Jimmy W1

I took my car to the dealer and had a new shifter put in my 05. And they did the headlight recall. I thought I was getting off cheap- $525.00 for the shifter job. Then they put the car up on the hoist to do an inspection.

A leaky rear axle seal- it was blowing fluid all over the back end. (That took my bill up to almost a grand.) And of course the dreaded oil pan gasket was bad. Yes I got under the car myself and saw it.

So yesterday they did the first two jobs and I told them I would bring it to do the oil pan gasket. I didn't think it was that bad. Just where it had stained the front with dirt sticking to the oil. I have NEVER seen any oil on the floor but there was a tiny drip on the corner of the pan.

I had to do the rear end seal because I have no idea how much fluid was gone and it probably needed changed. So............ I'm not that worried about the oil leak. And it has never gone down on the dip stick. But I will take it back and have it done in a few weeks.
I guess I'll be waiting for the harmonic balancer next.

Thanks for listening to the rant.

wayback

I know how you feel. Last month I changed my oil pressure sending unit. Last week my shiter cable broke. Today I noticed my lights will not turn off. Ordered a sensor today. Car goes in for cable and transmission filter/fluid in the morning.

Worst run of luck in the 10 years I have owned it.

ruxvette

Can you say grand Sport???

RobLo

Had the rear seals (all 5 of them) changed on my '05 recently, it is quite a labor-intensive job, good news is you get the new differential fluid added, it has additives in it. I suggest you also get a 4 wheel alignment, depending on which seal(s) you had replaced a good section of the rear has to come apart and it throws the rear end alignment out, mine was out quite a bit. Oil pan gasket, are you losing oil? Do you add any between changes? Mine has a slight seep too but I don't add any oil so I'm leaving as is for now, any change and I'll have it done.

drew_c6

Geez, don't tell me this... How many miles are you gents sitting at?

RobLo

31K...my mechanic attributed some of the seal problem with low mileage on the car, I (and the previous owner) just didn't/don't use it enough. And I got under mine with the mech, although it looked very nasty down there he topped it off for me (couldn't do the job right then) and it only took half a quart so I wasn't in critical territory yet.

Jimmy W1

No I don't add any between changes. I don't see any on the floor and I keep a piece of white metal siding on the floor under the engine so I'll notice any leaks. But nada.....Nothing.

When I first bought the car, one of the mechanics told me that because of the aluminum oil pans expanding and contracting differently than the engine- even a new car oil pan gasket can leak. But this is the first time I have seen a (minute) drip on the bottom of the engine.

Must_Have_Z

Wait, $525 to replace a shifter? You could have done that for about $200 and an hour or 2 of your time.

rkj427

180K plus on a great looking base coupe...............

just bad timing for a variety of things to happen at once...............



don't be trying to steal the baser who represents that group as a rebel with a cause for the GS'er crowd..............

rkj427

would be hard to imagine that an aluminum oil pan and an aluminum block have different material properties which allow for different rates of expansion.................

if anything, the oil pan retaining bolts may have "relaxed" a bit from the original torque values, and allowed some seepage or wicking to start...........

you may want to see if the bolts can be re-torqued, clean the area, and then see what happens before spending the money on a gasket replacement............................

just sayin'................................

Jimmy W1

Right. I have been considering the bypass/wire back deal now for about a year now. But I went ahead and took it to the dealer. You might need to know, I'll be 70 in September and just sitting in the car seat, working on something like that- I get horrific leg and hand cramps, back pain, etc.

I just can't do the things I did when I was 20. Sometimes I get hip pains just getting into the car.

Jimmy W1

And by the way, the shifter is $285.00 alone.

wayback

Saving grace is they are all relatively harmless and inexpensive.

Jimmy W1

True. I might be wrong but aren't some of the GM engines steel with the oil pans aluminum? I believe this is what the mechanic was pointing out to me.

wayback

Not on a C6. Others maybe.

GM has a problem with the sealant they used in our cars.

Jimmy W1

Thanks for the advice on the alignment. The mechanic did send an alignment sheet with the bill but I never thought anything about it. Besides. I don't even know how to read the darn thing. I called back the service manager about 2 1/2 hours ago and asked him about it. He said that the mechanic never mentioned the alignment being out and that they were pretty hungry when it came to jobs. He said that he would ask the mechanic in the morning and get back with me. I still have the sheet but I don't know what the numbers mean.

:-)

RobLo

If it were me I'd wait until I saw any noticeable dripping of adding of oil. I have oil sweat on the pan too, I tried to tighten the bolts but they were all good. That said this is not my daily driver so I check the oil ALMOST every time I take it out and have never added oil between changes, usually once a year and about 2500 miles. But you also have something under your car so you'll see when it starts to seriously leak, I wouldn't worry about it right now. Whatever your choice good luck!

Edit-I keep a drip pan under my car too, first car I've had to do that to since my old mid-50's/60's Chevy's...

CMY SIX

could have done the work for free and got a real shifter like a MGW!

Must_Have_Z

No worries, I don't blame you! Your health is #1.

Jimmy W1

I probably could have gotten a different shifter but I like to keep my cars original.