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2012 Sierra Oil Cooler Line Replacement


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I posted similar question in "ask the Technician" but wanted to expand on it here.

 

I need to replace to engine oil cooler lines on a 2012 Sierra 5.3 4x4.  I just had the trans cooler lines replaced and the mechanic said the oil lines were leaking.  Well, now I'm starting to leave oil spots on the driveway.  It looks like I would either need to remove the front differential or motor mount in order to get the lines out/in.  There are a few videos on youtube that make removing the drive's side motor mount look like the easiest option.  Some people have raised the motor by jacking it up by the oil pan or the driver's side exhaust.  I would think that the exhaust would be the best option.   

 

Anyone know the toque spec on the 2 bolts to the oil cooler engine mount?  Also, do I need to use anything with the provided gasket ie permatex?

 

Dealer quoted me at $1100 for this.  The lines were $100 and I can't see paying $1000 for something that shouldn't be too difficult. 

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.    

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Drop the diff, don't remove it, loosen the 4 bolts to gain just enough clearance.  The 2 bolts on the oil cooler block get torqued to 106 inch pounds.  The single bolt on the bracket, 18 ft lbs.  The differential bolts get torqued to 74 ft lbs.

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I have a 2004 silverado I ended up dropping the front differential to get good access to do this.  Figured it was worth it since I was replacing the tranny lines and also the oil pan gasket.  After I was done I talked to a mechanic who said it was possible to fish the oil lines in without taking anything apart.  Trick he said though was to have a lift so the turck could be 6 feet in the air to give you room to maneuver the lines and thread them where they need to go.  He said it probably wasn't possible to do in the driveway on jack stands flat backing it.  

 

Trick to removing the front differential  You want to turn the wheels to the left so the pit man arm is out of the way that will help. I definitely recommend removing the relay rod and the shock absorber to give yourself more room. I found that you can leave the lower mounting bolt in and put a jack underneath it and then pull the top bolt. Lower the jack and the differential will rotate around the lower bolt and drop down real nice. Reinstallation also work good this way you just have to get the top mount above the frame then use a jack to rotate the differential about the lower bolt. In order to get the proper alignment of the top mount I also used a small car jack on the left and right side of the differential in addition to the main jack under the differential housing. This worked out super slick.

 

 

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Edited by flynhigh
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