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[omegod]

Stripped most of the engine down on my dead 2.6 to get some parts off for sale and was expecting to see the cam belt having jumped or snapped...nope! all timed correctly and the heads/valves are absolutely fine. Bottom end is locked solid though so suspect the oil pick up became blocked and lunched the crank bearing despite 2 oil changes in 1000 miles and running sweetly. I will pull off the sump at some point to see what state the bearings are in just out of curiosity.

Same thing happened to my cousins 2.6  I wonder if they are prone to it?

[joshwyatt]

Same thing happened to a '52' 2.6 MV6 I had. The oil pick up became blocked after a recent oil change and locked the engine. I almost became paranoid. When I bought my 2.6 Elite, Daz took the sump off and cleaned the oil pick up. It had full VX SH, so oil changed every 20k miles. I was worried about the same thing happening to the Elite.

It's a bit of an extreme step, but any unknown Omega to me, I would take the sump off to clean the oil pick up to be extra safe, then I'd know there would be no issue with ongoing frequent oil changes.

[albitz]

Same thing happened to my first 3.2 breaker.

[omegod]

I had a suspicion it may have been this when I went round to the new ( unhappy buyers) house and could have probably towed it back,stripped it down for a clean up and it may have run sweet again but would never have slept if I sold it to someone else so thought bugger it it's a breaker now and got nearly home before it locked up. Does seem 2.6's may be more vulnerable to this problem !

[joshwyatt]

That shows the sort of chap you are! I'd have no qualms in buying a car from you. As a dealer, I have much stricter guidlines, SOGA etc but you sold it privately so in theory could have washed your hands of it. But you took the right, moral approach. I hope once broken and sold, it doesn't turn out to cause too much of a loss for you.

[PhilRich]

That shows the sort of chap you are! I'd have no qualms in buying a car from you. As a dealer, I have much stricter guidlines, SOGA etc but you sold it privately so in theory could have washed your hands of it. But you took the right, moral approach. I hope once broken and sold, it doesn't turn out to cause too much of a loss for you.

Hear, Hear!

[Webby the Bear]

That shows the sort of chap you are! I'd have no qualms in buying a car from you. As a dealer, I have much stricter guidlines, SOGA etc but you sold it privately so in theory could have washed your hands of it. But you took the right, moral approach. I hope once broken and sold, it doesn't turn out to cause too much of a loss for you.

Hear, Hear!

+1 

guys, just trying to understand something from my learning point of view.....

are we saying the oil pick up blocked BECAUSE of frequent oil changes?  sorry if ive misread. would have thought new oil would go through really nice taking any building up crud with it and through the filter?

 

[Andy B]

....
guys, just trying to understand something from my learning point of view.....

are we saying the oil pick up blocked BECAUSE of frequent oil changes?  sorry if ive misread. would have thought new oil would go through really nice taking any building up crud with it and through the filter?

 

I think it's guess work 

A severely neglected engine may have lumps of cruddy carbonised oil stuck into the recesses of the block. A few changes of oil might have knocked some of these lumps away (same as using an engine flush) which have become stuck in the mesh of the oil pump pick up pipe ....... A speculative guess 

[Webby the Bear]

....
guys, just trying to understand something from my learning point of view.....

are we saying the oil pick up blocked BECAUSE of frequent oil changes?  sorry if ive misread. would have thought new oil would go through really nice taking any building up crud with it and through the filter?

 

I think it's guess work 

A severely neglected engine may have lumps of cruddy carbonised oil stuck into the recesses of the block. A few changes of oil might have knocked some of these lumps away (same as using an engine flush) which have become stuck in the mesh of the oil pump pick up pipe ....... A speculative guess 

got ya! so in effect the fact that the oil is doing its job could have contributed to the blockage. I suppose the old oil would just sail past it then 

 

[Broomies Mate]

Whichever way you look at it, it's going to end badly.  If the service history is in doubt, drop the sump and clean the strainer.  The sump itself will normally have a load of crap caked on to it.  It doesn't take long, and is a very worthwhile process.

[symes]

make it a coffee table

[omegod]

make it a coffee table

The wife has already said no to that as well as a CDX sofa

[TheBoy]

Whichever way you look at it, it's going to end badly.  If the service history is in doubt, drop the sump and clean the strainer.  The sump itself will normally have a load of crap caked on to it.  It doesn't take long, and is a very worthwhile process.

Indeed. Or if its been serviced to Vauxhall's spec, which so many are, and owners seem proud of 

[2woody]

yes they're prone to it.

I'd go so far as to say I've never seen an Omega that isn't in the early stages of big-end failure.

Blame too-high oil temperatures

[Andy H]

yes they're prone to it.

I'd go so far as to say I've never seen an Omega that isn't in the early stages of big-end failure.

Blame too-high oil temperatures

I think you are on to something there. Vee engines are particularly hard on big ends because two bearings have to be squeezed into the space normally occupied by a single big end of an in-line engine.
Fully synthetic oils are intended to cope with extreme temperatures. I know many in oof don't see the point but I am convinced that it is worth paying a little bit more for GM 5w30 synthetic oil (dexron ?) .

There are other benefits too from running thinner oil eg less resistance from cold, if engine is revved when cold it is less likely to blow oil seals, (allegedly) better fuel consumption, and I am convinced that it is capable of freeing sticky valve lifters without having to use an additive.