Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Gareth Lewis on 04 May 2009, 23:42:46
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I am astounded by the mileage being quoted on the forum for some of the engines being talked about.
For a regular serviced 2.5 V6 what is the normal life expectancy? What is the most mileage anyone has seen that was still working OK?
Just a ponder on my part! :)
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Dunno about the petrol jobbies, but my 2.5td Elite auto has 225k and my 2.5td CD manual has 103k on the clocks and both sound and run spot on.
Properly maintained they should all give seriously high mileage. :y
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Depends on your definition of regular servicing. If you go by Vx's later 20k servicing, then not long.
As was shown at the weekend, my very regularly serviced 153k MV6 still has a very strong engine.
Its far more likely that the car will get scrapped for other reasons, unless you ignore the cambelt inteval...
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Dunno about the petrol jobbies, but my 2.5td has 225k on the clock and sounds and runs spot on.
Properly maintained they should all give seriously high mileage. :y
3k oil changes are the real key to the tractor, as it does make a mess of its oil quickly, and being chain driven, clean oil is essential.
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
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Dunno about the petrol jobbies, but my 2.5td has 225k on the clock and sounds and runs spot on.
Properly maintained they should all give seriously high mileage. :y
3k oil changes are the real key to the tractor, as it does make a mess of its oil quickly, and being chain driven, clean oil is essential.
You can say that again !! ;D
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i change the v6s every 4k - 5k with gm 10w40 previous owners BT ran it upto the stupid 20k nonsense! but fortuantly the cambelt snapped on the previous owner at 99k so its had rebuilt heads and ive had it since 106k
my engine makes no silly noises and is as quiet as a whistle i reckon that theres still atleast 200 horses in the stable still ive decided earlier this year that ill keep this MV6 until it dies
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
You need to half both those figures above! :o Cambelt at 40k is a MUST.
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yes 40k not 80 thats why my omegas belt snapped as BT fleet only cvhanged the belt & not the tensioner!
belt was 1st changed at 80k then 99k tensioner failed!
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Oh, and my Petrol 3.0 V6 has 117,500 miles.
And my TD which I've just bought has almost 189k on it, and the engine itself is the best bit of the car to be honest! ;D (now it has a new water pump anyway!) ;D
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Oh, and my Petrol 3.0 V6 has 117,500 miles.
And my TD which I've just bought has almost 189k on it, and the engine itself is the best bit of the car to be honest! ;D (now it has a new water pump anyway!) ;D
Top mount of rear shock corroded through and usual miggy rust issues (bottom of doors and inside rear arches) on my '94 Elite. My '00 has just a little corrosion inside rear arches.
Both engines fine. :y
Actually, if I had to choose between them, I'd say the auto with over 120k more on the clock is a little sweeter ;D
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I think the oil change business depends a lot on the oil used and the type of driving.
I have used Mobil 1 in mine ever since the first service. It is expensive, but a lot less expensive than an engine rebuild on one of these beasts.
As a reformed biker, I have always believed in keeping the engine oil fresh, as nothing destroys a close tolerance, high revving engine faster than dirty, low quality oil.
However, with my driving patterns, (very little local use and occasional long distances), I have found that the Mobil 1 stays very clean until it has done at least 7,000 miles. And after nearly 100,000 miles the oil consumption is still virtually zero (i.e. it doesn't usually need topping up between changes).
The 20,000 mile oil change intervals now specified are only possible because of fully synthetic oils such as the Mobil 1, although I suspect they are also driven by environmental and cost saving concerns, and fleet operators (the biggest customers of the motor trade) want to reduce servicing costs.
Putting my cynical hat on, I daresay that GM, Ford, Fiat ( :'() and the others have little interest in their cars being able to run for half a million miles on their original engines either. ::)
I for one fuly expect to see well cared for Omegas at classic car rallies in twenty or thirty years time, (If I am still around to see them), although the numbers do seem to be declining rapidly already.
