Category: car review

Chevy Volt Oil Pan Leak and Replacement

My 2017 Chevy Volt is now about 95,000 miles now. It has been burning oil for several months. It has been very slow due to the low use of the internal combustion engine. In the past several months, I noticed the oil level dropped about one quart every 3 weeks. It soon grew to losing about one quart every week before I noticed an oil spot on my driveway. I also noticed a burning oil smell.

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The oil filter and drain plug were tight and not leaking. The Chevy Volt’s underbody fiber panels ABSORBED several quarts of the oil before the speed of the moving car drifted oil to the exhaust pipes causing the burning oil smell.

Since only about half of the 2017 Chevy Volt mileage is with gas, and the rest has been electric motor, the engine probably only has about 45,000 to 50,000 gas miles on it.

Searching the internet, it seems like some 2016 and 2017 Chevy Volt has an oil pan gasket leak early in its production. So it may be the build and the gasket material. Also from the forums, users noted that the Volt needed several days to fix and may cost anywhere from $800-$1600 out of warranty to repair. The reason for several days to fix was due to the gasket material curing or clients returning back to the dealer when it leaked again after the repair.

After doing my research – I decided to do it myself :

1. I didn’t want to spend $1000 or more in repair costs, car rental, and lost time. I figured it take me about 3 hours of actual work and 1 day of waiting for the gasket to cure. And about $40 for a new oil pan hardware , $5 for RTV Silicone Permatex Ultra Black gasket maker, $5 oil filter , and $12 for 0w-20 synthetic oil . The panels were soaked in oil and not sure what the dealer may do or charge me to clean, so I got $12 gallon bottle of degreaser solution, and $6 two cans of Carb cleaner . Total cost about $80 in materials and 3 hours or so in labor.
2. Oil pan replacement generally is pretty simple, and I wanted to make sure the gasket had time to cure and that I was able to clean off all the oil spray on the exhaust pipes and under panels.

Parts List:

1. GM oil pan ( https://amzn.to/3evyAhE )
2. Oil Gasket RTV Silcone BLACK ( https://amzn.to/3aAR3Z2 )
3. Oil filter AC Delco PF 64 ( https://amzn.to/2PiTk3R )
4. 0w-20 oil – 3.8 quarts or so new oil ( https://amzn.to/2QR1SPV )
5. Carb cleaner to remove oil off exhaust parts ( https://amzn.to/3dLO7en )
6. Concentrated degreaser to clean panels ( https://amzn.to/32G4xhJ )
7. 7 mm and 8 mm socket wrench and extender
8. Ryobi angle drill ( https://amzn.to/3awMzCM )
9. Torque wench (18 lb – 20 lb ) https://amzn.to/2QWGZm4
10. Thin metal trim pry bar ( https://amzn.to/3aB6ikO )
11. Special tool – 3mm x 10 mm metal slot bar ( or use two very large flat head screw drivers. )
12. Plastic or metal razor blade ( https://amzn.to/32IKwHw ) https://amzn.to/3gNfoPx
13. Car Ramps https://amzn.to/3nf5QOa
14. Gloves https://amzn.to/3nf06UG
15. WD40 – solvent melts silicone https://amzn.to/3erccpQ
16. Clean rags
17. Newspaper or cardboard
18. 5 gallon bucket for the degreaser solution.

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Disclaimer:
This is what i do for entertainment and your viewing entertainment! Some of the stuff are entertaining, while some are just plain silly. If you do anything with your own property, you do so at your own risk.
Due to factors beyond the control of Sterlingwong, I cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. This information is for entertainment only. Sterlingwong assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. Sterlingwong recommends safe practices when working on personal property , vehicles, and / or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Sterlingwong, no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular rsult. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Sterlingwong.