Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Grumpy on 30 July 2007, 17:46:18
-
Couple of pics here on something you might want to check on your Omega.
Mine is a 99 V, and seeing that this has corroded through on mine and
some here have older cars than mine, then I consider, reckoning the safety
implications, that it would be worth taking 5 minutes to check yours.
I kept getting a smell of fuel when parked. I finally tracked it down to a very
small pinhole in the fuel pump cover outlet pipe that was spraying a fuel mist
whenever the ignition was switched on.
I went to remove it to see if it was repairable. It was that corroded, it crumbled
off as soon as I tried to remove the first fuel pipe connection.
First pic shows the boot cover over the tank removed with black cover locking
ring next to it. The plastic bags are just where I've protected the open tank and
fuel lines from foreign ingress.
The second pic shows the fuel pump cover with the pressure pipe sheared off.
It was held on by rust and a prayer. Imagine that blowing on you and spraying
fuel at 40psi+ over your hot exhaust.
Could only source a new one from Vauxhall at £118, and even they've had to
send away for it.
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j30/Melnibone/Omega20l/BootPumpAccess.jpg)
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j30/Melnibone/Omega20l/FuelPumpCover.jpg)
-
hi thanks for that i have a fuel leak on my miggy and don't know where it's from. i'll have a look and see if it's from the same place!
cheers
-
Couple of pics here on something you might want to check on your Omega.
Mine is a 99 V, and seeing that this has corroded through on mine and
some here have older cars than mine, then I consider, reckoning the safety
implications, that it would be worth taking 5 minutes to check yours.
I kept getting a smell of fuel when parked. I finally tracked it down to a very
small pinhole in the fuel pump cover outlet pipe that was spraying a fuel mist
whenever the ignition was switched on.
I went to remove it to see if it was repairable. It was that corroded, it crumbled
off as soon as I tried to remove the first fuel pipe connection.
First pic shows the boot cover over the tank removed with black cover locking
ring next to it. The plastic bags are just where I've protected the open tank and
fuel lines from foreign ingress.
The second pic shows the fuel pump cover with the pressure pipe sheared off.
It was held on by rust and a prayer. Imagine that blowing on you and spraying
fuel at 40psi+ over your hot exhaust.
Could only source a new one from Vauxhall at £118, and even they've had to
send away for it.
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j30/Melnibone/Omega20l/BootPumpAccess.jpg)
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j30/Melnibone/Omega20l/FuelPumpCover.jpg)
Phew! Thought you'd been smuggling something!! ::)
I assume that the top of the pump is directly on top of the tank, but, exposed to the elements under the car.. Worth remembering if I smell fuel..
DC
-
Now that looks nasty, will give mine a quick look later on to-night. Had a similar thing happen on a Volvo 760. Fixed it though with some body filler as it was only making a one way trip to the scrappies..... ;D, I know best place for it. :y
8-)
DaveL
-
Mine wasn't looking too special - 0n a late 2002 car :o - when I did my towbar. I brushed off the rust , gave it a coat of hammerite and waxoyl'ed it when dry. Worth keeping an eye on as you say :y
Kevin
-
Jeeesus! thanks for the "heads up" on that one. That rusted in a place that would not routinely get inspected :o If I detect the smell of petrol at the rear of the car thats one place i'll look :y
-
:y will check mine tomorrow, i gotta rip a load of dodgy looking cables from the boot anyway (leftovers from the plod)
-
Just about everything rusts on these cars... if it's metal it's probably rusty :-[
-
Thanks for the warning. Just checked mine (early '02 2.2) and yep, they were rusting at the joint - looks like galvanic corrosion, so a possible design/QC issue. Have cleaned the rust off and primed for the moment. WIll do it properly next week after the silver wedding celebrations :y
-
Pleased you spotted it in time, GaryB. :y
If any one hasn't checked their's yet, it'll only take you 5mins
to roll up the boot carpet and remove the access plate to
have a peek.
Preventive maintenance is very cheap, easy and accessible, and
it may save you a lot of expensive heartache down the line. ;)
-
Deffinatly worth a check cheers.
-
Thanks buddy.
Will be checking mine this weekend
-
Well, I had some bad news and some good news this morning.
The bad news was that my fuel pump cover plate arrived, but, obviously,
the poor Vauxhall parts chap can't afford to go to SpecSavers.
