Chevrolet Repair: Oil Leak - 1995 Chevy Astro 4.3, 2wd, chevy astro van, transmission oil cooler

Question
Hi-

I have a 1995 Chevy Astro Van, 4.3L, 2wd, 153000 miles. The van runs great! It has developed a severe oil leak where the lower oil cooling line enters the radiator. I've loosed the fitting, cleaned it and sealed the threads with automotive thread sealer. It's now leaking a lot worse. A mechanic has looked at it, and the repair bill would be about $300, which I cant afford right now. He suggested that I could plug or crimp the oil lines, as I dont use the van for towing. Is this a good idea?

Thanks for you help!

Roger Hunt

Answer
I did NOT intend to be RUDE and or disrespectful but I have seen way to many disasters whereas people just BAND-AID a problem and then disaster strikes. Without actually SEEING your problem you could try and put some TEFLON TAPE on the threads of the fitting of which you can purchase at any auto parts sore and this may resolve your problem. It is worth a try until you can get it fixed properly. Since I cannot actually see the leak personally, I am going on the basis that it is the THREADS of the fitting that are leaking.

There is another fix that works well. You can change the fitting in the radiator to accept a FLARE style fitting and cut the faulty fitting off of the line and install a FLARE FITTING on the line and FLARE the line.

I have done this successfully many times ONLY because the people were from out of town and it would take several days to get a new set of lines.

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Are you referring to the ENGINE OIL cooling lines or the TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINES ?.

In either case, Is He OUT OF HIS MIND. That would be a DISASTER and one sure way of destroying an engine or transmission depending upon which is leaking.

I is NOT a difficult task to replace the engine oil coolant lines on this vehicle.

On a scale of 1 being EASY and 10 being extremly difficult, This would be approximately a 3.

Buy the 2 lines and the 4 "O" rings and replace it yourself.

What you can't afford NOW, May soon develop such a severe leak that you won't notice it until the OIL LIGHT ILLUMINATES on the highway doing 65 miles per hour on a friday night in the rain and you will DESTROY an ENGINE.

You decide, Which is CHEAPER, replacing the lines or taking a RISK and possibly replacing the engine.


What EXACTLY did your mechanic say needed to be done ?.


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