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[jimbo125]

Just done my 2.5 complete seal kit was only £60 and £20 for the bolts, all Elring and good quality

[omega2018]

so its physically impossible for coolant if in the combustion cylinders to get into the oil?   and on a 105K engine?   I think a dipstick needs checking here .

On an Omega v6, yes. Speak to Mark.

Argumentative arse.

And 105k is nothing for a 3.2... 280k is perfectly achievable 

i may be an argumentative arse but you sir are a moron.  headgasket failure = leak in the gasket which lies between the combustion cylinder and the water cooling.  hence over heating, hence water sucked into and/or leaking into the combustion cylinder = water leaks past rings into crankcase and/or steam is blown past rings into crankcase where there is .....OIL.

this is such basic engine mechanics i can only conclude you must be a moron.  you do have previous....

at a mileage of 105k the rings will obvioulsy let more blow by of steam and leakage of water than a lower mileage.

[05omegav6]

I presume that your reference is suggested upon my having an IQ of between 50 and 70, and I further suggest that you credit me with having the lower number...

Unfortunately I have to further disappoint you. Your estimation is approximately 85 short...

[omega2018]

perhaps if you concentrated on the subject instead of calling people names when you get something simple wrong i would credit you with a higher iq.

why don't you now just admit that water in the oil is a common (and logically obvious) symptom of a leaking head gasket.  or do you just want to go on calling names?

[05omegav6]

Ok for the benefit of the thread, rather than being an objectionable knob (Migmog) just because I posted my thoughts

Symptoms thus far:

Some dubious compression readings. Mark and Kevins questions wrt WOT as yet unanswered...

Some persistent mayo in the filler cap. Again unanswered questions  wrt oil brand and journey length and presence of water on dipstick.

Steam from exhaust until fully warmed up. Not unusual given the inevitable moisture content in air and the fact that water is a by product of burning petroleum products... And again with no mention of journey length.

Crap fuel economy whilst otherwise running fine. It's a 3.2, probably an auto to boot. Be lucky to get much over 250-280 miles from a tank, especially as I suspect from the steam and mayo symptoms that the car doesn't do many decent length runs and is never warmed up... The poor economy is only exacerbated by ecu controlled fuel enrichment when cold.

Coolant loss. No mention of volume being lost, or over what time period... There are several items before headgasket in the list of things to check. Any water on the plugs if left over night? Any significant pressure on the top hose? Pressure test the system and rule out the usual suspects.

Ulap, answer the above points and consider the following...

Have the fans been tested as per the guide? If not why not and if so, any outstanding faults identified and fixed?

Coolant system pressure tested for leaks, assuming not obvious, and again any identified faults fixed?

Compression test redone following Mark and Kevins advice re unbolting the throttle body?

Oil changed for GM and the car taken for a decent run of say 50 miles.

If having done ALL of that lot, it still uses coolant and produces mayo, then I might conceded that you need to pull the heads off to investigate further. But as it stands, I think you are talking yourself into changing the head gaskets/heads for the sake of it, rather than because you actually need to.

[tidla]

What others have said.
Cambelt timing check using the tools, compression check with throttle body removed. go from there.

[Marks DTM Calib]

I should add that my statement was always that its not possible for oil to get into the water when the head gasket fails  (as backup to the usual garage miss diagnosis of head gasket failure when its oil cooler)

[terry paget]

May I timidly observe that HG failure on a GM V6 is very rare, to have 2 head gaskets fail at the same time is beyond belief. Also cylinders 1,2,3 and 4 being low on compression, with 5 and 6  being better, suggests valve trouble caused by timing belt problems.
Not that it matters, whether it be bent valves, HG failure or worse, it means cam belt off and heads off to diagnose and rectify, all of which may cost more than a replacement similar car. There is nothing to lose by removing cam belt cover and checking valve timing though.

[BazaJT]

I would suggest that before any major strip down is started that the compression test should be re-visited using one of the two methods to achieve WOT.Depending on results then further investigation can be undertaken as deemed necessary.Mayo on oil filler cap not a major concern at this stage as it's quite a common occurrence on V6s.

[Ulap31]

Ok have checked dipstick only oil on this. Will compression test the weekend with throttle bodies removed.
Can check timing again on Saturday but just have feeling that head gaskets could be at fault once again there's no blue smoke from exhaust no oil in any water.
Have to part strip it down any way
Water loss was down 1 inch from the mark after about 70 miles
Know everyone has said about pressure test, have had a good look at hoses, hbv etc and see no signs of water leaks anywhere including from matrix
I'm not sure off previous history but this engine and the bay is immaculate and would say it's been driven by a lady, lots of telltale marks around back door handle and on instrument panel

[tidla]

Some water leaks ( oil cooler plate for example) don't even reach the floor but boil off leaving only a trace of (pink stain if you have that colour coolant) around the affected area which can only be seen once you have the plenium and other bits stripped off.

