[blkfire]

I was changing the oil on my 2003 Montana van and noticed an oil leak had developed. It seems to be comming from in between the engine and transmission. I am planning a 10,000km tour of Canada in 2 weeks so I naturally wanted to get this looked at. When I called my dealership they explained that GM will not repair leaks unless a drip is left on the ground. The whole underside of my van is covered in oil but because it only leaks when the engine is running they say there is nothing they can do. WTF is that?? This is the 3rd 3400 V6 I've had now and each one developed an oil leak from the top half of the engine, seems like they no longer want to repair this problem....

Has anyone else had this type of problem, where the dealership refuses to repair a leak unless it leaves drips behind?? The term they gave was "sweating" - not sure how loosing a quart of oil in one month could be "sweating".....

 

[DEMonte1997]

That sounds fishy. It is well under warranty. As said, I would take it to another dealer and have them fix it. I know that LIM gaskets are bad on those engines and I've heard that GM will fix them for free if you complain about it. This doesn't sound like a LIM gasket, but it needs to be treated the same anyway.

 

[paul8488]

Originally posted by blkfire@Apr 27 2004, 05:10 PM
The term they gave was "sweating" - not sure how loosing a quart of oil in one month could be "sweating".....

hahaha! sweating! that's a good one! i'd be more worried if the vehicle WAS sweating oil... i'm not to keen on a porous engine or transmission block! at least your oil pan will never rust! good luck though. you're smart to get it taken care of before your trip. enjoy canada! glad to know you're put-putting across our country in the most fuel-efficient van there is, and not a 4mpg hummer! well done! my lungs thank you :lol:

 

[blkfire]

Well, it's going in on Monday to get fixed at another dealer - they didn't mention the "sweating" that was mentioned earlier.

As far as the fuel rateing, I've yet to see over 18mpg on "the most fuel efficient van in it's class"

Maybe the Montana is in a class all by itself............

 

[69nova]

The worst part is you probably purchased the van at the dealership that refuses to deal with the problem.
Bumper-to-bumper is the guarantee. Nowhere does the GM guarantee discriminate how a motor leaks lubrication.
Seals, such as lip and rim, do work on the rotating shaft being coated with oil but this coating is very thin and the amount of oil that escapes is designed to be minute; in fact microscopic.
Having designed and worked with machinery for 35 years, I must admit that sealing is one of the most difficult factors. Both the design and the manufacturing quality must be cutting edge for the assembly to be leak proof. In this regard, I am always amazed at the sealing quality of auto manufacturers.
One thing that I also know is that your everyday auto mechanic is hard pressed to duplicate the level of sealing attained at the mfrs plant. Most do not understand or appreciate the level of cleanliness involved. Maybe this is why the shop didn't want to fool with it.

 

[blkfire]

Well it seems that I am imagining the whole leak thing. The service department is not able to find the source of the leak ( i can't say I blame them it's so tight under the hood on that thing) so they put dye in the system. Hope nothing else turns up.

 

[actionjack]

I beleive GM has a known service bulletin for head gasket leaks on the 3400 and it is 'hush hush'.

They also have problems with their LS1 and piston slap and again, 'hush hush'. You have to bring the car in repeatedly before they will do anything.

Or go to another dealership and hope for an honest and fair inspection.

:ninja:

 

[blkfire]

I've seen that bulletin. It says something about replacing the gasket with an updated one. I currently have the newest version of that gasket unless a new one has been issued again - i think that would be the 3rd one for this engine. At any rate, I am still happy with some aspects of my van and orginal dealership. It's the 3rd car I've bought from the same salesman (he's very nice to me when I'm in for service) but the service department disapppoints me. The advisor I deal with seems a little green and that's part of the problem for sure. I think the main thing is that I will eventually walk away from GM because of experiances like this one, not that many other makes are any different......but I should hope that after spending a total of $88,000CAN at the same place, within 4 years, you should at least get a straight, honest answer.

