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16

Omega General Help / Re: Radiator Drain Maintenance.

« on: 10 May 2012, 19:04:23 »

Looking at the photo of the drain cock in this thread is one of the seals out of it position? i.e. not in the groove - funny thing was when I removed mine it was exactly like the one in the photo but would like to know what the correct seal position should be

17

Omega Electrical and Audio Help / Re: Battery Problems?

« on: 10 May 2012, 16:57:34 »

Hi, thanks for all the info. & thanks to Tigers-Gonads for the offer. Well, what I remembered was the battery came with a 3 year guarantee - and low and behold I found the receipt - bought Jan. 2010 (that doesn't happen very often!). So, today I took the battery back to the Vx stealers - they were most surprised to see it again but straight away started to deflect asking how old the car was and that they would need to test the car on the diagnostic tester (approx. £60 charge). I explained I couldn't get the car to them as the battery was sat on their service counter (LOL). They then said they would have to raise a job docket for it - they passed me over the girl that books the jobs - she in turn asked a colleague how much time to put on the job docket (he 0.5 hours) so she then looked at me and said that will £39.99 then! I said I wasn't going to pay £40 to have the battery re-charged so I suggested that if they re-charged & tested the battery under the guarantee and I would re-try it on the car and if the problem returned I would be in touch - she consulted a manager and reluctantly they agreed to do this. There was a big TV on the wall displaying the message 'Have you had a 5 star experience today?' er, not quite.
Anyway, a technician did come and test the battery with a meter - he said he was getting a low voltage reading and zero amps. What this indicates I'm not quite sure but they said they would put it on charge and contact me when they had news - heard nothing as yet so I will give them a call tomorrow to see how they are getting on - will keep you posted 

18

Omega General Help / Re: Oil Cooler plate

« on: 09 May 2012, 19:15:12 »

I reckon its 50/50, but best of luck - don't forget the release spray, use a 30mm socket and apply just enough turning force until you feel them starting to move - let us know how it goes.

19

Omega General Help / Cartridge type oil filter housing - Question?

« on: 09 May 2012, 18:57:14 »

Recently removed my cartridge type oil filter housing to get access to the oil cooler pipe connections and I was expecting to find a rubber seal between the housing and the engine casting but there wasn't one - there is just a circular recessed groove on the rear of the housing that marries with a raised circular rim on the mounting position that locates with the housing - how does it make an oil tight seal?

As I managed to get it off in tact I intend re-fitting it as I already have a new cartridge type filter as opposed to doing the screw-on conversion.

20

Omega Electrical and Audio Help / Battery Problems?

« on: 09 May 2012, 18:02:23 »

Bought a new battery (correct one for the car) from Vx stealers about two years ago - no problems. Being doing mainly short runs, town driving (approx. 4miles each way daily). About two weeks ago I left the car unused for a week then when I came to start it the code input required came up on the dash display for the radio and the engine would barely turn over - not fast enough to fire up the engine, so battery is now off the car - should mention it is a maintenance free type and the dot bubble is now showing black.

I would have thought the battery should not have gone flat in this time especially now the weather is warmer (well warmer than winter anyway).

Would the alarm system put a drain on the battery - I have been thinking of removing it given the bad press the power sounder seems to get - no problems with that as yet (fingers crossed!)

Can anyone recommend a charger for this type of battery and how much would it cost. Alternatively, I was thinking of taking it to a local gargage and asking them to slow charge it. I wouldn't have thought the battery was totally u/s given its age?

21

Omega General Help / Re: Oil Cooler plate

« on: 09 May 2012, 16:12:20 »

Sounds right to me - the oil cooler has to be inserted first complete with new seals in the seats at base of threads on the cooler. The cover plate has to be angled to get it in between the two cylinder heads (with sealant applied) - then finger tight the 30mm nuts - then tighten the cover plate fixings screws and torque up - then torque up the 30mm nuts - then reconnect the oil pipes at both ends (new seals on the cooler banjo fittings (4-off) - finger tight then torque up accordingly.

22

Omega General Help / Re: Oil Cooler plate

« on: 08 May 2012, 19:04:02 »

I've just removed mine today - came out in one piece - no damage at all. I gave the banjo bolts and 30mm nuts a good dowsing with plus gas release spray and let it soak in overnight. The difficult bit was removing my oil filter cartridge housing to get at the oil cooler pipes connections at the oil filter end (you will need a 19mm crows foot socket piece as they are confined to say the least). I took the nearside wheel off to aid access and removed the crankshaft sensor for the same reason - maintenance guide on here is excellent for this. My water leak was also coming from the oil cooler - the sealant gasket had failed. I've just ordered the gasket sealant, cooler seals (2) and banjo seals (4) from the stealers today (special order) but not expensive.

23

Omega General Help / Re: Confused

« on: 08 May 2012, 18:53:31 »

I had a similar problem to this with automatic Astra - diagnostics wise it didn't show up but it turned out to be damaged wiring (partly broken wire) to one of the sensors throwing up intermittent engine fault and putting car into limp home mode so to speak - it was like setting off in third gear. Would suggest a good auto electrtician to find the fault - worked for me.

PS Have you had any work done on the car recently where some of the wiring may have been disturbed - might give you a pointer as where to start looking.

24

Omega General Help / Re: Radiator Drain Maintenance.

« on: 08 May 2012, 18:46:04 »

Cheers for the info. I've just ordered a new one today (only £1-83 + VAT from the stealers) - at point of ordering he said the part had been superseded, hence the difference. I will swap the seals over.

25

Omega General Help / Re: torque settings

« on: 07 May 2012, 19:04:30 »

According to my Haynes manual 25Nm equates to 18 lbf ft. But other than that yes those figures are as per Haynes manual.

26

Omega General Help / Re: Radiator Drain Maintenance.

« on: 07 May 2012, 18:56:55 »

I take it you can remove the drain screw then to inspect the o-ring seals?

27

Omega General Help / Blue Thread Sealant.

« on: 07 May 2012, 18:54:59 »

Recently removed my manifold flange mounting which had blue thread sealant applied to the securing bolts - anyone know what the blue thread sealant is called (other than blue thread sealant) - Will Vx stealers sell it?

28

Omega General Help / Radiator Drain Maintenance.

« on: 07 May 2012, 18:51:40 »

Just wondered while I have got my coolant drained from the system is there anything to maintain on the radiator drain - washer/seals etc - is it possible? Also, when tightening the drain thumb screw is finger tight sufficient?

29

Omega General Help / Re: Water Leak Investigated - Advice please.

« on: 07 May 2012, 13:13:57 »

That is such a relief - thanks - right motivation restored - back to the job

Aren't Bank Holidays brilliant - we should have more of them

30

Omega General Help / Re: Water Leak Investigated - And Some!!!

« on: 07 May 2012, 12:32:33 »

Just set about dropping the oil this morning to discover the sump plug is a T45 torx plug! Quick trip to local Motorway for yet another socket set - OK sump plug removed, oil draining. I thought I would remove the oil filler cap to help draining to be confronted with the dreaded sight of mayonnaise on the underside of the filler and down the filler tube Is this what I think it is? I have heard a lot of horror stories of what this indicates. All I can say is there is no evidence of oil in the coolant I have just drained. I have been doing a lot of short runs (approx. 4 miles) and start/stop driving for some time now - could that explain it?

My motivation has just nose dived - money pit, bottomless pit spring to mind