Fixing for a friend

[Toyotaguy]

My Gf asked me to help a coworker of hers with some vehicle issues she’s having. She doesn’t have a lot of money so she’s had random people making more of a mess than fixing. Example- one of her friends replaced a brake rotor on her Grand Am and forgot to put in one of the bolts that holds the caliper to the hub.

That brings us to the Yukon. She has a 2007 Yukon Denali with 6.2 and 250k. She just bought it and had the transmission fail. I think the same guy who did the incomplete brake job on the Grand Am put a new solenoid in the transmission and now it’s drives but has a massive oil leak.
A steady stream of oil is coming down and draining onto the transmission cooler lines right behind the bell housing.
I’ve only ever seen an oil leak this bad on an engine with a cracked block. It was starting to get dark so I couldn’t really see much. Valve covers definately have some issues on both sides. Filter and cooler lines look good but they are on the other side anyway.

I’ve owned a few chevys in the past. 327, 350, 454, 6.0 so I am familiar with the constant rear main drip. This is different. Can a rear main leak that bad?

I am going to go back over there tomorrow with the bolts to fix her Grand Am and get a better look at her Denali after refreshing myself with GM.

If any of you guys can help me track this leak down I’d appreciate it.

 

[ivin74]

Take some pictures and post them.

 

[89Suburban]

My Gf asked me to help a coworker of hers with some vehicle issues she’s having. She doesn’t have a lot of money so she’s had random people making more of a mess than fixing. Example- one of her friends replaced a brake rotor on her Grand Am and forgot to put in one of the bolts that holds the caliper to the hub.

That brings us to the Yukon. She has a 2007 Yukon Denali with 6.2 and 250k. She just bought it and had the transmission fail. I think the same guy who did the incomplete brake job on the Grand Am put a new solenoid in the transmission and now it’s drives but has a massive oil leak.
A steady stream of oil is coming down and draining onto the transmission cooler lines right behind the bell housing.
I’ve only ever seen an oil leak this bad on an engine with a cracked block. It was starting to get dark so I couldn’t really see much. Valve covers definately have some issues on both sides. Filter and cooler lines look good but they are on the other side anyway.

I’ve owned a few chevys in the past. 327, 350, 454, 6.0 so I am familiar with the constant rear main drip. This is different. Can a rear main leak that bad?

I am going to go back over there tomorrow with the bolts to fix her Grand Am and get a better look at her Denali after refreshing myself with GM.

If any of you guys can help me track this leak down I’d appreciate it.

You a good man Charlie Brown. Hope we can help. Got to get in there with your camera phone and a work light and take some good pics and investigate the source.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Blind guess: Thoroughly clean PCV system.
Clogged PCV system causes excess oil pressure, finds weakest leaks.
Don't know if 12572717 PCV thingy applies to you, but I have witnessed it reduce leaks.

 

[wjburken]

Blind guess: Thoroughly clean PCV system.
Clogged PCV system causes excess oil pressure, finds weakest leaks.
Don't know if 12572717 PCV thingy applies to you, but I have witnessed it reduce leaks.

Not really much to the PCV on this vehicle, it’s simply hose barb nipple formed into the valve cover and a hose that runs between the nipple and the intake manifold. No actual valve.

 

[wjburken]

Oil pressure sensor?
Blocking plate above oil filter?
Valve cover gaskets?

 

[Marky Dissod]

Not really much to the PCV on this vehicle.
simply a hose barb nipple formed into the valve cover,
and a hose that runs between the nipple and the intake manifold.
No actual valve.

So, the idea behind the 12572717 (which isn't really a valve either) has been permanently molded / cast into the valve cover?
If that's the case, I still wonder if that valve cover couldn't use a thorough cleaning.

 

[Toyotaguy]

Take some pictures and post them.

