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[Andy Cas]

Hello!
My 2.0L estate blew a split in it's water pipe on a run about a month ago (The pipe coming off the thermostat, 3/4" bore), and promptly boiled over after it lost all the coolant. I had no tools and no choice but to buy water, and drive the 45 miles back home, topping up the water every 10 miles or so. Swindon Vauxhall quoted £98.00 ex-VAT for a replacement hose, so I went to Pirtek and bought some high temp high pressure hose with brass joiners and jubilee clips for £10, and did a "proper" bodge. No leaks! Or so I thought...

Until I switched the fan temp control to "heat, please" last week and I heard a distinctive noise that sounded like liquid squirting out under pressure, inside the car. I thought no more of it as I thought I had fixed the leak, and no more was leaking out. Next morning I checked the coolant (every day since the big leak). Really low!

I guess this can only point to either the HBV pipes leaking, or the heater matrix leaking after it got so hot (I had the fans + heat on to help the cooling).

I can eliminate the HBV as I have a puddle of coolant in the driver's footwell.

Now then, the Haynes book of lies says how to do it, but mentions you have to remove the whole facia i.e. entire dashboard to get at it.
I recently did a banger cavalier and know the matrix is well hidden on the cav too.

Has anyone done this job before and knows a simpler way than taking EVERYTHING out to replace a single part?

[iainb]

My matrix has also blown,the hot water went all over my leg.
I have by-passed the matrix by choping the hose's and fitting a U shaped piece of copper tube.
There have been a couple of guys that have cut the lower part of facia and done the replacement that way.
Im sure someone will point you in the right direction

[Wag]

There's a guide somewhere on here dude. Its a shortcut and doesnt involve taking half the car to bits, but involves a slight cosmetic "butchering" of some trim panel in footwell.

[Andy Cas]

I'm usually the last owner of my cars, but there's something about the omega that I really like!
If someone can advise on what sort of area to cut, I'll try and do a nice and tidy job (only I will ever know!!)

This sounds like a much better idea. I used a crowbar on the cavalier and did the whole job in about 20 minutes.
The bugger wouldn't start though and I ended up scrapping it and buying the Omega...

[Wag]

Here u go lads/lasses..........

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1219945946/13#13

[Abiton]

***Warning: Friday morning downer***

I think it's only fair to mention, for the longterm benefit of 4-pot owners, and to a lesser extent V6'ers, that in my recent experience, matrix popping was one of the early symptoms of headgasket failure.  Others were...hose leaks in the engine bay, header-tank leakage around the base of the threaded bit that the cap screws onto, radiator hose-fitting cracking, harder than expected top and bottom hoses when up to temp.  [Edit, and of course gradually worsening coolant loss.]

All  of the above, with 20/20 hindsight were obviously due to increased/excess pressure in the cooling system, due to combustion products sneaking past a fire-ring.  Our gasket failure was by no means catastrophic - good today, gone tomorrow - but instead a very gradual (months and months) worsening, which made me languish in denial for far too long.   

I'd recommend one of those tests where the contents of the header tank are chemically sampled to look for the abovementioned combustion products.  If you don't want to do that, just look down each of the spark-plug holes with the help of a powerful torch, looking for wet piston crown(s) a few hours after the engine has last been running.  If the wetness isn't oil (i.e. dry the plugwells first if oily), there isn't much else it can be than coolant. A tissue-wrapped stick as a 'sampler' will confirm which it is if in doubt.

 

[Andy Cas]

see I have had a 'mare with this omega really. I am still fighting forwards with it though as I can't really afford to do much else, and I do actually like the car. Head gasket was renewed in January so should be OK. No oil in coolant / vice versa. Strange problem though: exhaust coming from the oil filler cap, rare intermittent rattle (sounds like coils - got replacement today) rattle produces big blue smoke and I mean BIG BLUE smoke!!.
Possibly the constant partial misfire combined with the state of the rings after 100,000 miles of towing a caravan also enough blow-by with a gummed open EGR valve, allowing a constant stream of oily fumes into the engine. When it does misfire, the oily residue burns nice and blue. Add to this a really bad oil leak from sump, rocker cover and ~another one~ and you have a nightmare car, that also leaks water as and when it feels like it.
The bodywork is 100% perfect though, which is the driving factor for me to sort it out myself! 

I'll get there in the end.

I am tempted to do the dashboard removal for the matrix fix. Looks like it will be the blue pill, then.