So, another question: given that the youngest Omegas were built nearly ten years ago, and there will not be a replacement, which other cars would Omega forum members consider as a possible replacements?
NN
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I for one fuly expect to see well cared for Omegas at classic car rallies in twenty or thirty years time,.. ......
The electrickery bits will have died long before that! ::) ::) ::) ;D ;D ;D
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GM 10W40 is the best oil for the Omega
its got detergants & dispersants especially designed for ECOTEC engines it stays clean till 10k but its stil best to change it before and for some reason it doesnt mayo up much!
especially if your engine has a few tired valve lifters
omegas electronics i think are fairly good after 10years /130k of use the only toy to not work is my passengers heated seat
nextdoor has a Peugeot 605 of similar mileage and age to the omega and no toys work except the aircon & thats half mechanical anyay
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car ;D
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car ;D
When I did 10k changes the oil was black every time - for me that is too long. Even if modern semi/synthetic oils can take the mileage, you are still better off getting that sh1t out of your engine.
Personally I aim for every 5k, but building up to that with shorter intervals to start with on new acquisitions that haven't been serviced too well perviously.
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car ;D
Hope you have a cash point near you! I think I may need it! ;D ;D ;)
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car ;D
Hope you have a cash point near you! I think I may need it! ;D ;D ;)
Trouble is Gareth they still use the groat as a unit of currency in the Massive area.
I'm not sure of the exchange rate with the pound but I've a feeling the price of livestock affects it greatly. ;D ;D
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car ;D
Hope you have a cash point near you! I think I may need it! ;D ;D ;)
Trouble is Gareth they still use the groat as a unit of currency in the Massive area.
I'm not sure of the exchange rate with the pound but I've a feeling the price of livestock affects it greatly. ;D ;D
Sorry but I think that is baaaaallocks ;)
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Frequent oil changes do help to prolong engine life, but only if a good quality oil is used. A fully synthetic oil such as Mobil 1 will almost certainly have better film strength after 10,000 miles than conventional mineral oil when it is new, so frequent oil changes with a cheap oil are probably a false economy. Oil is also intended to get 'dirty', as that is how it removes combustion products, so a bit of darkening is to be expected after several thousand miles
However, one important point that nobody has mentioned here is driving style and 'mechanical sympathy':
As an example, racing engines must be warmed up carefully, as the oil must be warm to circulate properly, and tight fitting pistons can seize in their bores if they are heated up more rapidly than the cylinder block. (Note that racing engines tend to use single grade oils rather than multigrades). Any metal to metal contact between moving parts also creates heat, which cannot be carried away quickly enough by cold, slow moving oil, and may result in scuffing or seizure. Much the same applies to the large diesel engines used in ships and railway locomotives, which must be warmed up before being put under load.
The small engines in private cars are less prone to these problems, but all the same, thrashing any engine from cold will wreck it, no matter how good the oil is or how often it is changed.
If you really want your engine to last the following should help:
Always allow a cold engine to run at fast idle (1000 RPM for the V6) for at least a minute or two before putting it under load. This is especially important in cold winter weather.
Drive the car gently (as if it is running in) until the engine is thoroughly warm. In the case of the V6 Omegas this is only three or four miles. However, if you live on a fast main road, and cannot drive gently for the first few miles, it may be a good idea to let the engine warm up for a few more minutes before driving.
Avoid driving at constant low speeds. Driving at a constant 56 MPH may save a bit of fuel, but over several thousand miles the cylinder bores will glaze.
Similarly, don’t allow the engine to idle for long periods of time. This is especially important for diesel engines, which will suffer glazed cylinder bores and high oil consumption.
Turbocharged engines should be allowed to idle for a minute or two after fast driving to allow the turbochargers to cool and run down. Shutting down the engine too quickly can leave the bearings without oil whilst the turbines are still spinning at high speed.
NN
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Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K
Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.
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Any more clues, please?