I’ll bring some lights and try to get up in there as best I can. I have a feeling it is the oil pan but probably not worth fixing since the transmission was already giving her problems and then she had some moron band aid it back together. The trans fluid was a sick looking shade of grey. If the guy just replaced a solenoid I would expect a nice red color. The anti freeze color is a mixture of green/orange and grey too so even if I can diagnose the leak it’s probably not something I’m going to tackle on this poor neglected vehicle. The engine runs strong though and is still quiet.
She also was running 0w-20 full synthetic so I might pick up a bit thicker conventional oil to see if that helps. Won’t be in there long anyway the way it was coming out. Said she loses about 1 qt or so about every 10 -20 miles. But I’ll know more after I’ve had a chance to look closer today. Thanks guys. I’ll try to get some pics.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

 

[Doubeleive]

I’ll bring some lights and try to get up in there as best I can. I have a feeling it is the oil pan but probably not worth fixing since the transmission was already giving her problems and then she had some moron band aid it back together. The trans fluid was a sick looking shade of grey. If the guy just replaced a solenoid I would expect a nice red color. The anti freeze color is a mixture of green/orange and grey too so even if I can diagnose the leak it’s probably not something I’m going to tackle on this poor neglected vehicle. The engine runs strong though and is still quiet.
She also was running 0w-20 full synthetic so I might pick up a bit thicker conventional oil to see if that helps. Won’t be in there long anyway the way it was coming out. Said she loses about 1 qt or so about every 10 -20 miles. But I’ll know more after I’ve had a chance to look closer today. Thanks guys. I’ll try to get some pics.

that much of a oil leak should be easy to find, but if it is already everywhere then grab some degreaser and spray it everywhere in one of those self car wash with the wand and pressure wash it real good, just don't aim for any electrical connectors don't stick the wand super close just a foot two away works fine spray from the top/sides/bottom. that should help figure out the source of the leak after a short drive afterwards.

 

[Fless]

Moved you here from Site News.

 

[donjetman]

If any of you guys can help me track this leak down I’d appreciate it.

The 07 6.2L Yukon Denali, and many other GM products of the era, came from the factory with a poorly designed pcv/valve cover on the driverside.
In 2014 GM finalized a Technical Servce Bulletin TSB 10-06-01-008M that addresses the valve cover/pvc and several other problems.
The poorly designed pvc/valve cover caused my rear main seal to leak. It also was sucking so much oil out of the engine my piston rings where stuck.
I performed the GM TSB:
https://f01.justanswer.com/ebrock63...il+Consumption,+MIL+ON,+Engine+Runs+Rough.pdf

 

[Toyotaguy]

The 07 6.2L Yukon Denali, and many other GM products of the era, came from the factory with a poorly designed pcv/valve cover on the driverside.
In 2014 GM finalized a Technical Servce Bulletin TSB 10-06-01-008M that addresses the valve cover/pvc and several other problems.
The poorly designed pvc/valve cover caused my rear main seal to leak. It also was sucking so much oil out of the engine my piston rings where stuck.
I performed the GM TSB:
https://f01.justanswer.com/ebrock63...il+Consumption,+MIL+ON,+Engine+Runs+Rough.pdf

Well the good news is I got her Grand Am back to where it is safe to drive so she can drive something.
As far as the Yukon goes —- when I started it up today the transmission was making an awful squealing and rattling noise while in park. I took some pictures of the pan that pretty clearly show it hasn’t been removed in years and had her send them to the guy who supposedly fixed the solenoid and did a flush and filter. He didn’t say much other than he knew the transmission was toast and gave her the money back for the work that he never did. Then he offered to rebuild it for $600. *******. People like that belong in jail.
As far as the leaks go? I’ll post some pics but there are at least several. The main drips (about 3 drops/second) are coming off the starter bolt and I wasn’t able to see much directly behind that. I didn’t see any fluid flowing above that but there is plenty of fresh oil all the way up to the valve covers on both sides.
I didn’t see anything coming off the oil cooler lines or block connector and the filter seemed to not be leaking but who knows for sure. I suspect that the rear main seal is leaking too but really hard to determine how much at this point. I think the oil pan gasket is also leaking from the front. And since the transmission is toast the leaks can get fixed when the transmission gets pulled if that’s the route she wants to go and if the engine is still good.

As far as the PCV goes her oil filler neck was cracked and just shoved into the valve cover and wobbling around. I just took it out and screwed the cap into the valve cover for now. The PCV itself probably works fine but the grommets are definitely shot.

My advice to her was to sell it as a parts vehicle and make sure the buyer knows everything before she destroys the engine completely. Maybe too late anyway. I see things on my pics I didn’t notice when I was under there.

Let me know if you guys spot anything and I appreciate the use of your knowledge. Sorry I’m not a good photographer. Oil kept getting all over my phone.

