Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: jonny2112 on 26 September 2006, 16:28:55
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I know this is really bread and butter stuff for some, but I can't get the removal of the plenum right in my head (tho I am a bit nuts! [smiley=tongue.gif])
Anyone fancy doing a quick 'how to'? There are some good guides here which start with the plenum removal but they seem to differ slightly. I'm intending to clean my breathers, and maybe at some point do the cam covers.
My motor is pre-facelift, V6.
Cheers
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You really can't go wrong using Marks excellent Cam cover How2 which you'll find here. (http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1152564281) [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
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Beat me to it Kev ;D
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Beat me to it Kev ;D
;)
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Agreed, the cam cover guide covers plenum removal well. Some plenums look a little different due to be larger, but same applies. 2.6 and 3.2 cars have no egr or throttle cable...
If you still need extra info, post back with engine type, and if extended plenum...
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Plenum removal:
You will firstly need to remove the bagpipes - the two black plastic inlet pipes at the front. These are done by loosening the jubille type clips top and bottom, plus the one on the side of the right inlet that joins the smaller rubber pipe.
Next, undo and remove the two small torx bolts on the passenger side of the top of the pleum. An 8mm spanner works well. this releases the cable tray mountings to the passenger side.
Now undo the rubber pipe that goes to the Idle Control Valve on the side of the plenum. Just undo the big jubille clip and slide the pipe off. Then unplug the electrical connector to the ICV.
Then undo the 19mm nut that secures the Servo pipe to the passenger side. Sometimes the servo pipe is fastened to the drivers side rear corner of the plenum with a plastic clip as well.
Next, the two small water tubes to the throttle housing. One each side. just sqeeze the clip with pliers and slide tubes off. Keep them both above the header tank heigfht if possibe, or plug the end with a suitable bolt. (otherwise they just get everything wet!)
The 4 rubber breather tubes at the back of the plenum need to be slid off. The two bigger ones usually have clips that need undoing first. Be careful not to drop the clips behind the engine!
Now, unplug the EGR valve. Levae it connected to the plenum and undo the small securing toirx bolt on the mounting plate near the exhasut manifold, also the large brass nut that unions the EGR to the flexi pipe. Use the handle of a mallet to tap the flexipipe free once the nut is completely undone.
Nearly there!!!
If you want to work on the plenum itself, you will want to remove the throttle cable (and cruise cable if fitted), otherwise you will be able to turn the plenum upside down in situ.
So, to remove the throttle cable, firstly you need to see the tiny question mark shaped clip around the ball of the cable end. Slip the circlip shaped end off and turn it, then you can pull the pin length out of the ball itself - if that makes sense. Now, the ball sometimes comes away from the socket easily, but ofetn not and sometimes not a chance! There is a small clip inside the socket cup that resists taking the cable off, just be gentle with it. Once off, you can renmove the circlip that secures the cruise cable and slide that cable off too. Now, back to the throttle cable. Follow it back to the bracket and you will see a big brassy circlip. Pull that off, and slide the cable back to get it pushed mostly through the hole, then you can access the two E10 size mounting torx bolts for the bracket to plenum.
That all done, you are nearly there.
Undo the 4 big torx bolts on the pleum and remove the bolts. Have a roll of kitchen roll handy. CAREFULLY ease the pleum UP about 1/2 inch, then forward about 3 inches and STOP!!!!!
Now you can access the last bits. Unplug the electrical connector on the back passenger side of the plenum, on the multiram. Also CAREFULLY prise the semi circle shaped u-bend rubber from the multiram, being careful NOT to break the connector or anything else by prising agaisnt it.
Now the plenum is free and you can lift it clear.
IMMEDIATELY take 6 sheets of towel and plug the 6 inlet holes to prevent anything getting in there.
Check all 6 black rubber 'O' rings are still on the inlet manifold, otherwise check the bottom of the plenum. If any are missing, find them. Remove the paper towel one by one if needed and look into the inlet manifold with a torch - you can't miss something as big as those 'o' rings!
There you go. Job done and nothing broken. Easy huh? Takes about 5 minutes with practice.
WARNING!!!!!!
Before you do everything up again, remember the plenum is aluminium and will strip threads easily, so go easy on the white knuckle syndrome. use a torque wrench!!!
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Nice set of instructions Ronnie.
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Thanks guys, much appreciated. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
I'll let you know how I get on over the weekend!!??
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I had hoped to be posting about how I got the job done and how easy and satisfying it was. But no. Between mother nature (weather) and SWMBO, I didn't get the breathers done. Yet. Have worked it out in my head tho and am looking forward to giving it a go.
In the meantime, two more quick questions - what is the torque value for replacing the plenum, and is it worth copper greasing any of the fittings, as I'm sure the plenum will have to come off again soon (camcovers)?
Cheers
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I think the plenum is 8Nm, there is a full list in the guides that you should read. You will want new o-rings for the plenum, one VX part number is a bag of 6. They will not need to be replaced again when you do cam covers. Do not use silicone or other goop, nothing needed on bolts either.
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Ok pal - thanks for that. I've just found the guide too. My wrench is 28Nm upwards! More tools required me thinks!