Instead of sending me the pump cover, he sent the fuel pump assembly. >:(
The good news, is that the correct part will arrive tomorrow and instead of
being £118 it will be £48. :)
Now, should I be happy that I've 'saved' £70. :-/
Or unhappy that I'm still spending £48 :-/
Nah! No contest! If I hadn't spotted it early enough, the Grumpy family could
have ended up as toast in a fireball doing 70 mph up the M6 when the inevitable
happened. :)
-
Fitted my new plate. Everything now OK.
Have done a 'How To' with pics for anyone who has the same problem.
-
Just checked out the 'how to'. Top job!!! :) :)
-
just checked mine and yep it's from there!!!! both pipes corroded to fook!!!!! one of them is spraying a jet out!
what is it i need then is it? the whole thing!!! my problem is like grumpy's pipe knackered!
-
Hi sparks3ks.
I had a feeling there would be a few of these.
Look at my 'How To' in the section it's been moved to.
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1186065848
You'll see that the part you require is just the plate that you can
see with the pipes sticking out of it.
The part numbers on my packet was : 1#9128199
Other numbers, whatever they are: 8 15 94 and GR.3.910
Price is £48 + vat.
You may need a new pump plate seal if your's is all Pete Tong.
I also replaced the 4 hose clips for adjustable ones at 50p each.
Up to you what you do.
-
cheers grumpy, i'll change everything. where can i get adjustable clips from?
from vx it's only costing me 44 +vat
-
Hi sparks3ks.
I just took one of the original clips with me to my local
car spares shop, and checked for size against the range
they hold in 'general parts' bins.
I like to use local independents, whenever I can. If we don't
support our local traders, they'll die out and we'll be left at
the mercy and monopoly of the dealerships.
A case of use it, or lose it. ;)
-
Boooo I dont think i can check mine as i have a big old LPG tank in the way Grrrr
-
thanks for info been down to stealers, paid for parts "special order only", got cover plate sealing ring and gasket. cost of £51 inc vat. not bad ithought.
will go get clips tuesday from local independant, how long would u say it'll take?
cheers steve leeds
-
how long would u say it'll take?
Hi to Steve at Leeds from Steve at Manchester. :)
You should be able to amble quietly through the job in under an hour.
Time isn't important. What is important is that you do a quality job,
considering this is your main pressure fuel feed.
The sparks3ks family, including your new baby (congrats), will be
travelling around in this car.
And they put their trust in you. 8-)
-
I had a look at mine today lucky my LPG tank did not cover up the plate, I must say i was surprised to see mine were really rusty I am going to get some rust stuff to stop it eatting away at the metal and cover it with Hammer Right
-
lol cheers. reason i asked bout time was because if i seem to get it done quick theres a chance i'll miss summat. so i'd rather know to be aiming round the hour mark not half hour.
cheers,
-
going to get some rust stuff to stop it eatting away at the metal and cover it with Hammer Right
This may slow it down a little, but I fear you may be just delaying the inevitable
if my deductions are correct.
I've examined the old plate and pipe. The pipe appears to be mild steel and the
the plate has the feel of alloy about it.
If I'm correct, what we have here is dis-similar metal corrosion. The 2 materials
will have a different electrical potential. If they contact each other, a small current
will pass, similar to a dry battery cell, which will result in galvanic corrosion.
The galvanic corrosion will break the paint seal on the outside of the pipe which
will than leave it susceptible to normal atmospheric corrosion. So in effect, the pipe
will be attacked from the inside and the outside. This would result in exfoliation
of the metal, (where its splits into layers), which is exactly what happened to my
pressure pipe.
Whether, assuming I'm correct, this is a design fault, or a quality control fault
at the sub-contractors that GM farmed the work out to, is unknown.
The designer would (should) have put an adequate seperation/sealant between
the 2 metals in the design specs. So that would leave the fault with the sub-contractor.
Whether this would be the quality inspector or the worker who made it, again we
don't know.
Anyway, upshot is, if your pipes are corroded then it is a case of when they
fail, not if.
-
just checked mine: Right hand pipe is bandly corroded, left hand is fine.
What is the right hand pipe? Is it under the same pressure as the left hand or not? If it is low pressure I may be tempted to do a bit of cleaning and painting but at the moment I'm not tempted to risk it
-
What is the right hand pipe?
Right Hand Pipe has an 'R' stamped next to it on the plate and is the return
pipe. This will take the return fuel from the pressure regulating valve, and
so flow and pressure will vary according to engine operating conditions.
