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[mattyboy]

I posted on here yesterday about my oil cooler problem everyone was very helpful thank you. Had a quote from my local "independant" vauxhall garage and they've quoted me £1500!!!!! which is mental the oil cooler itself only costs £100 so gunna do it myself the only thing i wanted to check is the garage told me that the heads have to be taken off to replace the oil cooler but my haynes manuel and the "how to" forums i've read mention nothing about removing the heads so wondered which is right? Sorry forgot to mention this is on a 3.0 V6 omega estate

[amba]

No need to remove heads..that is why your local sharks wanted all them ££££s
Just a bit of stripping down and then lots of cleaning of coolant system to get the crud out...somewhere on the forum there is a "how to"..sure it is in the maintenance guide,so have a read through that

[JamesV6CDX]

Don't trust them an inch

It's a 3 hr job for someone competent, 5 hrs if you haven't done it before and take your time.

And of course, no need for the heads to come off!

[mattyboy]

It just gets better, the garage that quoted me £1500 phoned me and asked me if i wanted to go ahead with the oil cooler replacement and then explained what needed doing this includes both heads being removed and sent away to be skimmed, new head gaskets and a new cam belt, and then told me it was so exspensive because the whole engine had to be taken out of the car to complete the work!!! Having read the how to guides on the forum i knew this to be a joke un-believable. So thanks to all that replied you saved me a bundle

[cem_devecioglu]

may be they dont know really where the oil cooler is  

[cbs2]

I did mine a couple of weeks ago matty. First time ever. Give yourself a day on it & if you wanna change the thermostat etc, thats your best time to do it as its beside the oil cooler.

Keep the old cooler & throw it at the dealer.  

[andyc]

how much, these guys are having laugh, this has got to be wind up.I'd get an autodata book, take it down to them and ask them if they have ever seen one before.

And they say main dealers are a rip off..........ok no need to add to the last bit

Andy  

[bigdods]

My local vaux specialist charged me £296 inc VAT to supply and fit a new oil cooler which I reckon is right on the money

[JamesV6CDX]

My local vaux specialist charged me £296 inc VAT to supply and fit a new oil cooler which I reckon is right on the money

that works out at £66.67 per hour inc VAT labour.

[bigdods]

My local vaux specialist charged me £296 inc VAT to supply and fit a new oil cooler which I reckon is right on the money

that works out at £66.67 per hour inc VAT labour.

Not quite - as part of the job they also had to flush the cooling system then refill with coolant and they also drained and refilled the oil and replaced the oil filter which to me makes a lot of sense in case of cross contamination. I still think it was the right price. Not cheap but fair and they did a good job.

ETA: None of which really worried me as the job was covered under warranty anyway  

[Andy B]

It just gets better, the garage that quoted me £1500 phoned me and asked me if i wanted to go ahead with the oil cooler replacement and then explained what needed doing this includes both heads being removed and sent away to be skimmed, new head gaskets and a new cam belt, and then told me it was so exspensive because the whole engine had to be taken out of the car to complete the work!!! Having read the how to guides on the forum i knew this to be a joke un-believable. So thanks to all that replied you saved me a bundle

Are going to give us all a clue as who this is?
Name & shame!  

[JamesV6CDX]

My local vaux specialist charged me £296 inc VAT to supply and fit a new oil cooler which I reckon is right on the money

that works out at £66.67 per hour inc VAT labour.

Not quite - as part of the job they also had to flush the cooling system then refill with coolant and they also drained and refilled the oil and replaced the oil filter which to me makes a lot of sense in case of cross contamination. I still think it was the right price. Not cheap but fair and they did a good job.

ETA: None of which really worried me as the job was covered under warranty anyway  

I agree, the quote is about right for a garage to charge.

It's still all doable in 3 hours by a competent person

[cbs2]

The last time Jim & I were standing in the dealers, I asked the price of the oil cooler. I was quoted £250 supply only .

Bought the genuine vauxhall one on ebay for £80.00

[Matchless]

If the heads are off you can unbolt the cooler and lift it straight out. With the heads on, the cover plate catches on one head and wont come out so you undo the big nuts first then unbolt the cover and lift it off followed by the heat exchanger.

[HerefordElite]

It just gets better, the garage that quoted me £1500 phoned me and asked me if i wanted to go ahead with the oil cooler replacement and then explained what needed doing this includes both heads being removed and sent away to be skimmed, new head gaskets and a new cam belt, and then told me it was so exspensive because the whole engine had to be taken out of the car to complete the work!!! Having read the how to guides on the forum i knew this to be a joke un-believable. So thanks to all that replied you saved me a bundle

Are going to give us all a clue as who this is?
Name & shame!  

yeah name these guys - bloody garages ripping people off get my goat