 

[Toyotaguy]

Well the good news is I got her Grand Am back to where it is safe to drive so she can drive something.
As far as the Yukon goes —- when I started it up today the transmission was making an awful squealing and rattling noise while in park. I took some pictures of the pan that pretty clearly show it hasn’t been removed in years and had her send them to the guy who supposedly fixed the solenoid and did a flush and filter. He didn’t say much other than he knew the transmission was toast and gave her the money back for the work that he never did. Then he offered to rebuild it for $600. *******. People like that belong in jail.
As far as the leaks go? I’ll post some pics but there are at least several. The main drips (about 3 drops/second) are coming off the starter bolt and I wasn’t able to see much directly behind that. I didn’t see any fluid flowing above that but there is plenty of fresh oil all the way up to the valve covers on both sides.
I didn’t see anything coming off the oil cooler lines or block connector and the filter seemed to not be leaking but who knows for sure. I suspect that the rear main seal is leaking too but really hard to determine how much at this point. I think the oil pan gasket is also leaking from the front. And since the transmission is toast the leaks can get fixed when the transmission gets pulled if that’s the route she wants to go and if the engine is still good.

As far as the PCV goes her oil filler neck was cracked and just shoved into the valve cover and wobbling around. I just took it out and screwed the cap into the valve cover for now. The PCV itself probably works fine but the grommets are definitely shot.

My advice to her was to sell it as a parts vehicle and make sure the buyer knows everything before she destroys the engine completely. Maybe too late anyway. I see things on my pics I didn’t notice when I was under there.

Let me know if you guys spot anything and I appreciate the use of your knowledge. Sorry I’m not a good photographer. Oil kept getting all over my phone.

 

[j91z28d1]

I'm trying to think of something you can break dropping a tranny pan to cause a bad oil leak.


I kinda got nothing. maybe just coincidence it started around the same thing? a qt ever 20 miles sounds to me like something pressurized more so than just a leak from splashing around.

the oil pressure sensor behind the intake has been known to leak, maybe the plastic connector broke off and it's a full on pressure leak?



I don't know, does it seem worse on the passenger or drivers side. drivers side above the oil filter can leak pretty good sometimes.

 

[j91z28d1]

the pic doesn't look like that bad of an oil leak to me, I think at this point most of these engines leak that much, I know mind does and I'm not even close to it being enough to fix it yet haha.

guys might be on to something that it's burning a lot of oil.

 

[ivin74]

Well the good news is I got her Grand Am back to where it is safe to drive so she can drive something.
As far as the Yukon goes —- when I started it up today the transmission was making an awful squealing and rattling noise while in park. I took some pictures of the pan that pretty clearly show it hasn’t been removed in years and had her send them to the guy who supposedly fixed the solenoid and did a flush and filter. He didn’t say much other than he knew the transmission was toast and gave her the money back for the work that he never did. Then he offered to rebuild it for $600. *******. People like that belong in jail.
As far as the leaks go? I’ll post some pics but there are at least several. The main drips (about 3 drops/second) are coming off the starter bolt and I wasn’t able to see much directly behind that. I didn’t see any fluid flowing above that but there is plenty of fresh oil all the way up to the valve covers on both sides.
I didn’t see anything coming off the oil cooler lines or block connector and the filter seemed to not be leaking but who knows for sure. I suspect that the rear main seal is leaking too but really hard to determine how much at this point. I think the oil pan gasket is also leaking from the front. And since the transmission is toast the leaks can get fixed when the transmission gets pulled if that’s the route she wants to go and if the engine is still good.

As far as the PCV goes her oil filler neck was cracked and just shoved into the valve cover and wobbling around. I just took it out and screwed the cap into the valve cover for now. The PCV itself probably works fine but the grommets are definitely shot.

My advice to her was to sell it as a parts vehicle and make sure the buyer knows everything before she destroys the engine completely. Maybe too late anyway. I see things on my pics I didn’t notice when I was under there.

Let me know if you guys spot anything and I appreciate the use of your knowledge. Sorry I’m not a good photographer. Oil kept getting all over my phone.

Looks like a valve cover gasket on one of the pictures, but could be a combination of that and the valley pan gasket.

 

[j91z28d1]

I don't know how I scrolled pasted all the pics. I just saw the one of the valve. cover.


glad you got her grand am going, cause don't think this one is going much more.

if she keeps it, make sure they do the rear main seal and rear cover plate gasket along with oil pan while the granny is out and go from there.

good luck.