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[Ironingboard]

Hi people, a bit of a long post but I would appreciate some advice on a coolent leak I seem to have.

My Omega was suffering form a coolant loss but I had a real problem tracking it down, so I bought some tracer dye from the US which shows up under normal ultraviolet.

Anyway I managed to find the leak thanks to the dye and it looked like my water pump was leaking. So this weekend I changed the timing belt and water pump. I seen the coolant residue on the rear of the engine when I got the timing belt cover off. Anyway everything was changed thanks to the quality DVD from this site.

While I was in a fixing car mode, I changed the HBV and decided to clean the breathers and change the rocker cover gaskets as well. I managed to get the drivers side one done before I ran out of time last night.  

The problem I have now is I seem to have coolant coming from somewhere near the coolant bridge, its resting on the edges of the oil cooler plate

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1192574209

My car is a facelift so it doesn't suffer from the oil cooler problem that affects older models.

Any ideas is appreciated. I will give a proper look tonight when its dark and can see the dye better.

[Elite Pete]

Could the water be coming from the oil cooler plate or the thermostat and running rearwards?

[Ironingboard]

I'm not sure, is there any reason why the oil cooler plate be leaking, its never been touched?

There is no oil in the water and theres no oil in the coolant. If the oil cooler plate is leaking would it not show up in one of them?

[Elite Pete]

Having just read your post again, am I right in thinking the water is leaking on the section where the tissue is poked in the inlets of the picture. If so I would suspect the coolant bridge, they have copper washers with rubber inserts, could be one or more of those has deteriorated.

[cem_devecioglu]

if oil cooler is not serviced before good idea to check its condition..

Also its one important leakage area on Omega

[Ironingboard]

Being a facelift would the engine not already be fitted with a stainless steel oil cooler? I don't have any of the tell tail signs of the oil cooler going and I don't feel like the hassle of taking out the oil cooler to check it.  

[Ironingboard]

Having just read your post again, am I right in thinking the water is leaking on the section where the tissue is poked in the inlets of the picture. If so I would suspect the coolant bridge, they have copper washers with rubber inserts, could be one or more of those has deteriorated.

Sorry pete, the coolant seems to be resting around the edge of the oil cooler plate, but tonight I will check to see if I can find any leaks with my UV light and CSI glasses.  

The coolant bridge copper seals and rubber washers you mentioned, are they easy to change  I can't remember if the pipes leading to the bridge are flexible or not, do I need to change the bolts as well?

[Kevin Wood]

Being a facelift would the engine not already be fitted with a stainless steel oil cooler? I don't have any of the tell tail signs of the oil cooler going and I don't feel like the hassle of taking out the oil cooler to check it.  

We're not talking about a failure of the oil cooler but of the seal around the cover plate. A stainless cooler could make this area more prone to corrosion too!

Worth having a good look down there I'd say.

Kevin

[Ironingboard]

Thanks Kevin, I'm going to check it tonight to see. If I can't find any coolant coming from the coolant bridge or no other obvious areas then it will have something to do with the oil cooler or the coolant pipes feeding the oil cooler.

Are the seals on the coolant bridge prone to leaking?