Dealer Claims Oil Pan Leak on 11LS

3113 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Robby, Apr 15, 2016

bman95

Discussion Starter · Apr 15, 2016

Hey Everyone!

I just took my 11 Cruze LS to the dealer to have them do an oil change and inspection. Right when they got my car up on the hoist the technician called me out to show me my oil pan. It was all black and covered in gunk! (Not sure if unusual, because I've never seen the underside of a car after winter conditions) Anyways the technician told me that it was an oil pan leak, from crappy sealant applied to the pan. He told me that because it's aluminum its expanding and contracting and that is's a common problem on the Cruze. His main concern was a fire hazard, because I'm going to be with my car in florida for the summer.

Anyways I'm curious if this sounds like BS or an actual problem, because I just reached the point of needing new brakes and tires so money is non-existent. :sad010:

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NickD

· #2 · Apr 15, 2016

Goodbye gasket, hello RTV, good question is how much oil are you using?

Oil level at rest is below that RTV line, but splashes around, and the way yours sounds, been splashing around for good while.

Correct cure is to drop the pan, clean it and use new RTV. Cheaper way is to clean it off, wire brush the gap, found using Permatex high temperature two part epoxy works the best filling that gap. Just do this on old stuff.

What does your dealer want to reseal the pan, least a three hour job to drop it? Also not bad to make sure all of your pan bolts are tight.

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ChevyGuy

· #3 · Apr 15, 2016

bman95 said:
His main concern was a fire hazard, because I'm going to be with my car in florida for the summer.

As long as it's not dripping on the exhaust, I don't see it as a fire hazard. At least by itself. But I'd avoid parking on tall, dry grass.

Brakes and tires are more important, so put the money there. DO keep an eye on your oil level. Low oil would be bad news.

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bman95

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 15, 2016

NickD said:
Goodbye gasket, hello RTV, good question is how much oil are you using?

Oil level at rest is below that RTV line, but splashes around, and the way yours sounds, been splashing around for good while.

Correct cure is to drop the pan, clean it and use new RTV. Cheaper way is to clean it off, wire brush the gap, found using Permatex high temperature two part epoxy works the best filling that gap. Just do this on old stuff.

What does your dealer want to reseal the pan, least a three hour job to drop it? Also not bad to make sure all of your pan bolts are tight.

Thanks for the reply! Yea, my dealer said that they need to pull out the pan and reapply that RTV stuff. They quoted 2.9 labour hours and $15 shop supplies, all in I think it was $330. At least from what you have describe this seems like a reasonable assessment.

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bman95

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 15, 2016

ChevyGuy said:
As long as it's not dripping on the exhaust, I don't see it as a fire hazard. At least by itself. But I'd avoid parking on tall, dry grass.

Brakes and tires are more important, so put the money there. DO keep an eye on your oil level. Low oil would be bad news.

It think it was going directly on the exhaust, when he showed me the underside of my car the pipe looked very dirty around the protective cover thing. No mention of low oil levels, so I'm assuming its a very slow leak.

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Robby

· #6 · Apr 15, 2016

It actually should be cleaned and pressure washed.
The way the buildup is described there is no possibility of a accurate leakage diagnosis.
Because it is all black indicates it is a very slow leak that road dirt is adhering to.......if the leak was of any severity there would be a clean path that then could be pinpointed as the cause.

Currently, because the hurricane of wind is blowing across/around the engine, it cannot be determined whats drooling so......get er cleaned up before repairs based on speculation.

Yes, there have been a few pan leaks reported, probably the same percentage as any other car in the grand scheme of things, so, it is possible.

Rob

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