Advice: oil pan gasket leak
#41
#43
Race Director
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Location: Toronto, Canada
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C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
Changed the oil on my 09 Coupe about 1,000 miles ago. We noticed oil on the oil pan. It was just a thin film. We cleaned it off, tighted bolts on oil pan and changed the oil. After the oil change, I began smelling burnt oil at lights. I figure, despite being careful, we got some on exhaust. It didn't go away and now at 1,000 miles later, we put it up on the lift and the oil pan is wet again on the side opposite the filter, same place as before. Filter was tight and no other oil was seen. I have no oil on the garage floor, but the burnt oil smell is persisting.
So, should I have the dealer replace the gasket or wait until it gets worse? I still have powertrain and extended warranty, GMPP. My problem is the dealers here are not known to be terribly competent.
So, should I have the dealer replace the gasket or wait until it gets worse? I still have powertrain and extended warranty, GMPP. My problem is the dealers here are not known to be terribly competent.
#45
Safety Car
some of you say just re tighten the pan bolts.. have you ever done this? i was under the lift when the mech tried it. you CANNOT get to all of the bolts.. does anybody know how to properly tourque the bolts? thats why i put my trust in the mech at my local dealership.... it took 2 days.... i was given a free rental no fuss. picked up car smelled oil went back after a day they found that the oil level sensor was missing an "o" ring from the factory.. had one in stock and no more smell.... just because a couple of dealerships messed up doesnt mean that they are all idiots......
Hope this is the answer. Maybe this o ring is missed while putting the oil level sensor together more than we suspect.
Hope this is it.
#46
Instructor
Its covered under the powertrain 5years/100,000. My 07 got done this year under the powertrain warranty, its covered if you have an 09. Take it to the dealer.
#47
Drifting
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Location: Lake Delton (WI Dells) WI
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I had a seeping oil pan as well. I removed one bolt at a time, applied some black silicone RTV sealant to the threads and re-torqued them to spec. Once I got all of them done I let the car sit for a couple days for the RTC to cure. Before I decided to do this I checked the torque on a few of the reachable bolts and all the ones I checked were not as tight as they should be.....this is what led me to do what I did. All of my seepage looked to be coming from the bolt heads too.
Keep in mind though, in order to reach all of them you must remove the transverse spring, which means tearing apart the front suspension, which is no big deal if you have the correct tools.
The last time I check everything was still bone dry.
Keep in mind though, in order to reach all of them you must remove the transverse spring, which means tearing apart the front suspension, which is no big deal if you have the correct tools.
The last time I check everything was still bone dry.
#48
I had my '07 with 30K on the clock in for a oil smell coming through the vents that I noticed the last 300 miles since its last maintenance. Tech found leaking oil pan gasket as well. My pan was just moist and no drops were forming yet. Glad I had the extended warranty- used several times now. I woukd have it fixed sooner than later.
#50
Burning Brakes
Friend that has a shop says most vette coming through have a leaky pan.
Total shame. He told me they never really get bad and most guys just spray them down at each oil change. For a car with a 70k sticker I have a hard time choking this down. My TL with 60k miles doesn't leak a drop of anything and it cost less than half.
Total shame. He told me they never really get bad and most guys just spray them down at each oil change. For a car with a 70k sticker I have a hard time choking this down. My TL with 60k miles doesn't leak a drop of anything and it cost less than half.
#52
So this is turning into a friggin nightmare!!
Had it in for the 2nd attempt at fixing the leak. Took them a month... Had to take it back Twice on each repair attempt for bad alignment, and this last time, they scratched the drivers door, so back again to fix that...
And now it's leaking AGAIN!!!
What the hell are these guys doing???
Had it in for the 2nd attempt at fixing the leak. Took them a month... Had to take it back Twice on each repair attempt for bad alignment, and this last time, they scratched the drivers door, so back again to fix that...
And now it's leaking AGAIN!!!
What the hell are these guys doing???
#53
Racer
Will Give it a try
Have a 2009 22K miles. Had the recall for the cats done. Told by dealer my oil pan was leaking. Would cost $1100.00...
I had not seen any oil drips on my driveway. Looks like its just all wet, as described by some of the other members on here.
i read thru the thread. Looks like I will try to tighten down the bolts i can get to with a torque wrench. If that dont work I will remove and replace one at a time and add the stuff mentioned that was mentioned here. worth a shot. I will post my results in a few weeks.
Can anyone tell me the torque specs?
