I'm new to the forum and found it by chance while searching for the most common causes for oil leaks in this Monte Carlo.

I've known my now wife for a few years and we never really drove each others cars, she supposedly had taken care of hers and I took care of mine. Recently I sold my truck so that she could buy a new van and by default I inherited her 2006 Monte Carlo LT with 115,000 miles on it.

Since taking it over I found that the oil hadn't been changed in almost two years (I found out that all the shops refused to change it because it has a massive leak) the plugs/wires had never been changed, the transmission has a fairly large leak, the drivers seat motor isn't working, the middle of the dash is separating, two of the three back seatbelt buckles don't work, the drivers side window leaks in the rain, the drivers side door fills up with water when it rains, the front speakers don't work, the brake fluid cap wasn't tight and didn't have the rubber gasket (it also has never been changed) the coolant has never been changed, the trunk leaked so bad that the spare tire was floating, the EVAP control cannister was malfunctioning, the A/C solenoid clicks like crazy when the air is turned on (for about a minute) the wires in the headlight assembly melted, the front passenger hub assembly has a severed ABS wire causing the ABS/Traction control lights to be on and the system disabled and both rear wheel assemblies are bad, which caused the tires to wear to the point of needing to be replaced.

I replaced the EVAP control canister, I replaced all four rotors and brake pads because they were warped (it's been a couple months and they're already worn and warped again) I bought new tires, I replaced both rear wheel assemblies, I fixed the drivers window leak by bending the door back towards the frame, apparently the keys had been locked in the car a time or two and pop a lock bent the door. I was able to stop the trunk leak by bending the bottom area of the trunk edge by the bumper but the trunk is still full of rust. I bought a new headlight to replace the melted one, and I'm currently trying to go through my list of things that need to be done and it's getting into the several thousands. It also has a huge dent on the passengers side from being hit by an apartment complex's fence.

I was told by a local mechanic that they generally wouldn't touch an oil leak on a GM vehicle with the 3.5 or 3.9 if it meant having to mess with the pan because they didn't want to have to lift the motor and mess with the frame. They suggested I take it to a Chevy Dealer, which I'm not interested in doing because I don't want to pay thousands.

I really like the car but is it really worth it to dump this much money into a 9 year old car with this many miles that's really not "worth" that much? I mean, I have the opportunity to purchase a Jeep Grand Cherokee, Trailblazer, or Explorer to replace it but just not sure if it's truly worth investing the money in.

Any opinions?

 

WOW what a mess!?!?!? ( I replaced all four rotors and brake pads because they were warped (it's been a couple months and they're already worn and warped again)
NOTE: When ever you take a wheel off and put it back on or you work on the Rotors. They need to be Torqued to a certain Spec. If you don't Torque the wheel lugs properly it will warp your rotors. I have had Dealers do this to me and my children when they were learning to drive, and nobody remembers what happened and it always cost me the fix.
**The other cause of the Warped Rotor is riding the brakes going down hills. They heat up and I have seen some cars loose there brakes as well from this in the Mountains.

Unfortunately when a vehicle has had this much lack of normal maintenance they may not be worth repairing.
I would get the SUV and trade the Monte off or sell it for a parts car??
If it was an SS you might be able to work on it and have a nice ride.
Next thing you need to acquire the maintenance responsibilities for the family vehicles, saves money.
Change the oil every 3K, plugs today they say 100K ? and Trans fluid about every 35-50K if you can check it make sure it is RED in color. Brown needs to be replaced.
Get your tires at a place that Rotates them and balances them for free every 5K.
Get an all wheel alignment every time you get a set of tires. If you purchase a used vehicle don't buy it until the dealer has it aligned on their $.
Check the Battery to see how old it is, one approaching 4-5 years will soon need replacing.


You may want to check the vehicle that your wife drives each week, making sure everything is working properly, she may not have had a Father or Brother that would have passed these tips on to her.
As with anything preventing instead of reacting is usually less money.


** Footnote: a few years back I knew this lady who I thought was fairly Savy on things at least she gave me that impression, if I would try to give her any suggestions on maintenance she always did the opposite cause she thought she knew better, ( didn't matter I had over 3 Million miles under the belt or I have driven race cars, and my dad was a Mechanic and most of my friends were too.)
So she buys an 09 Impala SS, has some tire and wheel trouble, one wheel fell off, ( how could she not feel that? before it happened) Some one loosened the lug nuts?
So she opts to get brand new tires for the car?
I made the suggestion she get the all wheel alignment? She told me I didn't know every #%*&? thing about cars.
So I just let it go, and for a year she really never talked to me, then out of the Blue she was back again.
I finally got to ride in that 09 SS Impala. I could hear this noise as we drove and I asked her how her tires were? She said they were fine about 5K on them since new.
Well I heard this waping noise which tells me there is a wear issue to the tire (Balance or Alignment ??) who knows.
I said maybe you should have them checked? She said they were fine? ............. OK?!?!
Flash forward about 6 months and she wants to take it on a trip, her, her daughter, and granddaughter.
She calls me an just rips me up. Says did you know that if you replace your tires with new ones you should get an all wheel alignment??
I said Yes!? ............ Why?
her tires are completely shot and needs new ones at about 8-9K. So she said why didn't I tell her?
I think I did but she blew me off as a know it all?
I said to her, how did you find out you had an alignment problem?
she said the tire shop?
They Aligned it now, she said.
I asked why they didn't do it before when she got the new tires originally? no answer?
I wonder how she is doing? Been about 2 years since I last seen her.

