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My mom's car leaks oil!!!!


bmwgirl740
03-31-2004, 07:40 PM
My mother has a 1995 Aurora that she just bought about a year ago. It has been leaking oil and the low oil pressure light has been coming on. I think all of the Northstar V8 engines leak don't they? Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, what did you do to get it fixed?

I THINK OLDSMOBILE/GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD HAVE TO FIX THIS PROBLEM THIS CANNOT BE NORMAL!!!! :chair:

BKVic
03-31-2004, 09:12 PM
The best advice I can give is unless your mom is willing to pay some big bucks to have the engine removed and reinstalled is to get used to the leak. Since the leaks pose no safety problems there is no way GM is going to repair it. As for the low oil pressure she should have that checked out as soon as possible also unless she agian wants to pay some big bucks for a replacement engine. It could be something as simple as a bad oil pressure sender or as serious as a bad oil pump.


BKVic

newscarver
04-01-2004, 06:19 AM
have you tried any engine leak sealers, if you get an overnight spot on the driveway about 3-4 inches in diamater these products really work they swell up gaskets and seals a tiny bit...may be all it needs..they take over a week to fully seal a leak..but if you add over a quart a day and have smoke coming from every where you have a job ahead of you

bmwgirl740
04-01-2004, 06:36 AM
We haven't tried anything yet. My dad has a Cadillac with the same STUPID Northstar engine and it leaks too. Mom said she called yesterday and spoke to a dealer and they wanted like $600.00 to fix it. I think she is going to see about just taking it to get it fixed, $600 isn't too bad.

Thanks for all of your posts and advice. Maybe my dad can use it for his Cadillac, lol.

I am shocked that GM doesn't take care of their customers like BMW. BMWNA is paying for replacement parts on my car and I don't even have a warranty, infact it is a 1998 and I bought is used. The pixels went out in my dash and they pay for everyone's that has that problem. They just took responsibility for it, unlike General Motors. I think GM sucks, they shouldn't make crap and then sell it and not fix it when it is a factory defect. That is such a common problem that when my dad went to sell his Caddy, everyone that inquired about it wanted to know if it leaked. Hmmmm, sounds like that was a big problem with those engines. Oldsmobile has gone out of business, wonder why???? ;)

BKVic
04-01-2004, 08:49 AM
I hope Im wrong but $600 sounds much to low for this fix. I think they have to totally remove the motor to get to it. Let us know how it comes out.

BKVic

bmwgirl740
04-01-2004, 09:07 AM
Ok, thanks, will do!!

Indy8
04-01-2004, 11:49 AM
We haven't tried anything yet. My dad has a Cadillac with the same STUPID Northstar engine and it leaks too. Mom said she called yesterday and spoke to a dealer and they wanted like $600.00 to fix it. I think she is going to see about just taking it to get it fixed, $600 isn't too bad.

Thanks for all of your posts and advice. Maybe my dad can use it for his Cadillac, lol.

I am shocked that GM doesn't take care of their customers like BMW. BMWNA is paying for replacement parts on my car and I don't even have a warranty, infact it is a 1998 and I bought is used. The pixels went out in my dash and they pay for everyone's that has that problem. They just took responsibility for it, unlike General Motors. I think GM sucks, they shouldn't make crap and then sell it and not fix it when it is a factory defect. That is such a common problem that when my dad went to sell his Caddy, everyone that inquired about it wanted to know if it leaked. Hmmmm, sounds like that was a big problem with those engines. Oldsmobile has gone out of business, wonder why???? ;) LOL!

ugsrich
04-01-2004, 05:48 PM
That’s some interesting commentary regarding BMW, GM, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. I don’t know for sure about the Northstar and its alleged propensity to leak oil. I do know that after some period of time nearly every automobile probably leaks oil from somewhere in or about its engine seals and gaskets. At nearly 9 years and unknown mileage I’m not surprised that your mom’s automobile (an Aurora in this case) happens to leak some (quantity unknown) oil. Interestingly, your father’s Cadillac (model, year and mileage unknown) apparently has a similar problem. Sans any specific information about the Caddy it’s unclear to me if it has the Northstar engine (I yield to your specific knowledge). There seem to be some factual omissions herein.

I’m very interested in the comparison you make of the Oldsmobile problem to that of your BMW and its dash-pixel problem. I have always heard good things about BMW products. The interesting part to me is that BMWNA’s free parts are to repair the dash-pixel and not leaking engine oil. Does BMWNA repair or replace a 9 year old engine with an oil leak for free? (I don’t know the answer.) I suppose my real frustration regarding your commentary is the lack of factual and equivalent comparisons. I have no idea if GM would replace the parts of a dash-pixel problem for free, nor do I know why BMWNA has chosen to. I would be very interested in knowing about BMWNA’s position regarding their engines leaking oil after 9 years. (Can you provide some factual input?)

It’s interesting that you ponder (out loud) the demise of the Oldsmobile Brand (and it’s apparent correlation to an oil leak) whilst your commentary includes as much if not more discussion about your father’s Caddy and the Northstar engine in general. So, is it the engine or the Oldsmobile Brand I’m not clear on your position.

Finally, if BMW is so great, and I am NOT denying their quality, styling, engineering or craftsmanship; why doesn’t everyone own one? Or put another way; if GM and it’s associated brands are SO hideous why do we see any GM vehicles on the road? I’m confused.

HARDTIMER
04-02-2004, 01:47 AM
ouch ugsrich!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :grinno:

RoraStar96
04-02-2004, 08:48 AM
Ouch indeed, but a driveway that has an Old Aurora, Cadillac STS and a BMW 740? based on your screen name...I doubt $600 and an oil leak is that much of an issue.

I commend you on your fine fleet of automobiles.

ugsrich
04-02-2004, 10:27 AM
I am not looking to insight a conflict here. I am however simply trying to understand all of the facts and their relationship to the indictment of GM, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. I remain unable to discern the actual Caddy model/year owned by the father. I also remain unclear on the equivalence between an engine oil leak and a dash-pixel problem (other than they are both problems). If requesting the pertinent FACTS that underlies the indictment results in an "ouch" then I feel compelled to apologize for my insensitive pursuit thereof.

None the less, I would still be interested in the pertinent facts upon which the indictment is founded.

jjdewd
04-02-2004, 09:32 PM
I'm not saying anything lol

RobertHammen
04-02-2004, 11:12 PM
Sounds like the infamous "rear crankshaft main seals" failure. You can drag this out for awhile by being meticulous about checking/adding oil, but it will eventually need to be repaired, and this is not a cheap repair. The engine and tranny have to be dropped, and the engine split in two and then resealed. This job on my '98 (which is supposed to have a revised seal) cost $1800, for which my aftermarket warranty paid $1300 (thank you!). Supposedly this is more likely to happen if your crankcase has been overfilled with oil (dealer put 9 quarts in about 7 months before I noticed the leak).

Hope this helps,

--Robert

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