wtxbadger

I have had two 1/2 ton Chevy's with the 4.3 V6 and have not had any issues with either one. My first was a 92 Extended Cab that had over 130,000 miles when I sold it to my daughter and her husband and a 2008 Extended Cab I am driving now with 76,000 miles on it. I have been impressed with this motor after owning two trucks with it and hearing from other people with similar experiences.

I imagine Chevy will make it right if you keep working with them to resolve the problem.

wtxbadger

GM_tech92

i realize the trucks in this thread are low milage. thats why i said its not an incredibly common issue on the low milage trucks, maybe i should have elaborated. however, it is a bigger problem on trucks whose owners do not perform their scheduled maintenance.. the problem is, we have no idea how long these trucks sat on the lot. the only low mileage 4.3 ive seen with an oil leak is one we had on the lot for about 9 months. all it takes is 6 months of sitting, and that will cause seals to flatten, and then leak. if youve ever worked at a dealership you would know that when a truck is inventoried, it is sat in one position for months on end only being ran when the customer is interested in it... which for a 4.3 truck isnt that frequent. most customers want the v8. in many cases when the sales person tells you, " let me pull the car around" its because he has to get a tech to jump it from the battery dying. so these vehicles sit for long periods which wreaks havok on seals, end up with leaks that wouldnt be there if the truck was bought sooner. i understand how frustrating it can be, but dont always blame the product unless youre truck was odered, in which case, this would be considered a product flaw. and if that is the case, then all i can say is that it can be fixed, and when it is, you'll love the product... but i am with you on the mismatched bolt holes, i dont particularly care for this myself...

cleveland63b

ha thats so true its not even funny when i worked for chrysler I can't count how many times I had to jump or adjust tires/reset tpms before someone test drove them.

Wade Quick

Thank you for the information about problems occurring from vehicles sitting too long at the dealership. That may be an issue, being that I bought the 2011 Silverado in December 2011. The 2012 models were on the lot. The salesman said they had to replace the tires on many of the models from sitting in the desert sun for too long… so maybe the seals too but they do move the cars around on the lot so there is some lubrication happening. And I imagine there is some protocol from GM engineering for this. You know, other than to wait until the customer complains about an oil leak.

You ought to see the casting mismatch on the 2012 Chevy Traverse I was given to drive while the dealership fixed my oil pan gasket. Holy Moses... GM engineers, what a bunch of wild men.

kswat4

Wade, just a quick update to my oil leak dilemma and I want to apologize to all you die hard chevy fans that defends to the end, GM's constant and consistent mistakes and the fact that they'll never get it right, right from the start unless we as consumers stop buying their mistakes and letting them think it's ok to put out garbage products. I apologize because it was not a simple oil leak as I first stated, it was a transmission seal leak so now my 2012 Silverado, 1500, is in the shop for at least a 5 days, while they DROP the entire transmission to fix a problem that NEVER should have happened in the first place and would NOT and will NOT happen on a Tundra or a PILOT with just 17K miles on it and not driven hard at all. GM has a long way to go and even if they start now to repair their vehicles and reputation, it will take generations before someone is asked "what the most reliable vehicle on the road today is" and not reply with the overwhelming response, (not counting the few who refuse to see the facts), "Toyota or Honda, period." My sons know it, your sons and daughters know it and until GM changes their entire thought process of how to really win us back as customers, they'll continue to be a distant 4th or 5th place behind even Hyundai now and continue to put out garbage knowing you'll continue to buy it, warts and all!

GM_tech92

in most cases they are not moved once placed on the lot and a DI is performed... if they had to replace the tires from sitting, then thats was your entire problem right there. rubber is meant to move and flex, and dries and stiffens when left in one place. odds are, your car was inspected, inventoried, and left in spot XXX untill interest was shown in it. GMs idea is that fewer cars are inventoried to allow fewer problems from having the vehicle sitting. however, most dealerships will inventory as many as they can so that they have a large product line on lot. it isnt the way that GM wants it done, but they have little control over that aspect of the dealership.. i have seen thie mismatch in the traverse... not a fan....
you know little about this dont you... the same leaks gm has the tundra has, as well as ford, dorge, and honda. i am a professional mechanic who has worked in many independent shops, before acquiring my GM certs, and if you think these brands dont leak you are SADLY mistaken. dont forget about the tundras front seal leaks, which are incredibly common at low mileage.. ive seen so many hondas recently that the valve covers were quite literally spouting oil from the valve covers (reminiscent of the old detroit diesels before they added the tubes to the crank case) and these were all low mileage cars. the tundras tend to get the leak around 5k. but not every one of them does. its kinda like the fords with the spark plug issues, ( which is in no way fixed) your either gonna leak at 5k or youre gonna last. no telling which. before you start claiming one brand is better than the other. know what youre talking about.

cleveland63b

at first i took this thread seriously but now it just makes me laugh

i guess gm is is the ONLY manufacturer that has EVER had an issue with a vehicle with low mileage.

maybe i should quit my job as an independent tech since the only vehicles that ever have problems are GMs

fact of the matter is that theres a reason ALL manufacturers have warranties, because things happen without warning and you can't expect that every single vehicle produced is going to be 100% right honda,ford,dodge,gm,nissan i don't care they all produce lemons

go to any other online forums and you'll always see people crying about how crappy what they have is and they should have gotten something else

GM_tech92

exactly. but no one seems to realize this. because apparently toyota, honda, and any foreign brand are perfect from factory and never have problems. what people dont seem to realize is that they are only saying this from the 2-3 cars they have compared to. not the hundreds of cars we see to know that every manufacturer is about the same as far as flaws, leaks, warranty work, and dissatisfaction from customers. but only we see that as techs... not the general public... but what do i know.. im just a master tech with years of experience under my belt.. i must not know anything...

JMBrr

Yesterday I went to change the oil in my 2010 Chevy 1500 4.3L 21k miles and noticed oil all over the bottom of the engine and bell housing. Took it to the dealer today and they could not tell me what the cause is so I left it there w/ them and they gave me a loaner.

I have a feeling it is the same problem. I am not happy to say the least.
GM Tech- What is involed in the gaskets replacement and how long should it take once the part is in?

GM_tech92

i dont like hearing "cannot tell the cause"... it makes me angry when i overhear this at the dealership... the problem can almost always be identified as long as there is evidence of the problem... now intermittent CEL/Trac/abs/SIR lights can be a problem as theres typically no evidence left behind till it sets a hard code... but an oil leak as long as the oil is there, we can find it.. techs need to learn quick glances get them nowhere.

well, if it comes back as a rear main, then your looking at dropping the trans and then replacing the seal... cant tell you how long that will take as every mechanic is different some are slower, some are faster, and some have trouble focusing on a single job.... so i cant tell you how long it will take them for that...

the oil pan gasket by itself... i cant remember for certain what is entailed in the silverado... i know that on the s-10s you had to drop the entire front suspension to have enough access to the pan (saw alot of those).. but if i remember correctly (ive only done 2 of the 4.3s in silverados... i dont see them very often) its a straight forward job and only pays like 3 hours warranty... if that gives you an idea.. factor in an aditional 1/3 for warranty times because warranty pay is typically 2/3s the customer pay time.. and it typically isnt enough...