Losing coolant and oil, please help!

[RedVictory]

Corrected by dealer

(Oil cooler and pan gasket leaking)

(Pressure tested cooling system but could not not duplicate leak or smoke)

[LimaCharlie]

My 2011 LS3 is a daily driver and here are my observations:

-My car loses coolant over time too. I check it often and I have to add about a cup of coolant to the overflow tank every 4 months or so. The actual radiator is always full but the overflow tank dipstick level goes down over time. I assume this is where you are getting your reading too. I think Dexcool evaporates over time in the overflow tank but I could be wrong.

-There are no signs of coolant leaks and I've never smelled coolant under the hood.

-I've never seen steam come up from under the hood like you described too.

-My readings on the gauge cluster at FULLY WARM operating temperature are:
Oil temperature: 210-220, goes slightly higher if driven hard
Coolant: 190-192 on highway, increases in city driving but I never saw it go over 222 in this Arizona summer heat, idling in traffic
Trans temperature: Usually a tick below 180 when fully warm. It might slightly go over 180 if driven hard and/or idling in summer heat

For your oil leak, I'm guessing you have a leak at the oil cooler line. This has been mentioned on Camaro5 many times and GM has a TSB on this.

[RedVictory]

^^^^Thanks for the info man! REALLY appreciate it.

I plan to refill the tank and check the level in the radiator. If its ok I will run it in the garage and watch the temp gauges for anything suspicious.

I have been searching for any info I could find and I found a few people experiencing DEX-COOL mysteriously disappearing and attributed it to evaporation loss. I don't think the tank is sealed very well.

As for the oil leak, I was unaware of a TSB for the oil cooler line. I will probably have to bite the bullet and visit the dealer for that one....

[SS King]

Coolent and oil leaks are covered under powers train . At least mine was . Radiator went out had a pin hole leak and pan along with oil cooler were replaced after my bumper 2 bumper was up

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by LimaCharlie

My 2011 LS3 is a daily driver and here are my observations:

-My car loses coolant over time too. I check it often and I have to add about a cup of coolant to the overflow tank every 4 months or so. The actual radiator is always full but the overflow tank dipstick level goes down over time. I assume this is where you are getting your reading too. I think Dexcool evaporates over time in the overflow tank but I could be wrong.

-There are no signs of coolant leaks and I've never smelled coolant under the hood.

-I've never seen steam come up from under the hood like you described too.

-My readings on the gauge cluster at FULLY WARM operating temperature are:
Oil temperature: 210-220, goes slightly higher if driven hard
Coolant: 190-192 on highway, increases in city driving but I never saw it go over 222 in this Arizona summer heat, idling in traffic
Trans temperature: Usually a tick below 180 when fully warm. It might slightly go over 180 if driven hard and/or idling in summer heat

For your oil leak, I'm guessing you have a leak at the oil cooler line. This has been mentioned on Camaro5 many times and GM has a TSB on this.

There have been two issued reported on the oil cooler.

First, there have been gasket problems that cause oil leaks.

Second, and I had this one, there have been leaks at the oil cooler line fittings. Note: the oil cooler line brings COOLANT to the cooler, not oil. The forward fitting is hard to see, (gotta get under the car) and in my case, the leak was too slow to show drips on the gargae floor, except after a ride of more that ten hours. So, by the time I notoced it, my coolant was below the low limit on the coolant dip stick.

The seal was replaced on the fitting, and the threads also were treated with thread sealant. Problem solved.

Coolant evaporation from the surge tank is negligible. If you're adding coolant, you have a leak somewhere.

[RedVictory]

I just checked the radiator...bone dry. And there's oil on my garage floor. I've got problems...

[RedVictory]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

There have been two issued reported on the oil cooler.

First, there have been gasket problems that cause oil leaks.

Second, and I had this one, there have been leaks at the oil cooler line fittings. Note: the oil cooler line brings COOLANT to the cooler, not oil. The forward fitting is hard to see, (gotta get under the car) and in my case, the leak was too slow to show drips on the gargae floor, except after a ride of more that ten hours. So, by the time I notoced it, my coolant was below the low limit on the coolant dip stick.

The seal was replaced on the fitting, and the threads also were treated with thread sealant. Problem solved.

Coolant evaporation from the surge tank is negligible. If you're adding coolant, you have a leak somewhere.

That's good to know. I really, really hate going to the dealership but I think I'm out of options. At least I can pass this info to them.

[2011 SS SLP ZL427]

Low coolant and oil leak, as long as I have a warranty Id be running to the Dealer they should repair the problems no questions asked.