I had not seen any oil drips on my driveway. Looks like its just all wet, as described by some of the other members on here.
i read thru the thread. Looks like I will try to tighten down the bolts i can get to with a torque wrench. If that dont work I will remove and replace one at a time and add the stuff mentioned that was mentioned here. worth a shot. I will post my results in a few weeks.
Can anyone tell me the torque specs?
Last edited by braveheart3158; 03-09-2016 at 06:47 PM. Reason: adding
#54
Intermediate
This is how I did mine it was an LS2 but after looking at my 08 LS7 same exact procedure would need to be done. Try to tighten the pan bolts with your 10mm and a quarter inch ratchet if you can. I was able to snug the LS7 bolts up and that worked.
1) Raise vehicle on jack stands about 20" off the floor
2) Remove front wheels
2.5) Drain motor oil
3) Disconnect shocks at LOWER mounting point (2x 13mm nuts/bolts)
4) Unbolt upper A-arms and be sure to keep a note of what shims are in place(if applicable) (4x 15mm bolts)
5) Disconnect brake line mounting point and wire harness from each side of the cradle (2x 10mm shorty bolts)
5.5) Remove front leaf spring so you have access to the crank pulley. (4x 15mm bolts)
6) We used this style jack under the crank pulley to support the motor ( I used a floor jack and a block of wood)
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_11255.jpg
7) Unbolt lower motor mount bolts
8) Support motor with above jack
9) Loosen cradle bolts(4) to the very bottom of their threads. If you need more clearance, remove the rear bolts to allow cradle to flex. Keep the front bolts with at least a few threads so you don't have to line everything back up.
10) Once cradle is lowered, you can slowly raise the motor approximately 1.5 inches.
11) With the cradle lowered and the engine raised, you have about 2.5" of total clearance which is plenty to get the job done. There was plenty of room to remove all the oil pan bolts and unbolt the oil cooler lines and other small brackets
12) Carefully remove oil pan. The pickup tube runs the length of the motor but is not obtrusive at all.
13) Reverse the steps and you're done.
13a) Cradle bolts are 81 ft lbs
13) Bigger oil pan bolts call for 18ft lbs, the 2 smaller ones in the rear(the longer ones) call for 106 inch lbs(~9ft lbs)
14) Important: There are 2 bolts from the bellhousing that are secured into the oil pan. With the weight of the motor on the crank pulley, there will be very slight separation and you'll need to wait until the very end to secure these bolts as you don't want to misalign the oil pan and risk it leaking. Torque on these bolts is 37 ft lbs.
1) Raise vehicle on jack stands about 20" off the floor
2) Remove front wheels
2.5) Drain motor oil
3) Disconnect shocks at LOWER mounting point (2x 13mm nuts/bolts)
4) Unbolt upper A-arms and be sure to keep a note of what shims are in place(if applicable) (4x 15mm bolts)
5) Disconnect brake line mounting point and wire harness from each side of the cradle (2x 10mm shorty bolts)
5.5) Remove front leaf spring so you have access to the crank pulley. (4x 15mm bolts)
6) We used this style jack under the crank pulley to support the motor ( I used a floor jack and a block of wood)
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_11255.jpg
7) Unbolt lower motor mount bolts
8) Support motor with above jack
9) Loosen cradle bolts(4) to the very bottom of their threads. If you need more clearance, remove the rear bolts to allow cradle to flex. Keep the front bolts with at least a few threads so you don't have to line everything back up.
10) Once cradle is lowered, you can slowly raise the motor approximately 1.5 inches.
11) With the cradle lowered and the engine raised, you have about 2.5" of total clearance which is plenty to get the job done. There was plenty of room to remove all the oil pan bolts and unbolt the oil cooler lines and other small brackets
12) Carefully remove oil pan. The pickup tube runs the length of the motor but is not obtrusive at all.
13) Reverse the steps and you're done.
13a) Cradle bolts are 81 ft lbs
13) Bigger oil pan bolts call for 18ft lbs, the 2 smaller ones in the rear(the longer ones) call for 106 inch lbs(~9ft lbs)
14) Important: There are 2 bolts from the bellhousing that are secured into the oil pan. With the weight of the motor on the crank pulley, there will be very slight separation and you'll need to wait until the very end to secure these bolts as you don't want to misalign the oil pan and risk it leaking. Torque on these bolts is 37 ft lbs.
Last edited by SledgeHammer32; 03-09-2016 at 10:33 PM.
#55
Intermediate
Tricia take this issue to your engineers this is a known issue that has been going on since 2005, also your harmonic balancer issue needs to be addressed as well. This one single thread has now almost reached 11,000 views it's time to resolve both these issues.