Cheers
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personally I'd have thought you could just do the cover bolts up hand tight - wouldn't have thought 8Nm would be much more than that. But a torque wrench that goes down to that is essential when doing the cam covers ... cost about £50 from Halfrauds for their professional one. I bought a cheaper one from fleabay intially but it had no locking on the torque setting and the Halfrauds one is much better made ...
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personally I'd have thought you could just do the cover bolts up hand tight - wouldn't have thought 8Nm would be much more than that. But a torque wrench that goes down to that is essential when doing the cam covers ... cost about £50 from Halfrauds for their professional one. I bought a cheaper one from fleabay intially but it had no locking on the torque setting and the Halfrauds one is much better made ...
Yeah, the Halfrauds 8Nm-60Nm torque wrench is ideal, if you can stand the 50 quid price. The 1/4" torque wrenches (4-20Nm) are hard to find. Regular torque wrenches, even Argos has them for 15 quid, only go down to 28Nm. The torque settings that you should use to do the cam belt are 8 (long plenum only), 20, 25 (water pump) and 40Nm. For the cam cover gaskets they are 8 & 20Nm. I used 28 instead of 25, but you will want to be able to do 20Nm.
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Got the plenum removal down to 15 mins on the second time, so still room for improvement.
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Have to call with local dealer in the morning to order/prepay the plenum O rings. I got the part number for him from the camcover guide otherwise he wouldn't have been able to find the item! Anyway, £10 something plus vat. Sound about right? Will take a couple of days to arrive though. [smiley=sad.gif]
My meega has the short plenum by the way.
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Have to call with local dealer in the morning to order/prepay the plenum O rings. I got the part number for him from the camcover guide otherwise he wouldn't have been able to find the item! Anyway, £10 something plus vat. Sound about right? Will take a couple of days to arrive though. [smiley=sad.gif]
My meega has the short plenum by the way.
£10 for the pack of 6 sounds right
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Hi guys, new to this site and been reading this as it's one of the jobs I got on my list. Since importing my Omega to Cyprus, it's been a bloody nighmare;
New A/C Heat Exchanger
New Radiator & Oil Cooler
Now a hose at the back at the engine decided to burst from the back of the engine to the valve. I've got fingers like Walls Sausages, so its look like I'll be trying to take the Plenum off tomorrow too. Great advice on this site, wish I found it a while ago as some of the work carried out on cars out here is bloody awful. One mechanic out here decided to use cable ties instead of jubilee clips on the water hoses, hence the problem I face now.
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After oil cooler failure, some of the rubber hoses will fail unless thoroughly flushed a few times (oil softens the rubber)... ...that same short hose failed on one of mine after oil cooler failure...
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I agree with The Boy about the cost of the o rings - what a blinkin rip off though! :-X
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After oil cooler failure, some of the rubber hoses will fail unless thoroughly flushed a few times (oil softens the rubber)... ...that same short hose failed on one of mine after oil cooler failure...
You hit the nail on the head! The hose I took off today at the rear of the engine was very soft at the engine end of the hose. As a temporary fix, managed to get hold of some copper coated pipe inserts and put them both end of the pipe and reconnected with the clips. Should hold until I get a replacement pipe (Not easy here in Cyprus).
Still got deposits of oil, quite a bit, in the water. The so called mechanic who replaced the oil cooler didn't even bother fulshing the crud out! Had a load of oil in the expansion tank today which caused the temp to rise sharply. Let the stuff leak out, took the lower rad hose of and tons of the brown crap came out. Refilled system with water and seems better, stayed around 93 - 95C. Looking for a fail safe way to flush the system properly....any ideas?
Cheers, Mike.
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Ordered the rings (and a new pollen filter) yesterday, and should get them tomorrow. Seems quite dear for what I imagine are pretty basic O rings, but they would appear to be a necessity when removing/replacing the plenum.
It was mentioned though that if I do the camcover gaskets soon that I would not need to replace the plenum rings again. Can they be used and reused then if necesaary for a certain amount of time?
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After oil cooler failure, some of the rubber hoses will fail unless thoroughly flushed a few times (oil softens the rubber)... ...that same short hose failed on one of mine after oil cooler failure...
You hit the nail on the head! The hose I took off today at the rear of the engine was very soft at the engine end of the hose. As a temporary fix, managed to get hold of some copper coated pipe inserts and put them both end of the pipe and reconnected with the clips. Should hold until I get a replacement pipe (Not easy here in Cyprus).
Still got deposits of oil, quite a bit, in the water. The so called mechanic who replaced the oil cooler didn't even bother fulshing the crud out! Had a load of oil in the expansion tank today which caused the temp to rise sharply. Let the stuff leak out, took the lower rad hose of and tons of the brown crap came out. Refilled system with water and seems better, stayed around 93 - 95C. Looking for a fail safe way to flush the system properly....any ideas?
Cheers, Mike.
Not easy way to drain v6 coolant completely. I would flush through as best as possible, and each time you emtpy it, remove coolant expansion bottle and clean. You will need to repeat this several (about 10!) times before it starts to clear properly...