Oil Leak From Oil Cooler

[ron123]

Scope Cam found exact Oil Cooler Leak Location on my Camaro SS (posting here from my new thread):
The only way to see the exact point where the Oil Cooler is leaking was using Scope Cam with 45 degree viewer attachment.
It is likely the location where many others are noticing a leak around the cooler as well. Sometimes the dealer replaces gaskets or O-rings and then the owner reports the problem was not fixed. In that case it may be because the leak is actually occurring in the oil cooler "end cap that looks like a freeze plug" right near the top of the cooler adjacent to where the inlet/outlet fitting attaches to the oil pan. The location makes it appear like it is a gasket or oil pan leak. But using the scope with the angle fitting I was able to see it was really the end cap fitting (which is a pressed-in cap).

The following pictures show location.
First is a picture showing areas where oil drips are noticed. These are the most common points I've seen other threads report oil dripping - near blue arrows.



The next picture shows a blue arrow at the exact point where the end-cap that looks like a freeze plug is pressed into the oil cooler. It is leaking at the margin of the end cap in one location. This picture is one I stole from the internet and shows a good view of the pan with oil cooler attached that has been removed from the engine. Blue arrow at top is where the leak occurs:




This next picture was taken off the screen of my scope cam using my camera phone - that is why pixels show up.
The shot shows the end cap margin where the oil leak/seepage is occurring.




Here is another view of the leaking end cap:



Before I took the pictures I cleaned up this area. Then let the car run for a few minutes and I could see the oil seepage was starting to flow out from the margin of the end cap again.

As mentioned, this end cap is completely hidden and can only be viewed with scope with angle attachment or by removing the oil cooler. It faces toward the back of the car toward the bell housing/block area and very little clearance at that spot. Notice that the end cap is almost at the same level as the pan gasket, and oil drips look like it is coming from the gasket or where the oil cooler attaches to the pan. But I checked all those locations and only sign of oil leak is right at the end cap on my car.

It looks like there may be some kind of sealer that is in the margin which the factory applies before pressing in the end-cap ... difficult to say if there is sealer or it is a dry fit. I'm guessing there are a huge number leaking at this same location. From what I see the only remedy is a new oil cooler or it needs an Oil Catch Can!!! There are actually two components to the assembly, the cooler itself which is double triangle shaped housing (rhombus) which bolts to the platform the oil and water lines flow through -- the combined assembly is fastened to the side of the oil pan with many bolts.

Here is a view of the cooler from another angle that I stole from internet, this shows the radiator coolant lines adjacent to the double-triangle Rhombus.
Oil connection input/output fitting on far left. Radiator coolant lines and fittings on the right.



This oil leak started at 7,000 miles (or maybe day1 but that is when I first noticed), well within warranty. Good thing because the complete assembly costs hundreds of dollars.
For diagnosis of a mystery oil leak this is a prime location to check FIRST. My scope worked perfect since it has a built in LED light in the cam wand; it is fairly dark in this hidden area of the engine bay.
Wish the Chevy engineers would look at this, needs a redesign to come up with a better way to close off the end-cap to avoid leaks (maybe a threaded plug would be a good approach).
Ron

[el ess A]

I'd probably try and take some epoxy to the end before tearing everything apart or replacing a bunch of parts.

But if you do want to replace stuff:

Best I can find, here's the current full GM retail prices for some of that stuff.
15203899 oil cooler gasket...$15.20
12607900 oil cooler heat exchanger plates ...$325.88
11562125 the infamous PLUG...$8.86
And the various bolts are around 9 bucks each!!!

Or you can get the entire shebang without the hoses:
12606576 oil cooler baseplate, gasket, the gooseneck/plug, bolts, hose fittings, heat exchanger. Everything but the coolant hoses...$435.54 (Amazon.com sells them for $308)

[ron123]

Originally Posted by el ess A

But if you do want to replace stuff:
11562125 the infamous PLUG...$8.86

Thanks "el ess A" for posting the part#s, the PLUG #11562125 is the same end-cap shown in my post #211 above, good info.
Epoxy I don't think is going to work with pressures involved in that area (probably up to 80 psi), and would need to be absolutely oil free when repairing. Plus, I would void the Oil Cooler warranty if my repair failed to fix the leak.
I might pick up a cap for spare in the future. Like to always do my own repairs but the car is under warranty ... if the bore hole the end-cap is pushed in to is defective and I try to repair the oil cooler myself, I'll also be out hundreds of dollars. Probably leaning toward letting the Chevy dealer replace the cooler assembly. Sure hope Chevy has come up with a better way to seal off the end-cap; it should really have been made with a threaded cap instead of a pressed in freeze plug style end-cap (better to use the threaded type plugs that are on trans and differential with factory sealer on them).
As a guess it looks like it would take under an hour to swap out the cooler.
.
Update: decided to take it in to Chevy for warranty replacement of cooler 11/23/15, gave them part# hopefully will be in stock. Ron