Last edited by SledgeHammer32; 03-09-2016 at 10:35 PM.
#56
Racer
Thanks
This is how I did mine it was an LS2 but after looking at my 08 LS7 same exact I procedure would need to be done. Try to tighten the pan bolts with your 10mm and a quarter inch ratchet if you can. I was able to snug the LS7 bolts up and that worked.
1) Raise vehicle on jack stands about 20" off the floor
2) Remove front wheels
2.5) Drain motor oil
3) Disconnect shocks at LOWER mounting point (2x 13mm nuts/bolts)
4) Unbolt upper A-arms and be sure to keep a note of what shims are in place(if applicable) (4x 15mm bolts)
5) Disconnect brake line mounting point and wire harness from each side of the cradle (2x 10mm shorty bolts)
5.5) Remove front leaf spring so you have access to the crank pulley. (4x 15mm bolts)
6) We used this style jack under the crank pulley to support the motor ( I used a floor jack and a block of wood)
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_11255.jpg
7) Unbolt lower motor mount bolts
8) Support motor with above jack
9) Loosen cradle bolts(4) to the very bottom of their threads. If you need more clearance, remove the rear bolts to allow cradle to flex. Keep the front bolts with at least a few threads so you don't have to line everything back up.
10) Once cradle is lowered, you can slowly raise the motor approximately 1.5 inches.
11) With the cradle lowered and the engine raised, you have about 2.5" of total clearance which is plenty to get the job done. There was plenty of room to remove all the oil pan bolts and unbolt the oil cooler lines and other small brackets
12) Carefully remove oil pan. The pickup tube runs the length of the motor but is not obtrusive at all.
13) Reverse the steps and you're done.
13a) Cradle bolts are 81 ft lbs
13) Bigger oil pan bolts call for 18ft lbs, the 2 smaller ones in the rear(the longer ones) call for 106 inch lbs(~9ft lbs)
14) Important: There are 2 bolts from the bellhousing that are secured into the oil pan. With the weight of the motor on the crank pulley, there will be very slight separation and you'll need to wait until the very end to secure these bolts as you don't want to misalign the oil pan and risk it leaking. Torque on these bolts is 37 ft lbs.
1) Raise vehicle on jack stands about 20" off the floor
2) Remove front wheels
2.5) Drain motor oil
3) Disconnect shocks at LOWER mounting point (2x 13mm nuts/bolts)
4) Unbolt upper A-arms and be sure to keep a note of what shims are in place(if applicable) (4x 15mm bolts)
5) Disconnect brake line mounting point and wire harness from each side of the cradle (2x 10mm shorty bolts)
5.5) Remove front leaf spring so you have access to the crank pulley. (4x 15mm bolts)
6) We used this style jack under the crank pulley to support the motor ( I used a floor jack and a block of wood)
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_11255.jpg
7) Unbolt lower motor mount bolts
8) Support motor with above jack
9) Loosen cradle bolts(4) to the very bottom of their threads. If you need more clearance, remove the rear bolts to allow cradle to flex. Keep the front bolts with at least a few threads so you don't have to line everything back up.
10) Once cradle is lowered, you can slowly raise the motor approximately 1.5 inches.
11) With the cradle lowered and the engine raised, you have about 2.5" of total clearance which is plenty to get the job done. There was plenty of room to remove all the oil pan bolts and unbolt the oil cooler lines and other small brackets
12) Carefully remove oil pan. The pickup tube runs the length of the motor but is not obtrusive at all.
13) Reverse the steps and you're done.
13a) Cradle bolts are 81 ft lbs
13) Bigger oil pan bolts call for 18ft lbs, the 2 smaller ones in the rear(the longer ones) call for 106 inch lbs(~9ft lbs)
14) Important: There are 2 bolts from the bellhousing that are secured into the oil pan. With the weight of the motor on the crank pulley, there will be very slight separation and you'll need to wait until the very end to secure these bolts as you don't want to misalign the oil pan and risk it leaking. Torque on these bolts is 37 ft lbs.
Someone on here had posted that they had tightened all the bolts they could reach without taking everything apart. He said he had only missed 4 bolts. It worked for him. So I think I will try that first.
Thank you.
Last edited by braveheart3158; 03-12-2016 at 09:01 AM.
#59
Racer
2009 Coupe with 35k miles. Brought it in to the dealer for an oil change yesterday and they showed me the oil covered pan. They quoted me $1,100.00 as well. Sucks that I'm outside of the warranty period.
#60
Racer
Why not have the dealer torque the oil pan bolts first. All the ones he can get to without removing anything? Someone on this thread did that and it worked.