weld or similar in it perhaps?
Title: Re: head gaskets?
Post by: benjy44 on 30 December 2010, 23:01:44
yes it had some rad weld in it when i first got it because it had a water leak