[WHAMMO]

Originally Posted by ron123

Scope Cam found exact Oil Cooler Leak Location on my Camaro SS (posting here from my new thread):
The only way to see the exact point where the Oil Cooler is leaking was using Scope Cam with 45 degree viewer attachment.
It is likely the location where many others are noticing a leak around the cooler as well. Sometimes the dealer replaces gaskets or O-rings and then the owner reports the problem was not fixed. In that case it may be because the leak is actually occurring in the oil cooler "end cap that looks like a freeze plug" right near the top of the cooler adjacent to where the inlet/outlet fitting attaches to the oil pan. The location makes it appear like it is a gasket or oil pan leak. But using the scope with the angle fitting I was able to see it was really the end cap fitting (which is a pressed-in cap).

The following pictures show location.
First is a picture showing areas where oil drips are noticed. These are the most common points I've seen other threads report oil dripping - near blue arrows.



The next picture shows a blue arrow at the exact point where the end-cap that looks like a freeze plug is pressed into the oil cooler. It is leaking at the margin of the end cap in one location. This picture is one I stole from the internet and shows a good view of the pan with oil cooler attached that has been removed from the engine. Blue arrow at top is where the leak occurs:




This next picture was taken off the screen of my scope cam using my camera phone - that is why pixels show up.
The shot shows the end cap margin where the oil leak/seepage is occurring.




Here is another view of the leaking end cap:



Before I took the pictures I cleaned up this area. Then let the car run for a few minutes and I could see the oil seepage was starting to flow out from the margin of the end cap again.

As mentioned, this end cap is completely hidden and can only be viewed with scope with angle attachment or by removing the oil cooler. It faces toward the back of the car toward the bell housing/block area and very little clearance at that spot. Notice that the end cap is almost at the same level as the pan gasket, and oil drips look like it is coming from the gasket or where the oil cooler attaches to the pan. But I checked all those locations and only sign of oil leak is right at the end cap on my car.

It looks like there may be some kind of sealer that is in the margin which the factory applies before pressing in the end-cap ... difficult to say if there is sealer or it is a dry fit. I'm guessing there are a huge number leaking at this same location. From what I see the only remedy is a new oil cooler or it needs an Oil Catch Can!!! There are actually two components to the assembly, the cooler itself which is double triangle shaped housing (rhombus) which bolts to the platform the oil and water lines flow through -- the combined assembly is fastened to the side of the oil pan with many bolts.

Here is a view of the cooler from another angle that I stole from internet, this shows the radiator coolant lines adjacent to the double-triangle Rhombus.
Oil connection input/output fitting on far left. Radiator coolant lines and fittings on the right.



This oil leak started at 7,000 miles (or maybe day1 but that is when I first noticed), well within warranty. Good thing because the complete assembly costs hundreds of dollars.
For diagnosis of a mystery oil leak this is a prime location to check FIRST. My scope worked perfect since it has a built in LED light in the cam wand; it is fairly dark in this hidden area of the engine bay.
Wish the Chevy engineers would look at this, needs a redesign to come up with a better way to close off the end-cap to avoid leaks (maybe a threaded plug would be a good approach).
Ron

Great info!! Thanks!
I have this same exact problem! Dont know what to do to seal this..

[ron123]

Originally Posted by WHAMMO

Great info!! Thanks!
I have this same exact problem! Dont know what to do to seal this..

If you are out of warranty you could gently try tightening the two top oil cooler bolts where it attaches to the oil pan (neat top blue arrow in my pic above). Sometimes those are very loose and just finger tight. Might just be some seepage at the gasket under those bolts.
The bolts are only threaded in to aluminum so should use great care.
Ron

[TwistedEnergy]

Originally Posted by ron123

If you are out of warranty you could gently try tightening the two top oil cooler bolts where it attaches to the oil pan (neat top blue arrow in my pic above). Sometimes those are very loose and just finger tight. Might just be some seepage at the gasket under those bolts.
The bolts are only threaded in to aluminum so should use great care.
Ron

