DIY Oil Cooler Line Replacement

[Tx_Bowtie]

My truck had the oil cooler lines fail at 44,****** mi, luckily i found the drops in the driveway before it was catastrophic.  The dealer said not under power train warranty due to "not a moving part", so I bought the lines for 130.00.  It is a pain and very messy, but not too bad.  BTW lighter fluid removes oil stains without scrubbing.

 

 

first I removed the inner wheel liner on the passenger side, now i could see the connections to the cooler.

 

Upper is accessible from the top.

Be careful not to lose the clips, new lines reuse them

 

Then I disconnected the block at the oil filter adapter and sensor

The rubber lines in the middle do allow some movement, but not much, so I decided to remove the bumper for a direct shot.  

 

 

 

[Tx_Bowtie]

This is the path of the lines, between the motor mounts, engine, and cross member.

  

It is a Chinese puzzle to get them out.  I found that if you remove the stud that holds the line to the block they will come straight out the front

view from driver side

 

[Tx_Bowtie]

Front View

feed the lines back in from the front

and connect to the cooler, then go underneath and bolt on the block and connect the sensor.

Add some oil and drink some beer.

 

There may be an easier way to complete the job, and I'm sure a lift would help, but its not that bad and saved some cash for upgrades.

 

[LDM]

You should have told them to check again.  I had my oil cooler lines replaced under my powertrain warranty last year around May due to this same issue.  Dealer did it without any issue and no cost to me.

[reardiff]

Do all of them have cooler lines or is it an option/package where they get included?

[Bob2C]

Had my Tahoe engine oil cooler lines replaced last month and they were covered under powertrain. The transmission oil cooler lines are not.





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[Johnjr]

I can’t believe you had to do this your self! I have only bought GM vehicles  my whole life and if they would not cover this I’d never buy another one!

[TeamSaris]

nice work! hope the beer was cold

[Tx_Bowtie]

I called the two closest dealers one said it was not, and the other said probably not, but they would try.  I was not willing to put $600.00 on a try.

Either way, its done and I know its done right.

[RWTJR]

Both Dealerships should have known better and the 'we'll try' story is dealership BS. If a dealership has a question about coverage of a clearly diagnosed problem (obvious leaking engine oil lines), they should contact GM BEFORE the repair and get a coverage decision. There is no trying to get coverage after the fact with a known diagnosis, no let us fix it and we'll try to get it covered. The it's not covered because it's "not a moving part" comment just shows apathy, ignorance or incompetence on the part of the dealership.

 

This is clearly a covered repair and should have been taken care of by a dealership. GM would not be happy to hear this occurred.

 

I have provided the above opinion not as a comment on the OP's actions but to help clarify for others who may face a similar situation in the future.

 

JMHO

No expertise implied or expressed (I could be making it all up)

[DeePa]

Has anyone figured out aftermarket lines? I’ve done the GM ones twice already. 
 

I’d love to do braided lines end to end. 

[dieselfan1]

This is what the dealer F'd up on my 2018 5.3.

Took it in to get oil change and new thermostat  

They called and said these oil cooler lines were leaking and should they replace them. Of course I told them to replace them.

Next day wife is coming home and smells burning oil.

Almost all the oil leaked out and it was clattering and smoking .

There was approximately 1 quart of oil left.

Junk in my opinion so I traded it in on a new truck.

They fixed the line that was leaking,filled it up with oil and sold it within a few days .

BTW the dealer was Wayzata Chevrolet in Wayzata MN. Used to be called Village Chevrolet. 

Shady service dept. operation at best. 

[DavisRy]

TX_Bowtie - Could you go into a little more detail on the sensor that sits on top of the alum block (block that bolts to the engine block)? I've ordered new lines, but the alum. block doesn't have threaded ports on top. I've attached a photo of my replacement part. (Part#84791853).

 

[romeactual]

Nice job and great pics!  About to do the same on my 19 Sierra. What is the possibility of changing them without taking front bumper off? It seems like there is a decent amount of room between radiator and engine.

 

For reference, dealer wants 7 hours labor. Part is "backordered" and it will run about $1,350 for the service. No way I want to pay that. Truck just started leaking from the crimp when it was -10 here in Michigan, at 69k miles.

[relevante]

On 3/16/2022 at 6:34 PM, DeePa said:

Has anyone figured out aftermarket lines? I’ve done the GM ones twice already. 
 

I’d love to do braided lines end to end. 

Haven't done it yet, but I just discovered my lines leaking just out of warranty a few days ago. After realizing what a nightmare just getting the old ones out in one piece was and how insane putting the new ones in was going to be, all for the reward of replacing them with the same shitty crimps that are already leaking with only 67,000 miles, I decided to go DIY. At least being out of warranty has some upsides.

 

Provided it all works out, I'll share some photos, but the general plan is to cut off the factory lines to remove the rubber hose section and both crimps, flare the tubing ends with a 37 degree flaring tool (would probably have to have the other ends of the factory lines loose as well in order to get access to cut and flare - mine are already taken off), and then use AN-8 double male couplings and a couple of short pieces of 1/2" OD aluminum tubing, flared on both ends, to replace the bend that the rubber hose used to make. As far as I can tell it should be far longer lasting than another set of factory lines and hopefully a bit easier to do as well. Parts and flare tool should be here tomorrow, so will be finding out soon.

 

The process for doing braided lines would be fairly similar, would just have to decide where you wanted to cut off the factory lines and then use AN connectors to join to the braided line, and make sure they were routed and well secured.

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by relevante