[Ulap31]

One thought I'm having could water coolant or lack of it have caused problems.
Trying to think back to when I bought it and the water in expansion looked quite clear.
If someone had been running it without enough coolant in it could that cause overheating, or damage to gaskets, pipes etc, this is just a thought bearing in mind.

[omega2018]

I should add that my statement was always that its not possible for oil to get into the water when the head gasket fails  (as backup to the usual garage miss diagnosis of head gasket failure when its oil cooler)

I can believe that.  but harris is on about mayo (i.e. water in the oil not oil in the water) not being a symptom of hg failure  (or 'not being possible')

Water getting into the oil is not specific or otherwise to the omega - most cars have cylinders, pistons, piston rings and oil in the sump.  mayo doesn't mean the hg is blown it could just be condensation into the oil but it is one symptom of a hg failure

this isn't rocket science it is commonly known.  hg failures are rare on omega Vs so maybe members have never come across it but just use google, eg:

"What are the symptoms of a Blown Head Gasket?  As coolant is pulled into the combustion chamber it will cause your engine coolant level to drop.  This can cause a low coolant light and overheating if the cooling system on your vehicle is not continually topped off.  Also, once your engine is turned off the coolant still left in the engine cylinder will seep past your piston rings into your engine oil.  Coolant mixed with oil will make a white milky substance.  You may see this on your engine oil dip stick or on a ring around your oil cap."

http://gobdp.com/blog/what-are-the-symptoms-of-a-blown-head-gasket/ (or many other links just look for yourselves)

[omega2018]

One thought I'm having could water coolant or lack of it have caused problems.
Trying to think back to when I bought it and the water in expansion looked quite clear.
If someone had been running it without enough coolant in it could that cause overheating, or damage to gaskets, pipes etc, this is just a thought bearing in mind.

generally if an engine overheats badly it will blow headgaskets.  maybe not often on a v6 but it could blow both gaskets.  i once went to look at a v6 omega for sale and it had an unusual amount of steam coming out the exhaust even when warmed up compared to my mig which i turned up in.  and a lot of mayo in the cap.  i though it had a head gasket weep at best and walked away.

while you're re-doing compression tests there are other tests you can do at the same time eg pour small amount of oil say 25 ml in the cylinder and repeat test (a 'wet' test).  if the compression improves it is likely the rings that are worn.  if it doesn't it is the valves or hg. don't do it a lot not good for the cats.

also low readings on 2 adjacent cylinders is one symptom of a hg leak. 

[Lazydocker]

All the bitching and arguing doesn't help the OP. There is considerable knowledge and experience here and that experience shows that the later V6 engine rarely suffers HG Failure - In all the time I've been a member here (a good few years ) I think there has only been 1, possibly 2, confirmed cases. Both of these were caused by poor coolant maintenance and neither showed all of the typical HG failure symptoms as found on Google.

Ok have checked dipstick only oil on this. Will compression test the weekend with throttle bodies removed.
Can check timing again on Saturday but just have feeling that head gaskets could be at fault once again there's no blue smoke from exhaust no oil in any water.
Have to part strip it down any way
Water loss was down 1 inch from the mark after about 70 miles
Know everyone has said about pressure test, have had a good look at hoses, hbv etc and see no signs of water leaks anywhere including from matrix
I'm not sure off previous history but this engine and the bay is immaculate and would say it's been driven by a lady, lots of telltale marks around back door handle and on instrument panel

Not a single one of your symptoms would lead me to removing the heads on this car. Sorry, but you have a couple of symptoms that might be HG failure but too many other possibilities to investigate first.

As said, a later V6 HG failure is incredibly rare - to have both banks fail seems to be too much of a coincidence to me.

Losing an inch of water in 70 miles doesn't point to HG. That's quite a small weep and would easily evaporate off of a hot engine and go unnoticed... I had a similar leak on my 3.0 and eventually tracked it down to a weep from the oil cooler cover plate.

Mayo in the oil is a well known and well documented problem - Do you do predominantly short journeys? What oil are you using? Looking through your historic posts it seems you were only doing 5 miles or so per journey.

Steam (or cold smoke) is very common - Both of mine do it until warm. As said, H2O is a byproduct of combustion.

Did you ever resolve the misfire issues? tge misfire could be what is giving the over fuelling impression.

Back to basic mechanics I'm afraid