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[Glenn G]

I am a new member to the forum. A year ago I bought an ex-Government Omega (2001 2.6 CD Auto) with 56K on the clock. Now 10k miles later it has sprayed oil in the engine bay and the water in the header tank is like slurry.

Garage has told me it is the oil cooler and it will need replacing together with the radiator and all the the hoses. The whole oil and water system will need flushing out.

I've bee quoted an eyewatering £1,200 inc VAT to have all this done. I have also been told that if I went to a local Vauxhall dealer they would charge £95/hour and the cost would be un economic.

Since she is a great car in every respect I am tempted to think - Hell what sort of car can I buy for £1,200 lets do it.

Do you think I am mad and do you feel I may be ripped off by the repair costs?

[Elite Pete]

Hi Glenn and welcome to the forum.

Whoever quoted you £1200 is a conman. The parts will cost about £100 with a trade card and it will take a few hours to repair. The hardest part is getting the cooling system clear of oil but thats just a question of frequent flushing until the water runs clear. Where do you live?

[Darth Loo-knee]

Someone is having a laugh mate

I asked at our Dealers and they wanted £485 to do the oil cooler....

If you are ok with spanners do the oil cooler yourself.. The parts to do it will cost around, £100 for the oil cooler kit, £10 for the sealant, £10 for forte coolant flush, £10 for your red anti freeze so I reckon at the most £150 will do the whole job....

[Kevin Wood]

I think that's a rip off. Parts for the oil cooler change are a shade over 100 quid. I'd be inclined to try some bio engine flush / degreaser before replacing radiator, etc. too.

Not a bad DIY job. A fair amunt of stripping down required to get to the oil cooler but nothing difficult IMHO. Why nt have a go yourself?

Kevin

[HolyCount]

TBH mate I would have a go at repairing her -- with a trade card and all the help and advice on the forum, it should set you back nowhere near the price you have been quoted!!!!

I am mechanically inept and am rebuilding / having rebuilt my 2.5 V6. I am using a combination of a trusted mechanic and a fellow OOF member --- as well as lots of help and tips from members online. Apart from saving a fortune I am actually learning a lot about the car too!

[Lazydocker]

DIY mate... £1200 is a lot of money for a job which is predominantly time consuming but not overly difficult!!!

Update your profile so we know where you are and you may even be able to get a little hands on help!!!  

On top of that... You'll learn a lot about the car and it'll stand you in good stead for many other jobs in the future!!

[Glenn G]

Many Thanks for your responses. I have since contacted 2 other garages as I am not one for doing any maintenance or diy.

I been told by them that I can expect to pay inc VAT £200 for raidiator, £130 for the oil cooler and between £100 - £150 for the full set of hoses, labour is likely to be between 10 -12 hours and at £50/hour should cost £500-£600. They said to expect to pay around £1,000 if no other problems arise

[HolyCount]

Whereabouts in the world are you Glenn ?  BTW - Welcome to the forum  

Why would you need all the hoses and the rad replacing ?

[humbucker]

got to concur what what everyone else is saying. i did my oil cooler a few weeks back, cost wasnt so much really, like everyone says, parts a shade over 100 quid and then was done within a few hours, or a weekend if the weather isnt on your side. and i'm not an experienced mechanic.

i put this together which might help you, a full list of the parts and part numbers required:

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1211220529

there are some guides on the net etc re doing it so dont be put off. if you have a weekend clear then you should have no problem. if you still dont want to do it then it might be worth ordering the parts yourself and providing them to the garage you go to, this way you can get a handle on the comparitive labour charge between garages?

[jonathanh]

Many Thanks for your responses. I have since contacted 2 other garages as I am not one for doing any maintenance or diy.

I been told by them that I can expect to pay inc VAT £200 for raidiator, £130 for the oil cooler and between £100 - £150 for the full set of hoses, labour is likely to be between 10 -12 hours and at £50/hour should cost £500-£600. They said to expect to pay around £1,000 if no other problems arise

aw, really! I cannot beliee that you need a new rad and hoses.  A half decent mechanic would know how to flush the system.

let us know where you are because there is almost certainly someone on here close to you that will help out.  Even if you end up paying a member, it'll be a lot less than £1,000 and you'll get a better job.

[HolyCount]

got to concur what what everyone else is saying. i did my oil cooler a few weeks back, cost wasnt so much really, like everyone says, parts a shade over 100 quid and then was done within a few hours, or a weekend if the weather isnt on your side. and i'm not an experienced mechanic.

i put this together which might help you, a full list of the parts and part numbers required:

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1211220529

there are some guides on the net etc re doing it so dont be put off. if you have a weekend clear then you should have no problem. if you still dont want to do it then it might be worth ordering the parts yourself and providing them to the garage you go to, this way you can get a handle on the comparitive labour charge between garages?

This is what I do, if it's beyond changing a bulb, or if I can't sucker HNO3 to do it ( mind you I nick his trade card and get the parts cheaper)

[Lazydocker]

Many Thanks for your responses. I have since contacted 2 other garages as I am not one for doing any maintenance or diy.

I been told by them that I can expect to pay inc VAT £200 for raidiator, £130 for the oil cooler and between £100 - £150 for the full set of hoses, labour is likely to be between 10 -12 hours and at £50/hour should cost £500-£600. They said to expect to pay around £1,000 if no other problems arise

aw, really! I cannot beliee that you need a new rad and hoses.  A half decent mechanic would know how to flush the system.

let us know where you are because there is almost certainly someone on here close to you that will help out.  Even if you end up paying a member, it'll be a lot less than £1,000 and you'll get a better job.

I still think it's too much... You can probably flush the Radiator and the hoses! They are telling you you need new hoses because the oil can perish rubber, but I still wouldn't bother changing them!! If this problem has only just occurred then you'll flush them before any damage is done. The flushing of the system may take a little while but 10-12 hours???

Let us know where you are and I'm sure you'll be able to get some help... If you're near me (Suffolk) I'm willing to help you for the cost of the fuel!!!  

[HolyCount]

As you say, Lazydocker, any contamination isn't going to do terminal damage to the hoses in a small space of time

[bigdods]

My local garage replaced the oil cooler for £260 (using genuine vaux parts) which included an oil change and new coolant. The type of failure didnt lead to oil/water contamination so there was no need to do anything else. I cant imagine any need to replace the rad or pipework. If there is contamination any decent mechanic will be able to flush the system out for probably an hour or so of labour plus some chemicals.

Make sure they check the DIS pack while they have it all in bits. Mine had been liberally coated with water and oil by the failure and broke 2 weeks later resulting in everything having to be stripped down again to replace it.

[Markie]

only reason to replace radiator and pipes is if its been lying around for months and months.

Under normal ciscumstances this wont be necessary.

As said a weekend, access to OOF, some decent tools and your home and dry