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[KC]

Hi Guys, new member here. I am thinking of buying an excellent 3.0 MV6 today or tomorrow with supposidly the head gaskets gone from a lady owner. I am not a mechanic but have replaced head gaskets many times on V6`s before so I know what the job wil be and the headaches they bring in !! Question is although this is a great example the owner says that there is smoke coming out from the exhaust, and there is oil in the expansion tank but still runs but not very far until you have to fill up the reservoir again, there is mention of the oil cooler blockage and I need some advice of the checks to do before I rip the heads off. I need an estate and this seems to be the best example I have seen. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
KC

[tunnie]

Hi Guys, new member here. I am thinking of buying an excellent 3.0 MV6 today or tomorrow with supposidly the head gaskets gone from a lady owner. I am not a mechanic but have replaced head gaskets many times on V6`s before so I know what the job wil be and the headaches they bring in !! Question is although this is a great example the owner says that there is smoke coming out from the exhaust, and there is oil in the expansion tank but still runs but not very far until you have to fill up the reservoir again, there is mention of the oil cooler blockage and I need some advice of the checks to do before I rip the heads off. I need an estate and this seems to be the best example I have seen. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
KC

The oil cooler has failed, not the head gaskets.

[Andy H]

Hi Guys, new member here. I am thinking of buying an excellent 3.0 MV6 today or tomorrow with supposidly the head gaskets gone from a lady owner. I am not a mechanic but have replaced head gaskets many times on V6`s before so I know what the job wil be and the headaches they bring in !! Question is although this is a great example the owner says that there is smoke coming out from the exhaust, and there is oil in the expansion tank but still runs but not very far until you have to fill up the reservoir again, there is mention of the oil cooler blockage and I need some advice of the checks to do before I rip the heads off. I need an estate and this seems to be the best example I have seen. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
KC

Steam in the exhaust and coolant loss point to head gasket failure.

Best budget for head gaskets and oil cooler.

[tunnie]

Hi Guys, new member here. I am thinking of buying an excellent 3.0 MV6 today or tomorrow with supposidly the head gaskets gone from a lady owner. I am not a mechanic but have replaced head gaskets many times on V6`s before so I know what the job wil be and the headaches they bring in !! Question is although this is a great example the owner says that there is smoke coming out from the exhaust, and there is oil in the expansion tank but still runs but not very far until you have to fill up the reservoir again, there is mention of the oil cooler blockage and I need some advice of the checks to do before I rip the heads off. I need an estate and this seems to be the best example I have seen. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
KC

Steam in the exhaust and coolant loss point to head gasket failure.

Best budget for head gaskets and oil cooler.

Both fail at the same time  :-/

Unless the oil cooler failed, and its been driven for a while with it busted 

Meaning the engine has not been cooled as it should have been.

[Andy H]

If the price is right and you are prepared to carry out the necessary work then all the information you need is either in the how to section or available from members on the forum.

First task would be to pressure test the coolant system http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1225142864 and find out where the coolant is going.

[Marks DTM Calib]

The oil cooler is failed....head gasket failure will not cause oil to get into the coolant

[KC]

Thanks for the prompt reply guys. Got the car home today and observed the following:

1. Coolant tank was empty and when I undid the expansion tank cap there was a huge amount of pressure being released from a cold engine, and there was no evidence of oil in the water but there was water on the dipstick and under the oil filler cap.

2. Filled the reservoir up and started the engine and could immediately tell there was a pressure build up and air bubbles coming from the exp. tank with the cap off. Also after a couple of minutes maximum running time there was steam coming from the exhaust and I could hear a hissing from the plenum so there is a leak of some sort also so I shut it off.

Next step for me and you guys let me know would it be a good idea to pre-check the compressions on all cylinders before I take the heads off ? and does anyone have the procedure written down with photographs? I do have most of the tools as well but is there anything I should know beforehand? Do you think I should do more tests before I take the heads off?

Thinking ahead the original cd player and multi player in the rear is missing plus the two headlamp jets anyone have these?

Great forum my first time.

Thanks
KC

[albitz]

Sounds like H/G then - water in oil,steam from exhaust.Compression test would possibly show which H/G has gone.Will need cambelt and tensioner kit for rebuild.This will need cam locking setting kit,dont try it without.Also DVD from OOF shop is invaluable when doing cambelt,even if you are reasonably experienced.

[Martin_1962]

Fit a new water pump as well, concider DBW V6 exhaust manifolds, flow much better.

Heads off is not a difficlut job allow 3 days and take your time, and stop if you get sun stroke

[I_want_an_Omega]

I was about to buy this one - you beat me to it! Good luck with your purchase.

Where are you located as I know of a complete engine which would solve the problem for you.

The headlight washer nozzles cost £47 EACH from Vauxhall. Best to keep an eye on ebay. If however you remove the 2nd relay back from the front in the under bonnet fuse box it disables the washers and you won't empty the tank and squirt the cars in front if you.

[Ghost]

If a hg has gone and you are getting steam out the exhaust you should / might be able to see which side it is on the spark plugs, there should be a dirty wet plug there so you could have a look,

[Phil.d]

I had my gaskets , belts , thermo , oil cooler and pulleys done on mine a couple of months back. The cost was 800 and thats on the low side. I think cooler went first which then affected heads resulting in overheating.The cars been great since ,  I think a tell tale sign of gaskets is pressure build up in the top hose as was the case with mine.

[KC]

Thanks for all your feedback Robert I live in Sileby Leicestershire if you want to respond to me. My alternative email address is energy1959@btinternet.com I started the removal process today and I spent 4 hours on the car. I will be ready tomorrow to take the cambelt off ready to remove the right hand head when the exhaust manifold is off. Is it possible to remove the head with the manifold in place? and can I separate the exhaust down pipes making life easier? The plenum and inlet manifold is off and so is the air filter large tubing to the throttle body, problem is that I broke of one vacuum pipe plastic stem from the little square canister taking it out, are they expensive? everything else went fine so far but I am a bit worried about the left side head that has the vacuum pipes and electrics on it next to the oil dipstick I dont have to take that off right? Just move it aside I hope.
Thanks again. Let me know about the engine etc

[ScottieMV6]

I feel for you KC as I have just had exactly the same problem on mine. I now have the heads off ready to refurb.

Remove the downpipe from the manifold and take the manifold off with the heads,. There is an excellent guide here http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1187928695

I would recommend resealing your oil cooler at least while you have good access (make sure you get the right sealant from Vx) other possibles to do while access is good are HBV, Thermostat and cleaning breather box.

Hope it all goes well

[KC]

UPDATE:
Ok, I have taken off the RH side head and there was no sign of the gasket gone so I am hoping that the left side has the problem, the pistons look good and no play in the rings. I hope to do this today. I have stripped the RH head down ready for testing and everything is marked in order. Does anyone know how to test the oil cooler? It looks to me that someone has fitted a cooler to this vehicle in the past as there is sealant and lots of it around the cooler outer edges. Is there any way of telling if the cooler is stainless steel? will there be a part number anywhere when I remove it? Anhowits back outside this morning to see how far I get I am hoping to get the heads in for testing later today if all goes well wish me luck!!

Thanks
KC :-?