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[mantaray]

Well after reading all your comments and advice given on my other threads, I deceided to take the plung, I am now the owner of a 2.6 Auto CDX Estate.

As the cost of getting her transported up to me was too expencive, I deceided to take the risk (oil cooler leaking) and drive her the 66 miles home. I needent of worried, she ran like a dream. At a steady average of 60mph, the temp never went above 80 and the trip comp. gave an average of 31mpg.

Over all she seems to be a solid motor, bottom of doors and rear arches are very good, paint work is ok but it does have a few scratches and the laquer on the roof is lifting in a few places.

So what are my plans?
First thing to do is sort the oil cooler out, which I have started today, should have it all back together tomorrow and then it's a case of getting the cooling system flushed out fully.

Once she is fixed, then I will use her as an every day car for a while and see how I get on with an auto. Never liked auto's, always been a manual person, but I am starting to get problems with my left foot and pressing the clutch.

If I like it, then I don't know what 'll end up doing.  Do I keep it and sell my 2.5TD manual?

[2boxerdogs]

Nice colour will clean up well  , sure you will enjoy it my 2.6 was manual my Merc is auto got to say I prefer auto.

[powerslinky]

Bit of TLC once the oil cooler is done , & looks like it will be a nice car , I like that colour 
General consensus on here is the 2.6's are slow/sluggish  & having owned one a few omegas back ,I agreed 
I have had several 3.0's all auto, all  Elites in both MFL & FL  guise, had one 2.5 elite MFL (dbugs old car) that was pretty quick for a 2.5 I thought. Had one 2.6 MV6 which I remember commenting on here  was the slowest of the omegas I had had up until then  . Have had 3 x 3.2 's two Elites & one MV6,  the 3.2's are pretty quick with the black MV6 being the best of the FL cars I've had . So getting to the point of this post , I now have FL 2.6CDX estate & it seems to be a fair bit more powerful than the previous 2.6 ever was  realise now that there was something not quite right with that one  Saying that , the guy I sold it to, throught it was really rapid . . but it was his first omega 

So I have heard & read  comments on here that the 2.6's are "underpowered" &  "gutless" . . . I find that a bit cruel really , agreed a 3.0 or 3.2 is always going to be more powerful , but the 2.6 lump can still pull pretty darn good IMO

Feed the weaker autobox of the 2.6 into the mix,  & if you can get a 3.0/3.2 all the better , but they are becoming difficult to source now. But you won't be getting a decent 3.2 for £300 , where as 2.6 CDX's are out there for that money

My opinion is theres no shame in owning a 2.6     but to end I will say of all the 10 omegas I have owned, the first 3.0 MFL Elite was the best all round  of them all .

Wish you good luck with the oil cooler , fairly straight forward & made easier if you search out the advice & tips  of previous oofers who have done this job . . . & remember to  get the dishwasher tabs ready 

[migiestate]

A good looking Omega with a great paint colour  . Hope you enjoy your new car, automatic's are great  . 

[Zirfeld]

Hi folks

I read a lot about Omega performance. But Omegas are far away from sports cars. They are soft gliders. So I use them (mainly). By traveling long distance my normal speed is 90...100 mph. For that the X20XEV engine is absolutely enough.

But sometimes, when I am travelling back home from northern Germany to far southwest...I put the hammer down, special around 3 AM . South of Karlsruhe direction south the A5 is unlimited. Boahh... 130 mph. Who needs a V6?

Rolf

[mantaray]

I love the colour too, it did help me to decide to buy it.

Well got the oil cooler out today, only to find that it had already been replace sometime in the not to distant past. It looked very new but to make sure I did a pressure test on it, by putting it in water and then connecting it to an air line, no air bubbles to be seen. So I think the oil in the header tank must be from whoever changed the cooler didn't fully flush the system out.

Any way not all was lost as I found that the d/s rocker cover was leaking, leaking that bad that all 3 spark plug hole were full of oil.  Upon taking the cover off i found the next problem, the rubber sleeves that go on to the coil pack were falling apart. I gave Vauxhall a ring only to find out that the sleeves are not sold separately and only come with a new coil @ £150 +vat a side. So out came the super glue.

Got her all back together tonight and ran her up to temp with no problems, so tomorrow I'll flush the system a few more times and we should be good to go.

  . . . & remember to  get the dishwasher tabs ready 

Are you serious about the dishwasher tabs and if so how do you use them?


Regarding the pros and cons of the 2.6, I am not looking for a sporty car ( I have a 215bhp X25XE in my Manta A, for that  ) I've been driving a 2.5TD for the last 6 years, so as long as it's that good I'll be happy. It will mainly be used for towing a caravan, and as I am an old git now, even when not towing I tend to sit around 70/80mph at the most. Yes a 3.0 or 3.2 would have been nice, but this one just came up at the right price.

[powerslinky]

I love the colour too, it did help me to decide to buy it.

Well got the oil cooler out today, only to find that it had already been replace sometime in the not to distant past. It looked very new but to make sure I did a pressure test on it, by putting it in water and then connecting it to an air line, no air bubbles to be seen. So I think the oil in the header tank must be from whoever changed the cooler didn't fully flush the system out.

Any way not all was lost as I found that the d/s rocker cover was leaking, leaking that bad that all 3 spark plug hole were full of oil.  Upon taking the cover off i found the next problem, the rubber sleeves that go on to the coil pack were falling apart. I gave Vauxhall a ring only to find out that the sleeves are not sold separately and only come with a new coil @ £150 +vat a side. So out came the super glue.

Got her all back together tonight and ran her up to temp with no problems, so tomorrow I'll flush the system a few more times and we should be good to go.

  . . . & remember to  get the dishwasher tabs ready 

Are you serious about the dishwasher tabs and if so how do you use them?


Regarding the pros and cons of the 2.6, I am not looking for a sporty car ( I have a 215bhp X25XE in my Manta A, for that  ) I've been driving a 2.5TD for the last 6 years, so as long as it's that good I'll be happy. It will mainly be used for towing a caravan, and as I am an old git now, even when not towing I tend to sit around 70/80mph at the most. Yes a 3.0 or 3.2 would have been nice, but this one just came up at the right price.

Re: the dishwasher tablets . . . if you think about it ,what you are looking for is a detergent that will break the oil down without foaming ( therefore washing up liquid etc. is no good ), dishwasher tabs are ideal as they are designed to break down grease from used plates etc. without foaming . Usual process is to drain system as best as you can , do this a few times just refilling with plain water, as this will get rid of most of the anti freeze. Then put 3 DW tabs in a jug  with some warm water to disolve them . Then just simply  pour into the header tank & refill the system with plain water .  Run the car up to temp & then a short drive 20 mins or so to make sure system is at full running temp.
Leave for a couple of hours , then run car up to temp again, switch off ,leave for 20 mins & being very careful
( as coolant will be very hot,   drain the system.   This process will need to be repeated quite a few times , would suggest you can probably do it 3 times in one day & may need up to 10 to clean all oil out . Then you will need to flush system another 10 times with plain water , before finally filling with 50/50 coolant

I'm sure you will be  aware of this but, the other very important thing this time of year is  . .DO NOT leave system filled over night if car is outside as there is no anti freeze protection .  If you have a facillity to have the car in a garage /workshop , leaving the system filled with the DW tablet solution overnight  is a good idea. But of course the problem this time of year is the freezing issue.

If you use the search on here this process has covered several times by members &  the more info & advice
you gather on this the better.

Might be best to post up in general help  about this subject of flushing oil from system , to get other members advice as well .

HTH 

[OmeGo!]

i like the color too. nice ride