Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Vans & Minivans Chevy Express & GMC Savana Chevy Express/GMC Savana
595 messages, Last post on Aug 14, 2008 at 12:35 PM
You are in the Chevy Express & GMC Savana Forum. Your Host is Karens
|
I bought a new Express LT July 27 of 02. 5 days later I noticed a few drips of oil under the differential . I crawled up under and found a small hole in the differential housing that was seeping oil. I completely wiped it clean and put newspaper under it while it was in the garage. About every 2 days I had an oil spot the size of a silver dollar. I made an app't at my dealer and took it in when I had it about 12 days. They said yes there is a leak ( as if I didn't know that !) and it is coming from a hole in the differential which was there at the time of manufacture but was supposed to be welded shut. They said to KEEP DRIVING IT AND IT MIGHT STOP LEAKING ON IT'S OWN. I took it home and watched it like a hawk. I took notes , consulted our fleet mechanic at work, called 2 other Chevy dealers and the consensus was...it won't just stop leaking on it's own. I took it back and said , I am leaving for Florida towing my 26 ft trailer on Sept 10th. I want to make sure it was fixed. They said they would have to replace the differential housing and would have to order the part. They also said that such a housing is hard to find. They will first have to put a request out to all dealerships asking if anybody has one BEFORE they are allowed to order a new one. I said ,fine , just do it. Time went by and I kept in contact and was told that we will have your van fixed before you leave. Bottom line, they didn't find one and had to order it. They said it wouldn't be in til about a week after I left. They applied an epoxy cement over the leak saying this will hold til you get back. We left Sept 10th and about 150 miles into the trip I started smelling a slight burning odor. I crawled under and looked to see the epoxy was getting to a dark brown if not black from the heat. We got to Florida OK and were there about 2 1/2 weeks when I started to hear a faint whining noise. After a couple of days it got louder. I called around Orlando and found ONE Chevy dealer 22 miles away ( Holiday Chevrolet in Kissimmee) that said " bring it right over" Everybody else said next week. On my way to the dealer , it got louder and LOUDER. It was embarrasing to drive ! I made it to the dealer , spoke to them and a service tech took it out for a SHORT drive. He said " you are not driving this van anywhere". All of the fluid has leaked out and the gears are about to seize up. He made some quick mental calulations and said that the entire rear end , gears , bearings and the housing were all going to have to be replaced . He said that the only part hard to get will be the housing. I had them call my dealer at home and .....they had the new housing on hand. Arrangements were made to ship it to Florida from Pennsylvania and than it was fixed. It took a week ( free rental car) but it was fixed and with another 4,000 miles on it works 100%. I informed my now FORMER Chevy dealer that I will not be returning to them for any reason ever. I made another Florida trip with no problems. I also saw that GM says that the Express does not need a transmission cooler as it has the through the radiator kind. All of the truck tow packages have them but not the van. Anyway, I bought a nice sized cooler and had my own mechanic plumb it in so that it looks stock. Just driving 10 miles it gets so hot you can't put your hand on it. Towing my 26 ft trailer which weighs about 5400 lbs loaded with the 5.7 and the 3.73 I get a solid 10 mpg. I run about 62 mph. |
|
| The people who told you that the oil may stop leaking on its own probably do not understand that as oil gets hot, its viscosity decreases and the leak wiill become more intense. There are cases where leaking seals for example swell up and stop the leak, but in this case there was no seal. They could have fixed your problem permanently by draining the differential oil, drilling a clean hole through the differential housing, tapping the hole and screwing in a properly fitting hex bolt coated with sealer and also with a copper washer under the head, and refilling the differential wtih fresh gear oil You would never know the extra bolt is there, it would not be seen. Many differential housings have both a fill and drain plug holes already drilled and tapped. | |
|
They never offered to repair ( weld etc) anything although I wouldn't have refused such a repair knowing it would likely last the life of the van. They just said they would replace the housing and would have it done BEFORE I left on my long trip. BELIEVING that they would be able to do this ( in a months time) I certainly didn't want to turn down a brand new replacement part on my 12 day old van. I spoke to the GM at the dealer and also filed a complaint with General Motors but they said they have NO control over dealers regarding repairs. This dealer has a billboard nearby their place. ________ Chevrolet. Great Deals, Great Service , Great People. We'll be there for you ! I told the GM that the only thing they lived up to was the good deal. The service was bad, the service people were terrible and they were NOT there for me. We still love our LT and wish we had the newer V8 but I can't complain about the wonderful longevity and reliability of the 350. |
|
|
Wow, nice to see this board is still active... I used to frequent this place starting about 4.5 years ago when we first ordered/purchased our '99 Savana 2500 12-pass. Anyway, after 60K+ miles, the time has come to replace all four of our Savana's original Michelin LTX A/S LT225/75R16E tires. These tires have served us very well. While we're inclined to stick to the old tried'n'true and look for the identical tires for replacements, does anyone suggest that we consider buying a different tire this time around for any reason? We do happen to live in the wintery Northeast. BTW, Michelin is offering a $50 rebate on the purchase of 4 tires during the month of July: http://michelinman.com/promo/2003rebate.html |
|
| Sounds like your Michelin's did you well. If I was going to keep that van another 60K I wouldn't hesitate to get another of the same. Our 02 Express Lives in the garage over the winter here in PA. I have gotten tires at BJ's Holesale Club. They can be very good when they have their $7.50 rebate per tire deal going. | |
Glad to see this board still gets activity once in awhile. I've noticed that our 2001 Express LT has had a lot of rough or delayed shifting of the transmission over the last 5,000 miles. This is much more noticeable when we are towing our pop-up camper which weighs only 1800 pounds. Judging from some of the transmission problem posts on this board, is this one of the early signs of transmission failure? We bought the van new in May 2002 and it currently has 17K miles on it. Other than that, my wife and kids love it and only the vibrating mirrors are a complaint. Even our gas milage is 15-16 MPG. Thanks for any input. Timyak
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Vans & Minivans Chevy Express & GMC Savana Chevy Express/GMC Savana
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2008 Chevrolet Express
2008 GMC Savana
2008 Chevrolet Express Cargo
1996 Chevrolet Sportvan
1998 Chevrolet Chevy Van
1996 Chevrolet Chevy Van Classic
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
