stefphos, You really do need the services of a suitably qualified boiler / heating engineer. The expansion vessel is a vessel that is internally split into two by means of a diaphragm. On one side of the diaphragm is the system water, which is pressurised, on the other side is air, which is also pressurised -- manually. There is a possibility that the vessel may just need repressurising.
It is a requirement of current water regulations that the filling loop is disconnected following pressurisation of the system. One of the reasons for this is to prevent any possibility of contamination of drinking water by the heating system water.
Hope this helps.