Is there a cooling system filter on a 2001 Olds...

[fuel tanker man]

Oldsmobile Silhouette Van...

Belongs to a friend. He said it's got a small coolant leak. The dealer said it needed the cooling system filter assembly replaced.

Does this van even have a cooling system filter?

I'm just wondering if my friend is being sold a bill of goods here, for something a can of Bars-leak can fix??

Thanks,

Dan

 

[D189379]

Originally Posted By: fuel tanker man
Oldsmobile Silhouette Van...

Belongs to a friend. He said it's got a small coolant leak. The dealer said it needed the cooling system filter assembly replaced.

Does this van even have a cooling system filter?

I'm just wondering if my friend is being sold a bill of goods here, for something a can of Bars-leak can fix??

Thanks,

Dan


Like a coolant filter? I've never heard of one?

 

[mstrjon32]

Make sure he gets his headlight fluid topped off while he's at the shop...

My vote is on intake manifold gasket leak on that van, assuming its a 60* 3400 engine.

 

[hal]

bars-leaks is bad, so are most of these other leak seal snakeoil things, unless you don't really care about engine longevity. I vote for the intake manifold gaskets also, probably lower plenum one.

 

[Gary Allan]

Coolant level sensor, maybe ..but a filter?? Not likely.

 

[Brett Miller]

It's adjacent to the muffler bearing.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: fuel tanker man
Oldsmobile Silhouette Van...
Belongs to a friend. He said it's got a small coolant leak. The dealer said it needed the cooling system filter assembly replaced.
Does this van even have a cooling system filter?


Have your friend take it back to the dealer, find the same person who told him that, and have him point it out to him, either with the hood up or show him a diagram in the parts book.
I've never heard of this van having the cummins diesel engine option.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: fuel tanker man
Oldsmobile Silhouette Van...
Belongs to a friend. He said it's got a small coolant leak. The dealer said it needed the cooling system filter assembly replaced.
Does this van even have a cooling system filter?


Have your friend take it back to the dealer, find the same person who told him that, and have him point it out to him, either with the hood up or show him a diagram in the parts book.
I've never heard of this van having the cummins diesel engine option.


Yea, seriously.

This Van has the INFAMOUS 3.4L intake gasket blower, and whether mr. coolant filter moron found it or not, the gaskets will 100% leak.

I'd tell your friend to run run away from this dealer and take it to a reputable independent shop and have them use the Fel Pro problem solver gasket kit.

 

[fuel tanker man]

10-4... thanks guys for the info. I hadn't ever heard of a GM car with a cooling system filter.

It probably is the intake manifold gasket...

Thanks again,

Dan

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

I recently "inherited" a 2001 Alero with the same 3.4. After discovering the overheating problem was because the previous driver let it run out of water (yes, water was what they were putting in it, not coolant), I filled with a mix of Dexcool. Soon after it started leaking like a seive.

Some Internet research determined the problem had to be intake manifold gaskets (IMGs). While taking it apart, I noticed the lower IM bolts weren't tight. The gaskets seemed completely intact. Then, I noticed the thermostat bypass pipe had a big buildup of coolant residue on it where it connected to the manifold. Downstream deposits indicated a major leak from the pipe connection.

While I replaced the gaskets with Felpro Problem Solvers because expected Dexcool/IMG problems, my problem was loose IM bolts and a huge leak from the bypass pipe connection. GM now calls for special new bolts (they have threadlocker already painted on) and for the pipe connection, the use of GM red threadlocker to seal it and hold the "kind of" pressure fitting in place. That pipe junction is very poor design, and I'll bet it's to blame for a lot of leaks that are blamed on the IMG.

The Alero doesn't have a cooling system filter, and I'll bet your van doesn't have one either.