96 chevy oil filter housing (ot)

have a 96 chevy truck Silverado with a 350. It has an oil cooler. I have a leak somewhere and was going to replace the seal in the oil filter housing. I have never taken one apart and my Hayes manual does not have a description of it. It looks like two bolts undo it. Do I have to remove the oil cooler lines also. What is in there once you get it off? Is this a hard repair?

I appreciate any help!

Not familiar with the housing, sorry about that.

However, I do know a good place to get for real factory shop manuals...

Good Luck!

Erik

Let's stop /right/ there - before you start tearing the truck apart because you're guessing that's what is leaking, wouldn't it make a lot more sense to first find out where the leak really is? ;-)

First step is to go to the local Coin-Op Car Wash with a roll of quarters and a few cans of Foamy Engine Brite or other engine degreaser. If there aren't any commercial outfits nearby, go rent or borrow a pressure washer - or better yet, a steam cleaner.

Clean off the engine and the engine compartment with soap and the HP wand first, then apply the spray engine cleaner. Let the cleaner soak for a few minutes, then hit it again with the soap and high pressure.

Standard Disclaimer: Do NOT spray any electronic stuff like the distributor or alternator, electrical connectors or modules, the fuse box, etc. with the high pressure wand at close range. With 2KPSI plus anywhere inside of a foot, you can force water past seals that would normally stop splashes, and ruin something.

Bring WD-40 to dry out the ignition system if it won't start.

Now that it's nice and clean, the leak should be fairly easy to spot. It could be something as stupid (and easy to fix) as a loose oil pan gasket or valve cover. And as a bonus that clean engine is a lot nicer to work on, too.

For the really tough cases they have UV fluorescent dye additives that you put into the oil. Drive it for a short while, then park in a dark garage and hit it with a high-power UV blacklight floodlight - and the leak will shine like a Grateful Dead poster.

(Grateful WHO? Oh, you've gotta be... Go Google it. Kids...) :P

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good advice, but.... I had the gasket fail on the oil filter housing on my

93 suburban - my guess is that it is the same on the OP's truck - as I recall the gasket was an o-ring that had hardened and cracked - and it leaked progressivly faster and in very short order the car was not suitable to drive.

big snip----

My neighbor hood mechanic says that my '96 350 ci engine leaks from the back of the vally cover (intake manifold) and that it is a very common problem. Other then this leak the GMC3500 is in great shape and for sale at $4000. if any one is interested. Leigh at MarMachine

stryped wrote in article ...

How many differemnt names do you post under, carnut?

A different name for each newsgroup?????

My '88 Chevy 350 had a bad oil pressure sender that leaked oil down onto the oil filter adaptor. I did just what you're about to do... and then ended up replacing the leaking oil pressure sender, too. >:-( I would suggest you pull the metal heat shield/cage off the oil pressure sender and see if it's leaking, first. David

Mine was a 4x4 sportside... I didn't need to take the driveshaft off and the oil pressure sender was right above the oil filter adaptor under the exhaust manifold; covered by a perforated metal heat shield. I don't remember if it had a separate oil cooler or not. It had the factory towing package, so I would think so... but it's been a long time since I worked on that one.

I have a 96 silverado I am going to replace the oil filter housing seal in. My question is does the oil cooler lines that screw into the housing have some sort of seal in them also? Is it just a regular o ring?

stryped wrote in article ...

Just so you'll know.....

I used to stock the o-ring kits for the Chevy filter mounts and remote filter setups when I managed a NAPA store, so if you run into trouble, maybe you have a nearby NAPA or Carquest that is open that can get you out of a bind.

Havent sold that yet? Its a damned nice truck and in real good condition.

Gunner

Political Correctness

A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.