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Frequent oil changes do help to prolong engine life, but only if a good quality oil is used. A fully synthetic oil such as Mobil 1 will almost certainly have better film strength after 10,000 miles than conventional mineral oil when it is new, so frequent oil changes with a cheap oil are probably a false economy. Oil is also intended to get 'dirty', as that is how it removes combustion products, so a bit of darkening is to be expected after several thousand miles
However, one important point that nobody has mentioned here is driving style and 'mechanical sympathy':
As an example, racing engines must be warmed up carefully, as the oil must be warm to circulate properly, and tight fitting pistons can seize in their bores if they are heated up more rapidly than the cylinder block. (Note that racing engines tend to use single grade oils rather than multigrades). Any metal to metal contact between moving parts also creates heat, which cannot be carried away quickly enough by cold, slow moving oil, and may result in scuffing or seizure. Much the same applies to the large diesel engines used in ships and railway locomotives, which must be warmed up before being put under load.
The small engines in private cars are less prone to these problems, but all the same, thrashing any engine from cold will wreck it, no matter how good the oil is or how often it is changed.
If you really want your engine to last the following should help:
Always allow a cold engine to run at fast idle (1000 RPM for the V6) for at least a minute or two before putting it under load. This is especially important in cold winter weather.
Drive the car gently (as if it is running in) until the engine is thoroughly warm. In the case of the V6 Omegas this is only three or four miles. However, if you live on a fast main road, and cannot drive gently for the first few miles, it may be a good idea to let the engine warm up for a few more minutes before driving.
Avoid driving at constant low speeds. Driving at a constant 56 MPH may save a bit of fuel, but over several thousand miles the cylinder bores will glaze.
Similarly, don’t allow the engine to idle for long periods of time. This is especially important for diesel engines, which will suffer glazed cylinder bores and high oil consumption.
Turbocharged engines should be allowed to idle for a minute or two after fast driving to allow the turbochargers to cool and run down. Shutting down the engine too quickly can leave the bearings without oil whilst the turbines are still spinning at high speed.
NN
Do we need to take any special care before shutting down a 2.0 ltr petrol?
Also, I tend to allow the engine to warm up for a minute or so before I start driving but still feel the lack of power; should I wait longer before making a start?
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Do we need to take any special care before shutting down a 2.0 ltr petrol?
Also, I tend to allow the engine to warm up for a minute or so before I start driving but still feel the lack of power; should I wait longer before making a start?
I always like to let any engine idle for a minute or so after a fast run, just to give the hottest parts a chance to cool down before starving them of oil and coolant. This should not be required for normal driving, but if (say) you have been driving fast for an hour or so on the motorway, or climbing a long hill at speed, a sudden shut down is probably best avoided (IMHO).
Engine power will be reduced after a cold start, as the fuel is not burning efficiently. Gentle driving should do no harm, but thrashing a cold engine is always a bad idea.
On older engines, the fuel rich mixture also tended to wash oil from the cylinder bores, resulting in rapid wear, but this is less of a problem with modern, fuel injected engines.
NN
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my 97 2.5 elite had 143k on when i sold it in january. ran as sweet as a nut,i would say even better then my 2000 elite with 78k !
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Do we need to take any special care before shutting down a 2.0 ltr petrol?
Also, I tend to allow the engine to warm up for a minute or so before I start driving but still feel the lack of power; should I wait longer before making a start?
I always like to let any engine idle for a minute or so after a fast run, just to give the hottest parts a chance to cool down before starving them of oil and coolant. This should not be required for normal driving, but if (say) you have been driving fast for an hour or so on the motorway, or climbing a long hill at speed, a sudden shut down is probably best avoided (IMHO).
Engine power will be reduced after a cold start, as the fuel is not burning efficiently. Gentle driving should do no harm, but thrashing a cold engine is always a bad idea.
On older engines, the fuel rich mixture also tended to wash oil from the cylinder bores, resulting in rapid wear, but this is less of a problem with modern, fuel injected engines.
NN
Thanks, I will keep that in mind.