Oil Leak

[BUICK11]

My Cadillac dealer just advised that the oil pan gasket is leaking on my 2001 DTS. They advised it can be replaced by just pulling the transmission.

The car is still under the Major Guard Warranty.

My question is are they doing it correctly?

The car is under Warranty until the end of this year.

They said the Half Case is still dry.

Chances are that will start leaking once the warranty expires!

I thought that both the engine and transmission had to be lowered to do it correctly?

Do they use a gasket or is this a RTV glue procedure?

Thanks for advise!

Charlie

[Cadillac Jim]

You have to drop the cradle to remove the transmission. Others that have done this with their cars will chime in with more advice, I'm sure.

[KHE]

The oil manifold plate is probably what is leaking - it is between the oil pan and the lower crankcase half. Replacing it with the engine in the car is the preferred method as long as no other work needs to be done to the engine. Removing the transmission is less of a job than removing the engine or the complete powertrain. A supporting structure is mounted to the tops of the strut towers with a side leg to the radiator support. The engine is sucured to the structure and then the subframe and transmission are removed. Once the transmission is out of the way, the oil pan, oil manifold plate, etc. can be removed.

While the transmission is out of the car, have them check to see if there is any play in the output shafts. If there is, the support sleeves can be replaced while the transmission is out of the car. It might not be a bad idea to replace the TCC solenoid while the transmission is out of the car.