Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: tango on 11 February 2012, 16:34:23

Title: head gasket
Post by: tango on 11 February 2012, 16:34:23
hi everyone
anybody know of any garage in the birmingham area that can do head a gasket on a v6
it must be vat registered and not expensive
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: RobG on 11 February 2012, 16:56:47
hi everyone
anybody know of any garage in the birmingham area that can do head a gasket on a v6
it must be vat registered and not expensive
What symptons have led to that diagnosis
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: Lazydocker on 11 February 2012, 17:30:51
hi everyone
anybody know of any garage in the birmingham area that can do head a gasket on a v6
it must be vat registered and not expensive
What symptons have led to that diagnosis
Errm... I wonder if there's going to be a case of Deja Vu here ::)

Agreed... What/who has diagnosed the HG? Why must it be VAT registered (warranty)?
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: tango on 14 February 2012, 17:59:55
water in oil
steam from exhaust and misfire

the reason it has to be vat registered is i have an AA breakdown repair cover policy and they will cover upto £500 worth of repairs but the garage must be vat registered
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: albitz on 14 February 2012, 18:01:38
Water in oil, as in mayonaise under filler cap,or a sumpful of creamy mayo ? What year and engine size by the way ?
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: TheBoy on 14 February 2012, 18:07:56
HGF on V6 doesn't normally result in misfires, as the firerings normally remain in tact.  I'd get further diags done first.
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: tango on 14 February 2012, 18:18:17
i know that the filler cap normally gets mayo
but this is like next level it too much plus when i pull the dipstick out the oil looks sludgy
also if i fill the coolant system with water ill lose it in about 4 miles and it coming out of the exhaust as steam
also on the odd occasion when i have tried starting the engine it wont turn as if its seized then after a few attemts itll turn slowly and then fire up
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: albitz on 14 February 2012, 18:34:08
Is it a 1998 3.o by any chance ? Iirc they sometimes have HG trouble,although iut tends to leak water out the rear of the head rather than blow it out the exhaust.
Oil looks sludgy - when was it last chnged ? sludgy as in creamy milky coloured ?
V6 engines do normally put a lot of steam out the exhaust,particularily in cold weather.
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: mantahatch on 14 February 2012, 18:35:49
i know that the filler cap normally gets mayo
but this is like next level it too much plus when i pull the dipstick out the oil looks sludgy
also if i fill the coolant system with water ill lose it in about 4 miles and it coming out of the exhaust as steam
also on the odd occasion when i have tried starting the engine it wont turn as if its seized then after a few attemts itll turn slowly and then fire up

That sound like a head gasket failure to me, or worse. Cracked head. I know it is rare but it can happen.
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: omega3000 on 14 February 2012, 18:53:41
Is it a 1998 3.o by any chance ? Iirc they sometimes have HG trouble,although iut tends to leak water out the rear of the head rather than blow it out the exhaust.
Oil looks sludgy - when was it last chnged ? sludgy as in creamy milky coloured ?

V6 engines do normally put a lot of steam out the exhaust,particularily in cold weather.




I noticed that since running mine  :y
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: tango on 14 February 2012, 19:23:36
its a 53 plate 2.6 elite
oil has been changed
but its like a creamy colour
from my own personall experience i would say definitly its the head or head gasket
i did a compression test and band 2 was less than half of all the othe banks
im just wondering if its worth repairing through the aa and maybe cover some of the cost myself but its not woth doing as its too much for me at the moment
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: feeutfo on 14 February 2012, 19:34:18
Might still be cheaper to get Daz to do it...?

Does sound fubar. Aren't the later HG's metal...? These rarely fail. Has it run out of coolant or something? :-\
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: Darth Loo-knee on 15 February 2012, 08:53:10
I will have a look at it for you mate then go from there :y
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: Dishevelled Den on 15 February 2012, 09:00:36
I will have a look at it for you mate then go from there :y

A splendid offer - well done lover. :-* :-*
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: albitz on 15 February 2012, 10:05:12
Sounds a bit similar to the story I had with the CDX estate.Everyone says that it is unheard of for head gasket to let go on the 2.6/3.2,so it will be interesting to see what transpires if Daz gets to have a look at it.  :-\
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: tunnie on 15 February 2012, 11:37:24
Sounds a bit similar to the story I had with the CDX estate.Everyone says that it is unheard of for head gasket to let go on the 2.6/3.2,so it will be interesting to see what transpires if Daz gets to have a look at it.  :-\

Guess a weak anti-freeze mix or water only would have killed it in recent weather, be interesting to know its coolant history
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: albitz on 15 February 2012, 12:05:28
Would have thought poor coolant history would kill the oil cooler first.It usually does. :-\
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: kcl on 15 February 2012, 12:59:25
Steaming exhaust in normal. For some reason is seems to steam even when weather is warm. in the winter it steams always, no matter how hot engine is.
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: tango on 15 February 2012, 19:53:46
the oil cooler was the initial problem but i changed that
gaz i have your number mate but im very short on funds at the moment
if you are passing near brum any time let me know if you dont mind you can have a quick look at it
Title: Re: head gasket
Post by: albitz on 15 February 2012, 21:34:17
How much flushing of the cooling system was carried out. If the car was ran for a while with a leaking cooler, you wont believe how much flushing is needed to get all the crap out of the cooling system.The engine will also run hot quite easily until the cooling system is cleaned out properly.
Dont condem it or let somone who doesnt know their way around the v6 near it imo.Try to get Daz to have a look asap.I have a car which was described almost exacly as you have described yours. Mechanic said HG failure, but it wasnt.
Daz will tell you himself, he has yet to see a HG failure on a 2.6 or 3.2 engine. I havent heard of anyone who has seen one,so if yours has gone it will be the first known confirmed failure. ;)