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[couchtattie]

Where do i start mmm,for a while the engine has been over revving running about 3000 revs then dies to idle. took it to those nice vauxhall people 600 quid later 500 yards down the road problem back again.unfortunatly car now parked up after brown sludge gashing outta header tank under pressure is this the dreaded head gasket???...Help needed thanks...

[Welung666]

We'll need a few more details.... Year and engine size of your MV6? What exactly did Vx not do for £600?

Answer those then check your dipstick for mayo looking sludge. My money is on the oil cooler, less than £100 to DIY fix! But most importantly do NOT start or use your car!

[Bionic]

Oh dear!
Sounds very much like the oil cooler has had its chips. Not a bad repair job and easy to do yourself.
Like you were told before - Do Not Use it until it is done because contaminated oil and probable low oil pressure will do far more damage. Don't forget to thoroughly flush out the cooling system afterwards with all temperatures set to high and heaters full on before using new antifreeze mix. Use RadFlush and do it twice for good measure.
Sounds like your Xmas is going the same way as mine!
GudLuk
Ray

[albitz]

And get a taxi back to the dealer and dont leave until you have had a full refund at the very least.
If you put your location in your avatar there may be someone local to to you who may be willing/able to pop round and take a look for you.

[dbug]

As others have said failed oil cooler - oil in water.  Do not use until replaced, flush out cooling system well - will take a few gos to completely clear, then antifreeze mixture.

If no signs of water in oil then unlikely to be head gasket

[unlucky mark mv6]

Am i right in saying that head gasket failure is very rare on a v6 :-/

[Andy B]

Am i right in saying that head gasket failure is very rare on a v6 :-/

But not exactly unheard of .... 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Anybody who understands the make up of a dry liner engine setup (which sadly seems to exclude most of the mechanics these days!) will fully understand that it is almost impossible to get oil in the water under head gasket failure conditions.

On the later V6 engines, the most common gasket failure symptom is a water leak, this needs to get VERY bad before the compression seal is compromised and even then, it does not resul in oil in the water (you might, on rare occasions, get water in the oil).

[Andy B]

  ......
 the most common gasket failure symptom is a water leak, this needs to get VERY bad before the compression seal is compromised and even then, it does not resul in oil in the water (you might, on rare occasions, get water in the oil).

Like Scotties. The gasket fire ring had a very slight split in it. Compression test said OK, but the cloud of steam out of the back suggested otherwise. 

[damage consultant]

as to MARKS post whats likley to happen now chuck engine away and get a new one as he says who knows the difference nowadays in most garages apart from the old timers who are getting scarecer to show the younger ones whats what.

[Marks DTM Calib]

  ......
 the most common gasket failure symptom is a water leak, this needs to get VERY bad before the compression seal is compromised and even then, it does not resul in oil in the water (you might, on rare occasions, get water in the oil).

Like Scotties. The gasket fire ring had a very slight split in it. Compression test said OK, but the cloud of steam out of the back suggested otherwise. 

Which is normaly caused due to the gasket behind rotting away resulting in the fire ring being un-supported. 

[Marks DTM Calib]

The question ahs to be.....where abouts is couchtattie located?

[Andy B]

  ......
 the most common gasket failure symptom is a water leak, this needs to get VERY bad before the compression seal is compromised and even then, it does not resul in oil in the water (you might, on rare occasions, get water in the oil).

Like Scotties. The gasket fire ring had a very slight split in it. Compression test said OK, but the cloud of steam out of the back suggested otherwise. 

Which is normaly caused due to the gasket behind rotting away resulting in the fire ring being un-supported. 

Quite probably, but as the gasket ended up breaking up into various bits, some stuck to the head & some stuck to the block it, it was a bit difficult to tell what had rotted & what we had ripped by taking the head off.
It was definitely the case with my Senator's headgasket failure years ago - no 6 pot was beautifully clean though!   

[Andy B]

The question ahs to be.....where abouts is couchtattie located?

Horizontal on his couch!         

[couchtattie]

Hi again, have been reading with interest the replies to my post.The rather costly chunk of metal sitting outside my house is a v6 3.0 2000 mv6 manuel ex police very costly when buying parts from vauxhalls (i like the way they inhale and rub their hands).A couple of posts mention oil cooler ?.. The problem with idling ( new idle control valve fittied) got worse lifted the bonnet to see brown water coming out of the header tank and the water wasnt hot, just under pressure i topped it backup drove the next day same again but this time the sludge was gushing out no steam from exhaust..flippin hard to explain the troubles im having anyway hope this helps anyone/someone help me get my car back working again im missing the adrenalin rush.Cheers