 

[69nova]

After buying 3 cars there, I am sure that the dealership's owner will be available to hear your complaints. Instead of going to the same maintenance super, ask to see somebody else or the district manager.
There is one thing that is black and white and that is losing a repeat customer.

 

[blkfire]

Yea I think I might have to do that. I can't be nice much longer.

What is it with some dealerships? I can't understand why they would be so stupid. That's the reason GM is not doing so well - cheap parts and bad service.

I should mention that I have been in 3 times for repairs to the DVD screen - I've since fixed it myself. Granted that work is not done at the dealership but damn, it was a screw that needed to be tightened - I even told them which one I thought it was, but what do I know, I'm a 25 year old punk.

 

[DEMonte1997]

GM's dealers, on the whole, are awful. Their salemen are always jerks-especially if you are younger than 30. I am 25. I was looking at an SSR in a dealer showroom and the salesmen asked me what I wanted. That didn't seem like a typical inquiry for a possible customer.

Almost every GM dealer has a bad service department. They are either incompetant or crooks.. or both. I've only been to one place where I actually don't mind the service people. My girlfriend hates getting her car serviced because the Pontiac dealers always talk down to her when she brings in her car. She once was charged $90 for a diagnotic fee.. That price didn't even include what they quoted her to actually fix the car. I've never heard of one being that high. All they needed to do was turn on her car and plug a machine into it. It's amazing you can be charged so much to have people who haven't even graduated from high school plug your car into a machine. She complained to the dealer and the service manager said it was up to them to determine how much the diagnostic fee would be.

On the contrast, my parents have a Volvo and they get great service. It's a little more expensive, but it's always done correctly, the people are knowledgeable and very curteous as well.

If you are going to own a GM, you might as well do all the work yourself. I've realized that the hard way.

 

[actionjack]

Originally posted by DEMonte1997@May 5 2004, 05:18 PM
It's amazing you can be charged so much to have people who haven't even graduated from high school plug your car into a machine. 

I have had good and bad service. But to say the guy has not graduated from High School?

<_<

Dude, these guys are more than graduated from high school to be working on your car.

Other than that, if you keep getting crappy service and choose to go somewhere else that is what you need to do. If you do not then they will never change. They have to lose money which means the customer base before they try to make it better.

 

[Skuuter]

Third engine??? How much do you want to bet they've just been steam cleaning the underside and hoping you'll go away?

Have you seen them pull the engine? If they have pulled it, I can't believe they'd replace the engine before they tried new gaskets and resurfacing the mating areas.
What are the chances you'd have the exact same problem with 3 separate engines??? I'd definitely see another dealer.

 

[venturedriver]

How can I get more information on this Service Bulletin
mentioned by actionjack?

I just had a huge repair bill at 53000 miles for a head
gasket on my 2002 Venture.

Venturedriver

 

[doh]

Originally posted by actionjack@May 4 2004, 12:10 AM
I beleive GM has a known service bulletin for head gasket leaks on the 3400 and it is 'hush hush'.

They also have problems with their LS1 and piston slap and again, 'hush hush'. You have to bring the car in repeatedly before they will do anything.

Or go to another dealership and hope for an honest and fair inspection.

:ninja:

Head and intake gaskets have been a problem in the 3.4L's I've seen it lots. The die will help thr tech to find your leak.

A porus engine would be a drain though

 

[69nova]

It's July 8 and you are still wrestling with the problem. That is a shame.
And I had just added my opinion to the Honda quality thread in recalls and maybe I should step back and give the Japanese mfrs credit for controlling their dealerships which is their first line of maintenance.
My daughter reported that during a routine oil change, the local Honda dealership told her that her front struts were starting to fail. With her consent, they repaired the car (no charge-under Honda's used car warranty) and she was on her way. They could have done nothing because she had no suspicion of the condition but they didn't. Bottomline, the dealer turned a bad situation into reinforcing the perception that the mfr stands behind their product.

53,000 Miles and you have major engine work that GM is shirking. That says a lot about GM.