Oil leak diagnosis

[sextrosgxp]

Well I made it to 81k miles til my first oil leak. It's small (1 or 2 drops). The leak or should I say drop are coming off the crossmember right infront of the oil filter. Any ideas where the leak may be coming from and ballpark cost to fix?

I need to replace the a/c compressor so I'd like to fix the leak while it's torn apart for the compressor.

[00Beast]

Do you have an extended warranty?

[sextrosgxp]

Nope. No warranty.

[00Beast]

Prepare to be bent over...

[sextrosgxp]

Luckily my mechanic is next door to my shop and he is about half what a dealer wants most of the time. I never go to a dealer for anything.

[00Beast]

I'm guessing it's still going to be $1800, minimum, for the A/C and fixing the oil leak.

[sextrosgxp]

Any guess on where the leak is coming from? If its the valve covers does it make sense to try to re torque them done and see if that does it or just go ahead and do a gasket job?

[skregal]

Mine had oil leaks from oil pan, valve covers, lower crankcase seal,
rear main seal, front cover and crank seal, oil pressure and level switches.
(according to my many repair invoice descriptions from the dealer)

Big money if no warranty. Big, big, money

[sextrosgxp]

I don't or at least hope I don't have that much trouble. I just had the car up on a lift a month ago and nothing no leaks and dry everywhere. The leak just started wherever its coming from. It is really small. Like I said 1 or 2 drops, but the crossmember is catching it so it may be more.

[CMNTMXR57]

N*'s sole mission in life is to leak oil from the "cam" covers, more notably, the valve covers. Their torque spec is like 7lb/ft of torque. All it takes is one heat cycling to loosen them. Locktite and 10lb/ft helped mine.

Otherwise, if you're noting it down on the crossmember by oil filter, it's the standard, GM cooler line fitting. There is nothing you can do. Getting them fixed with GM replacement parts and they'll just leak again. It's part of the quick-disconnect design. Personally, it's an 80k car, your two options are getting some permanent fittings from Summit and making your own connectors (could get costly), or do what I do. JB Weld the sh*t out of that joint. JB Weld solves all the worlds problems.

[sextrosgxp]

Thanks for the help. The dilemma is I'm anal about cars and this thing is like new inside and out. I'll probably just put new lines on it. It's a weekend cruiser so not like a ton of miles will be put on it.

Is it worth it to torque down the cam covers while the ac is being done or just do the lines and leave well enough alone?

[CMNTMXR57]

Mine stopped seeping once I loctited them and went the extra few ft/lb.

My point with replacing them though is that you're not fixing the problem. The new ones will probably start leaking by the time you get home and you'll be right back at square one. So why bother spending the money to replace them. It's the design of the coupler on the easy-disconnect.

That was why I said with 80k on it, no one is concerned about the beauty of some lower mounted oil cooler lines. Only you will know. Just JB Weld the sh*t out of them and live comepletely leak free... at least from that joint anyway...

[nos4blood70]

Wait... So why do Northstars exist again?

[CMNTMXR57]

Carl, why does a 1950's farm tractor engine sit in your sub-frame?

Befor the flames come a flyin... I be a duckin'...

[nos4blood70]

Touche!

But my tractor motor seems to be a little better thought out in its leak free, not burning oil, only breaking a mount once.. ness... Hahaha

[repinS]

A lot of people like to crap on the Northstar and GXP. Very few have actually driven one...

They do have their common issues when it comes to leaks or mounts, but don't tell me the 3800 is immune. Coolant elbows, LIM/UIM issues, valve cover gaskets, sensor issues, and so on... You will also continue to break mounts if it wasn't for ingenuity with hockey pucks (news flash: fixes exist for the Northstar too). The only difference here is the ease of the some fixes due to the size of the powertrain (not particularly relevant for valve cover or oil line issues). And then you have people like Ed above, who automatically assume the worst when the repair in this case could be as simple as some JB weld or torquing down your valve covers a little extra. These are almost FREE. $1800? Come on. We're here on this club to help diagnose problems, not to tell people to bend over.

Back on topic... as Lane is saying, torque and loctite those valve covers at 10lb-ft, and if your oil lines are the ones causing the leak, JB weld the connectors.

[CMNTMXR57]

LOL Carl... The 3800 has it's own basket case of issues. Nothing major mind you, but it is not perfect. LIM anyone?

[sextrosgxp]

I'm not disagreeing with anything you say about Northstars. I knew the issues going in and still bought the car. For me it wasn't going to be a daily driver. I like how it looks and the fact that it is so rare. I live in the Tampa area and take a lot of road trips. Since move back to Florida I have not seen another GXP anywhere. I take this thing to at least one car show or cruise in a week. Have not seen another, but get tons of compliments. Some people have never seen one.

So in short. 1800 bucks or free. To me it's worth fixing to me at any price.

We'll know the damage in a few weeks when it goes in for upgraded brakes and ac fix

[CMNTMXR57]

I can't speak to the A/C issue, but I can tell you, I can save you $1,790, by just buying some JB Weld.

[nos4blood70]

I don't have much against the Northstars, it just seems that the problems are worse when they happen and they happen all at once.