I went to my dealer 3 years ago for an oil leak just before my warranty was up, and they said its just sweat on the oil pan, its normal and said there is nothing to be done. I put it in the back of my mind and today noticed a few drops of oil under my car, so I get under there and to my surprise I have drips in the exact same spots as your blue arrows .. I was the idiot for not pressing the issue because now I am out of the warranty period and looks like I will be on the hook for the entire repair

[xc_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by TwistedEnergy

I went to my dealer 3 years ago for an oil leak just before my warranty was up, and they said its just sweat on the oil pan, its normal and said there is nothing to be done. I put it in the back of my mind and today noticed a few drops of oil under my car, so I get under there and to my surprise I have drips in the exact same spots as your blue arrows .. I was the idiot for not pressing the issue because now I am out of the warranty period and looks like I will be on the hook for the entire repair

Just a thought, but since you brought up the issue while still under warranty they might be more willing to work with you. But honestly you could delete the cooler with the only side effect being the oil won't warm up as quickly. Could be a better, more inexpensive option.

[TwistedEnergy]

Originally Posted by xc_SS/RS

Just a thought, but since you brought up the issue while still under warranty they might be more willing to work with you. But honestly you could delete the cooler with the only side effect being the oil won't warm up as quickly. Could be a better, more inexpensive option.

I did reach out to GM Customer Care and they told me I need to have a dealer look at it, so I will need to pay for the cost to put it on the lift and then they will take it from there, have an appointment on Tuesday.. so I'm hoping that they will cover the cost of the repair, the person from GM that i spoke with never said they wouldn't cover it, they just need to have it looked at first, fingers crossed. Otherwise deleting the cooler might be an option.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[ron123]

Originally Posted by TwistedEnergy

I did reach out to GM Customer Care and they told me I need to have a dealer look at it, so I will need to pay for the cost to put it on the lift and then they will take it from there, have an appointment on Tuesday.. so I'm hoping that they will cover the cost of the repair, the person from GM that i spoke with never said they wouldn't cover it, they just need to have it looked at first, fingers crossed. Otherwise deleting the cooler might be an option.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

The first suspect and easiest thing to try is for the dealer to see if the two top oil cooler bolts are slightly snug, there is a gasket under that area and have read reports where there is seepage due to those bolts only being finger tight. The bolts go in to the aluminum oil pan threads so not made to be very tight.
One on each side at this blue arrow.


Ron

[lawdog]

Hey it real simple , Its a 2 dollar part. Its the oval gasket Had mine replaced and it is a 20 minute job no biggie. No more problems after it was replaced . And tell them to tighten the dang screws on the new gasket. even if you dont have a warranty, there was a TSB on the gasket and any dealer worth anything should be able to push it through. Why you are there ask them to buy a second gasket and put it on your garage shelf !

[TwistedEnergy]

Originally Posted by lawdog

Hey it real simple , Its a 2 dollar part. Its the oval gasket Had mine replaced and it is a 20 minute job no biggie. No more problems after it was replaced . And tell them to tighten the dang screws on the new gasket. even if you dont have a warranty, there was a TSB on the gasket and any dealer worth anything should be able to push it through. Why you are there ask them to buy a second gasket and put it on your garage shelf !

I'll look into this and see what they can do... The bigger issue which I didn't mention was my oil pan which has also been leaking since 2013, also complained about it at the same time as the cooler. Told the leak is normal, nothing to worry about. I'm not a mechanic, had nothing else to base this on so I believed them.

Now I'm older and wiser, just last week I took it to a different dealer and they told me, ya you have a leak from your oil pan and oil cooler and it will cost 1500 to repair. 2 invoices I have from 2014 state that the "oil leak" around the pan is just sweat and completely normal. Never knew a pan could sweat so much to drop oil on my garage floor.

I should have pressed the issue in 2015 but what do I know, I'm not a mechanic.

[STINGER BEE]

What is the TSB Number,I had the gasket replaced on my 2010SS when it leaked at 5000k,it has 28000k and it's leaking again.I know it's of warranty now ,but what's the cost to have this gasket replaced at the dealer or tackle it myself.Hopefully the gasket is of better quality today than the original one was.
Can anyone tell me if it's just the gasket ,because I read where a member said a plug that's hidden that might leak also.
Thanks

Originally Posted by lawdog

Hey it real simple , Its a 2 dollar part. Its the oval gasket Had mine replaced and it is a 20 minute job no biggie. No more problems after it was replaced . And tell them to tighten the dang screws on the new gasket. even if you dont have a warranty, there was a TSB on the gasket and any dealer worth anything should be able to push it through. Why you are there ask them to buy a second gasket and put it on your garage shelf !