Left hand pipe has an 'S' stamped next to it and is the main pressure feed
direct from the pump.
-
Checked mine earlier, yes supply pipe is showing signs of corrosion but no leaks when running return isn't corroded at all. Another job to do LOL.
-
Now, if we were in USA, we would launch a class action suit and get damages from VX for bad design. But in the UK, we seem just to accept it. I remember a few years ago, when Hillman fitted a plate to protect the petrol tank from stone damage. Unfortunately this wasn't the real problem. It was wet dirt collecting on the tank weld lip and rusting away,like mine did ! ;D.
-
Just checked mine, pipes seem ok, but looks like the gasket isn't sealing properly, big wet patch right round the bottom of the locking ring.
Does anyone please have the part number of the sealing ring/gasket, my local dealer is having trouble finding it?
-
GREAT. i was just sitting on my office, reading this thread. thought 'its only 4 screws, i'll pop my plate/cover off and have a look at my pipes'.
BIG mistake, got the cover off, wet patch!!!! started the car up and sat in the boot, a very fine spray of petrol from the left pipe!! so got a rag to clean off the petrol to see where the leak was, AND THE PIPE BROKE OFF IN MY HAND!!!!!!!!!!!
now stuck at work with a broken car!!! someone will run me to the vauxhall dealer in a mo, hopefully with the parts in stock!
funny though i didn't notice any worse consumsption...
NOTE TO EVERYONE, CHECK YOUR PIPES!!
-
I hate to say this But I think It Special Order The Part :(
Hope I am Wrong and You Get It Fixed
-
Has anyone tried suggesting to a Vx dealership that this is a serious issue and should be rectified at their expense?
I'm going to check this on my girlfriend's car tonight, and if it looks at all dodgy I shall print out this thread, and the 'How To' and take it to my local Vx place with a view to insisting that this is not a 'wear and tear' fault, and emphasise danger etc.
Am I being daft here?
-
If my understanding of consumer protection in the Uk is correct then your local dealer does not have to do anything: your supplying dealer (i.e. the person you bought the car off, is responsible).
There is clearly a problem here that at the very least, VX and all dealers should be aware of. Given that a lot of us have similar problems, I think VOSA should also be informed.
I agree it would be nice to get some help from VX as well but fear this is too much to ask
I'm happy to pen a letter to VX in the next week, based on the number of people who have indicated here that they have got a problem.
-
I agree about the letter writing, and i think all who have had to repair/replace should do the same and all send them to Vauxhall Headoffice addressed to the Company Director as to not have the letters filtered via the nearest bin by some office clerk. :y
-
Could someone provide me with the general location of the access port?
I have a '98 Catera (the US Omega) and the carpet is stuck to 3/16 inch (or so) wood in the trunk. The how-to doesn't seem to show this, but it is factory in the US. After peeling the carpet and removing the wood on both the left and right sides, I cannot find the port due to more or the tar lined material. I'm guessing it is used for soundproofing. I removed some on the passenger side (driver's side in the UK) where an outline of the circle is, but I could not seem to find the access plate.
The service manual calls this part the fuel sender assembly. In the removal procedure, it says that I have to remove the fuel tank. Perhaps I do not have the access port and my only option would be to remove the tank?
-
After further examination, I can say with confidence that the '98 3.0l Catera does not have an access port and that the only method of determining the corrosion extent would be with a fuel tank removal.
-
Get underneath the car, follow the two fuel pipes up to get a general location,
and then use a dentist type mirror, (mirror on the end of a thin pole),
with a torch to have a look.
You can actually get these mirrors with a torch built in. The bulb up next to
the mirror, a flexible mounting pole, and battery compartment built into the
base of the flexible mounting pole.
I found that I could get under the car without jacking it when I was initially
leak tracing, but I suppose that would depend on your suspension set-up.
-
Checked mine today and guess what! Corrosion, what I've done is to gently brush loose rust flakes away using a small brass brush and start or ignition on, to make sure no fuel squirting(face well away just in case) and have treated it with cure rust and painted it with several coats of enamel paint, I think what is happening here is that the pipe to cover joints flex somewhat with car movement and hence is cracking the paint around the pipe to cover joint, paint then flakes off and is then open to elements/ condensation, which I think is causing them to corrode, shall be covering with some silicone sealant at a later stage as the enamel paint I've put on is probably going to crack again at some stage!!
Cheers Pete