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[surj]

 hello everyone , for the last couple of months i was really enjoying the ownership experience of my recently purchased omega 3.2 mv6 . However since the weather has gone really cold my omega is taking so long to warm up . On tuesday night it was about 3 degrees,  and i went to Worcester down the M5 about a 20 mile trip and the temperature gauge hardly moved from the bottom for the first 12 miles and then just very, very slowly creeped to the halfway point between 0 and 80 degrees . I was doing a steady 60 mph. As soon as i came of the junction it was worringly moving to the bottom of temperature gauge  again and then slowly up again but never reached the the 80 degrees until i was in the town . overall a 45 minute trip to reach a decent operating temperature ! It felt as though i had to work the car hard to get it to warm up !   Is this down to the fact that the omega 3.2 is a lazy engine and takes ages to warm up or a faulty thermostat!  A couple of months ago , my mate slightly loosened the coolant cap on the omega saying this put less pressure on the cooling system ,  could it be down to that !  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated !  By the way, the cars heating seemed to work fine !

[manny]

I would not leave the header tank cap loose.

[Weds]

Do you get good heat coming out the vents, mine does the same, on my 7 mile trip to work mostly downhill the temp gauge hardly moves. Yet the heater works fine.  

Sitting in a traffic jam the other day for over 2 hours the temp gauge did get above 90 :-)

I suspect the gauge or sender unit..

[feeutfo]

 A couple of months ago , my mate slightly loosened the coolant cap on the omega saying this put less pressure on the cooling system ,  could it be down to that !

Yes,er dont know, but its a pressureised system, and relies on that pressure to keep the cooling system from boiling over. If its loose enough to let the pressure out then do it up again, sharpish! If its not that loose then it wont make a blind bit of difference imho.
Temp. gauges on the omega have been known to give indifferent range readings, if thats the right
term. Maybe get it on a tech 2(couple of guys on here have them, dont bother with a dealer), that might give an idea of the temp. the car thinks its running at,which
may not be whats being displayed on the gauge.

[surj]

Hi weds , i did get decent heating but what worries me is that when i came to a standstill the temperature rose to just about 80 it is normally 90 and then when i hit the dual carraigeway or motorway it would decrease, not by much though. I been on google and there are suggestions that if the engine is running to cool it could be down to a faulty thermostat . The thermostat is stuck open therefore when on the motorway or dual carraigeway the cold air rushing through is cooling the engine / coolant !

[Kevin Wood]

To check the thermostat start the engine from cold and check the temperature of the top radiator hose as it warms up. If the top hose starts to warm up almost immediately the thermostat has had it. Top hose should stay cold until the temperature reaches "mid-gauge".

Even this morning (-2 deg C) my 3.2 had the temperature gauge moving off the bottom of the scale after about 1/2 a mile and up to normal (just under half way up or about 85 indicated) after about 1.5 miles.

Sounds like your thermostat has gone to me.

Kevin

[Mike Collins]

Almost certainly thermostat. If you watch the temperature display closely after start you will a dip as the thermostat opens, the temperature then climbs again to normal, around mid scale.

In my experience the stat does not stick open, when you finally get the old one out it appears to be closed. I think it must open much too early, whatever the reason, don't be tempted to put the old one back because it looks ok.

Solved the problem of low temperature and slow warm up on two of mine.

The bad stats did not seem to affect the heater much, you should have warmth from the vents within a mile or so.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Almost certainly thermostat. If you watch the temperature display closely after start you will a dip as the thermostat opens, the temperature then climbs again to normal, around mid scale.

In my experience the stat does not stick open, when you finally get the old one out it appears to be closed. I think it must open much too early, whatever the reason, don't be tempted to put the old one back because it looks ok.

Solved the problem of low temperature and slow warm up on two of mine.

The bad stats did not seem to affect the heater much, you should have warmth from the vents within a mile or so.

From all the information given I would definately agree it is the thermostate, so this should be the first thing to change.

On my current 2.5V6 the temp. never varies much even in these cold times, with the guage showing between 85 - 90.  My previous 3.0V6 also rapidly warmed and the guage usually showed from about 88 to 95, going to 100 ocassionally when stuck in heavy traffic during the Summer.

I have never know my miggies to do what yours is doing, not warming up and retaining a working tempature, only on other cars has this happened and every time it was the thermostate.

You should also ensure the header tank cap is kept tightly closed to maintain cooling system pressure.

PS What kind of MPG are you achieving at the moment? :-? :-?

[surj]

hi lizzie, i actually cannot remember what the car was doing mpg as my eyes were fixed on the temperature gauge however thanks to everyone for your replies it is greatly appreciated. It does seem then that the thermostat is faulty ,  so  i will be getting it looked at  by the supplying dealer as it is still under warranty and i will let you know what the verdict is! cheers  

[surj]

hello everyone,   i was doing some research on what is involved in changing the thermostat on a 3.2 V6 and a lot of people who have done the job have said it is not a job for any old mechanic or the faint hearted plus  the thermostat is  not easy to find . It is a job for a specialist if the job is to be done properly! I do not think the supplying dealer  or even myself ,would be able to do the job properly, so is there anyone that you know who would be able to diagnose as to wether the thermostat has packed up and if it is has put in a new one PROPERLY and PROFESSIONALLY ?  I am based in birmingham so anywhere not to far from here would be great however i am prepared to travel out if i have to! What about the omegamechanic who i think is called JAMES V6 CDX! I do not want my omega to be worked on by franchised vauxhall dealers as there is a lot of bad reviews on their workmanship !

[B52]

id say thermostat jammed open - i had exactly the same signs on mine. vauxhall changed it but said the hassle involved meant a new one went in regardless. now the gauge moves up within a few minutes of starting.