2012 Yukon Denali 6L80 Issues/Advice

[Pointer 21]

There are a number of common leak points under there. The oil pan gasket is a pretty big job and likely should be left to professionals unless you are pretty handy. Check out YouTube if you want to know all most of the common leak points on your engine.

The AC stuff won't cause your transmission (or any other drivetrain) issues, so given the change of seasons coming, maybe address the oil leaks first.

We're probably getting into another thread; however, getting hit with ~$7,000 in repairs has me thinking I may have looked into a new vehicle. That said the suspension issues are BAD:

Lower Ball Joint
Sway Bar Link
Front complete strut assembly
New CV Assembly

The shop was saying to address the Struts above everything bc my wheels are about to fall off LITERALLY. My thinking is to at least do something fun to it (maybe a level or something) if I'm going to drive around in this 2012. I'm at a loss and going broke here...

 

[wsteele]

We're probably getting into another thread; however, getting hit with ~$7,000 in repairs has me thinking I may have looked into a new vehicle. That said the suspension issues are BAD:

Lower Ball Joint
Sway Bar Link
Front complete strut assembly
New CV Assembly

The shop was saying to address the Struts above everything bc my wheels are about to fall off LITERALLY. My thinking is to at least do something fun to it (maybe a level or something) if I'm going to drive around in this 2012. I'm at a loss and going broke here...

Not sure I am going to make you feel better, but with a new truck, you know for certain you are losing 10K a year in depreciation, every year, for quite a while. That's a lot of ball joints...

 

[Pointer 21]

Not sure I am going to make you feel better, but with a new truck, you know for certain you are losing 10K a year in depreciation, every year, for quite a while. That's a lot of ball joints...

HA HA - You sir are 100% correct! Now I just need to start figuring out the rest of the unforeseeable(s)!!

 

[Geotrash]

We're probably getting into another thread; however, getting hit with ~$7,000 in repairs has me thinking I may have looked into a new vehicle. That said the suspension issues are BAD:

Lower Ball Joint
Sway Bar Link
Front complete strut assembly
New CV Assembly

The shop was saying to address the Struts above everything bc my wheels are about to fall off LITERALLY. My thinking is to at least do something fun to it (maybe a level or something) if I'm going to drive around in this 2012. I'm at a loss and going broke here...

I did all of these components on my 2007 just after I bought it a few years ago. Took me a Saturday with the only special tools required being an impact wrench, a 1/2" drive torque wrench, and an industrial strength pickle fork to get the ball joint separated from the knuckle. You can rent everything but the impact wrench from your local parts store. I replaced everything with all Moog parts from Rock Auto, but everywhere stocks the parts for these things. I didn't bother separating the ball joints from the control arms and just replaced the control arms with the new ball joints pre-installed. You're probably looking at $700 in parts and you'll be good to go for another 200K.

And, if you want to check how bad it is for yourself, lift each front corner with a jack and give the wheels a healthy rock up/down. A loose ball joint will be obvious. You can also inspect the dust boots on the ball joints and CV joints for damage. If they pass these simple tests, find a new mechanic.

 

[Pointer 21]

I did all of these components on my 2007 just after I bought it a few years ago. Took me a Saturday with the only special tools required being an impact wrench, a 1/2" drive torque wrench, and an industrial strength pickle fork to get the ball joint separated from the knuckle. You can rent everything but the impact wrench from your local parts store. I replaced everything with all Moog parts from Rock Auto, but everywhere stocks the parts for these things. I didn't bother separating the ball joints from the control arms and just replaced the control arms with the new ball joints pre-installed. You're probably looking at $700 in parts and you'll be good to go for another 200K.

And, if you want to check how bad it is for yourself, lift each front corner with a jack and give the wheels a healthy rock up/down. A loose ball joint will be obvious. You can also inspect the dust boots on the ball joints and CV joints for damage. If they pass these simple tests, find a new mechanic.

 

[Pointer 21]

You must be reading my mind because I was thinking the same and they have me at: $783 (parts)
$600 (labor)

I did look under there myself and it looks pretty sketchy...The work definitely needs to be done.

 

[swathdiver]

We're probably getting into another thread; however, getting hit with ~$7,000 in repairs has me thinking I may have looked into a new vehicle. That said the suspension issues are BAD:

Lower Ball Joint
Sway Bar Link
Front complete strut assembly
New CV Assembly

The shop was saying to address the Struts above everything bc my wheels are about to fall off LITERALLY. My thinking is to at least do something fun to it (maybe a level or something) if I'm going to drive around in this 2012. I'm at a loss and going broke here...

The lower ball joint can be replaced on the car for about $80, or the whole arm can be replaced for between $50 and $150 depending on the quality of the parts used.

Sway bar links are about $40 for OE or less for aftermarket.

Struts assemblies are cheap and most report that they don't ride nice or last very long. OE struts last a long long time and cost about $600-700 for the pair to build from scratch.

CV shafts last forever if cared for, don't know the going rate for GM but am about to replace a Kia's for $50 for a new one!

 

[Pointer 21]

Regarding the rear main seal. If my transmission guy replaced it and it's still leaking due to the gasket not being replaced. Was that job all for nothing? In other words is the location of the pan gasket just as much as labor intensive as the rear main seal meaning it's a pain to get to on an AWD?

My tranny guy wanted nothing to do with the oil leak...simply a favor while he was in the transmission (didn't charge me).

 

[wsteele]

Regarding the rear main seal. If my transmission guy replaced it and it's still leaking due to the gasket not being replaced. Was that job all for nothing? In other words is the location of the pan gasket just as much as labor intensive as the rear main seal meaning it's a pain to get to on an AWD?

My tranny guy wanted nothing to do with the oil leak...simply a favor while he was in the transmission (didn't charge me).

The rear main seal and the pan gasket are two completely unrelated seals. t is a good idea to replace the rear main seal when removing/reinstalling the transmission as you need to take the transmission out to replace the rear main seal and the act of replacing the rear main seal is quite simple, once you have the transmission out.

The pan gasket is not affected by removing/reinstalling the transmission, so it makes sense that a transmission specialist would not want to replace a leaky oil pan gasket (if that was what was leaking). Replacing the pan gasket is pretty involved, maybe 2-3 hours of labor for an expert. For someone handy who owns a decent tool chest maybe 5 hours, maybe a couple of days, with lots of bad words thrown in, for a newbie.

 

[Pointer 21]

Yeah, I'm not messing with the oil issues myself; I don't particularly trust this shop but they're right across the street from me and I was curious what they had to say, in which they did say my rear main seal was bad (that's odd bc I had it replaced last week) LOL.

My trans guy said he thought it would be easier to get to those other leaking gaskets saving me some cash. They're saying it's the same amount of work regardless...