 

Well considering you spent this much money, if you had a savy mechanic hand and tools or friends with tools, the oil pan isn't so bad to replace like that, most of us ls4 folks do it to stop the massive oil consumption anyway. There's a how to guide on ls1 forums.

After I saw all that was the issue, I would have just traded it in from the start, but you spent that much money. Think to yourself, do you want another car note or rather fix it ? You can buy a cheap car to drive for the time being and store that one somewhere and casually fix on it, then maybe sell it privately once it's in safe condition for at least half of what you put into it. Or maybe what you actually put into it.

 

I ask myself if I think I could get a better car for the the money that I'd have to put into the one I have. If the answer is yes I get another car.

Given the lack of care she gave the car, I think it will be a money pit, not worth putting a penny in it.

 

Yeah, that was probably my fault. I'm not the most mechanically sound when it comes to cars (I can do some stuff) but I replaced all four rotors and pads and probably didn't torque them enough. Would that cause a problem with the pads wearing out too though? I thought maybe I had a stuck caliper? I'm not a brake rider and live in flat Southeast Texas so no mountains, lol.


This is the dilemma I face..

I don't have a lot of spare cash but I have the ability to either just junk the Monte (I honestly don't believe I could even get $1,000 out of it with all the problems.) or buy something else.

I've gotten a quote to repair everything mechanical and drain/replace/re-fill all the fluids for a shade under $2,000. I figured if everything mechanical worked, I could do the cosmetic stuff a little at a time. I could possibly put a lot of money into this car, but then find out something else needs to be fixed (possibly something huge) but then again, I could go out and spend triple that on a replacement vehicle and face the same fate.

I'm very good with preventative maintenance and have never had a vehicle with this many issues. I had a 2011 Impala that constantly had ABS/Stabilitrac issues but I finally got rid of it.

Yeah, the wife didn't have anyone in her family that taught her about maintenance. Most people in her family go through vehicles like other people go through underwear, so it's something that needs to be taught and she'll learn.

That's a helluva story, It's amazing how hard headed people can be when they believe they're right!

Thanks for the reply!

 

I'm somewhat new to my area and don't know many people and lifting the motor and removing the subframe is way over my head. I may just end up getting rid of it.

Thank you for replying!

 

That may just be sound advice. Thanks.

 

I am glad you enjoyed the story, I new her Mom and Dad.
Her dad told me how bad she was with Cars and driving.
She seemed never to be able to remember the stuff I told her.
I would drive up at her request to fix stuff for her and then she would side track me, like she did have everything needed to make the repairs. So I just made the trip for nothing. She had some ulterior motives
This lady had been divorced 3 times and that should have told me something but I was blinded by the magic. She would often treat me like I get treated at home by Mrs. Bickerson ...... So I didn't need two Mrs. Bickerson's.

Now the Torque Wrench
Look this up on Google so you know what it is.
If you have a Harbor Freight near by they sell them also.
Each of the bolts on the Car has a certain Torque Specification. You don't want to go beyond that tightness/Torque.
So if you get on the bolt with a socket and ratchet and tighten the stuffing out of it might break. The Torque Wrench can be set to a certain FT. lbs. and you tighten the bolt/ nut tell you hear it click and then you know your there.
Usually the lug nuts on your wheels are specked at 100 to 125 ft.lbs.
So if you just tighten the thing using (Armstrong) you will cause the warping of the rotors it causes undo pressure in the wheel to rotor and when you brake you get the damage.

You can also youtube how to use these tools.
I had to teach my Son and all his friends, and my son in law how to do this stuff. I don't know if they were listening?
One time I got a call from him he was still in High School. He had a flat tire and couldn't get it changed. So I found him and all his buddies were there and they were all .
Well they didn't know how to get the Jack out of the Car, lugs off or anything. I showed them how to find this on the trunk lid or the underside of the tire well lid. Now they all Knew.
I also told then to check the owners manual as well.
Hope you get it all sorted out, good luck.

 

An update (for those that care)

I took Monte in for his checkup and it was confirmed that both leaks (oil/transmission) were pan gasket failures. Labor will be waved for the transmission as both the motor and transmission have to be lifted (per their service manager.)

Today I had the plugs/wires changed, oil changed (first full change i.e. filter in 2 years) front passenger hub replaced (it's actually kinda nice to have ABS/Trac Control back) coolant and brake fluids changed.

The car still shakes a bit when braking (warped rotors, I'm sure) and there's a weird thumping noise from the rear-end when I'm braking at under 10mph and rolling to a stop (I have no idea what that is) but the car is running is running as smooth as my Impala did when I bought it new.

I do have a question, does anyone else have a problem with a louder than normal idle? I've been told that it's normal?

I got a quote to fix the bumpers/scratch/dent on the side of the car for $500 from a body shop, from that point I figure I can do other stuff a little at a time.

grand total I think I'll be out about $2300, I don't think that's too bad for a car I got for free that's only 9 years old and has only 116k miles on it.

Hopefully a little TLC and a lot of Seafoam will bring it back!

 

Well good!! you are going to keep it.
Man I thought for sure with all the issues you were going for the SUV.
Good luck on it. show some photo's for all of us. On the rear end noise, anything loose in the trunk?
Check your struts to make sure they are sound. You maybe able to take the car to Midas, Pep Boys or some other repair place and have them turn the rotors for you right on the car. Might only be 30.00 or so per wheel? not sure.