Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Markiii on 25 January 2012, 23:42:05
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Hi chaps
Hate to leap in with a first post asking for help, but been lurking for a while without registering
I have a 2003 diesel manual estate
HBV was replaced a year or two ago
I've had a minor untraceable coolant leak for a few months, requiring periodic top up
However this morning on the a1 I looked down to find a temp gauge on max and red temp warning light. Fortunately I almost immediately found a handy petrol station. Pulled in and checked the coolant. Having let it cool down I topped up. Took a little over 1.5 litre.
However as I topped up this time I spotted a rather rapid leak from below the drivers headlight. Managed to get home with periodic stops for a top up, (must have put 3 liters in on the way home) and need to have a closer look in daylight.
So I guess the obvious is radiator or radiator drain plug, or hose down there.
Anything obvious I'm missing?
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Hi chaps
Hate to leap in with a first post asking for help, but been lurking for a while without registering
I have a 2003 diesel manual estate
HBV was replaced a year or two ago
I've had a minor untraceable coolant leak for a few months, requiring periodic top up
However this morning on the a1 I looked down to find a temp gauge on max and red temp warning light. Fortunately I almost immediately found a handy petrol station. Pulled in and checked the coolant. Having let it cool down I topped up. Took a little over 1.5 litre.
However as I topped up this time I spotted a rather rapid leak from below the drivers headlight. Managed to get home with periodic stops for a top up, (must have put 3 liters in on the way home) and need to have a closer look in daylight.
So I guess the obvious is radiator or radiator drain plug, or hose down there.
Anything obvious I'm missing?
Check HBV again, that`s where it lives on the diesel
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Also check the diesel heater under the drivers wing.
I trust you have not been topping it up with just water for the past few months?
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no its been topped up with coolant, other than yesterdays emergancy issue
thanks chaps, I'll taek a look shortly and report back
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ok this appears to be the culprit
(http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m583/montechristo358/8eedf3b0.jpg)
any idea what it is? coolant seems to be leaking from the area of the bolt coming off the side of the vertical pipe
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thats the diesel heater mate. :y
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thanks, sounds expensive
are these a known weakpoint or just bad luck?
looking at it, it looks modular, with long allen bolts holding it together, I'm guessing its a seal rather than teh casing, any chance the seals are available?
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Ok so it seems all this does is help heat the coolant on cold days
Knowing this and how long it takes for my heater to get warm somedays I doubt it's been working anyway
So I assume no issues with bypassing it?
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I've got a spare diesel heater here if you need one mate. Just send me a PM. :y
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If anybody has a spare diesel heater then I am after one.....working or not.
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thanks chaps
found a few similar discussions with people quoting £500 for the pre heater. And also discussions about bypassing it. However can;t finfd anyone who says they have actually done it.
any thoughts as to whether this would cause a problem? Can't really see the logic in spending that amount of cash on a car worth so little
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You can bypass it.
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Markiii, you have a PM. :y
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Easy enough to bypass, simply join the inlet and outlet pipes together with a 90 degree elbow and two jubilee clips, pull off the diesel fuel pipe and seal the end and unplug the loom from the heater unit.
Remove the heater unit and jobs done.
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Out of interest, do these heaters kick in on cold startup everytime, or only when the air temperature is below a certain level? I would imagine they can be heard running, even over the noise of the engine?
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Out of interest, do these heaters kick in on cold startup everytime, or only when the air temperature is below a certain level? I would imagine they can be heard running, even over the noise of the engine?
5 deg. C
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Thanks Rob, that explains why I couldn't get the one on SWMBO's Vectra C to fire up this morning!! Way too mild dan sarf!! :y
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the heater on my 2.2dti does come on at below 5 c and sounds like the fans are running at the front of the car also from time to time you will see a little smoke comming from around the front wheel 1st time i saw this i s**t myself thought car had caught fire
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Thanks chaps
Now bypassed and oddly the heater is actually better without it
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You'll be pleased to know I remembered to wash the coolant off the bread knife before I used it next ;D (even washed the grill pan, so the next bacon sarnies won't come complete with festering fat flavour ;))
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Thanks Rob, that explains why I couldn't get the one on SWMBO's Vectra C to fire up this morning!! Way too mild dan sarf!! :y
It was an indicated +2 degrees this morning when I fired up SWMBO's Vectra, and I could definately hear the heater running, so all is good! :y