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Post by Rocinante on Jan 8, 2009 11:40:24 GMT -6
I took my car to my local dealership to diagnose a slow coolant leak. I've been told that I need to replace the "coolant crossover pipe gasket". Has anyone had this experience before? I spoke to an advisor at my 3rd party warranty provider (which does not cover the repair), and he suggested that I be careful who I choose to do work on the Aurora, since it's not uncommon for lesser experienced shops to do the repair incorrectly. Still, I don't plan on spending "6 hours of book time" at the dealership ($109/hour) to do this job. Your feedback would be appreciated.
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Post by aurora2001tan on Jan 8, 2009 14:04:30 GMT -6
This is not a fun thing to do. aurorah.proboards47.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=nextgeneration&thread=5702&page=1If you dont want to do it at a dealer, find a shop that has done this before. The service manual isnt exactley right in how to get this done either. It is a a 5-6 hour job. there are times a helper is needed too. Try and get them to silicon the gaskets too even though they arent made to be siliconed. It doesnt hurt anything to do that as long as the pipe gets back on before the silicone dries up.
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Post by Rocinante on Jan 8, 2009 19:55:12 GMT -6
Thanks. I've already started shopping this repair. The dealer's hourly rate is $109. I called two local shops, and the rates they gave me were for $89 and $94 (rates are relatively high in the Toronto area). Neither shop has done this repair before.
So far, it sounds like I might have to to go with the dealership option...?
...and is this something that I need to fix right away, or can it wait? It seems to be a really slow leak, as I topped up my coolant reservoir a month ago and the low coolant warning light hasn't come on yet.
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Post by aurora2001tan on Jan 8, 2009 20:43:21 GMT -6
You could let it go for awhile, it should remain a very slow leak until you get it fixed. Someone who has not done this before needs to know the brake booster does not need to come out and the right manifold and pipe does not need to come all the way out. It is possible to get to the crossover bolts and get that pipe out of there and replaced by just holding the right side manifold assembly out of the way, thats where you need a helper for sure. You see that pipe under your intake....well it is part of the manifold, one big piece, INSIST the manifold metal gasket be changed!! The small pipe that goes to the manifold from the EGR valve has about a 1 inch nut on the exh pipe. this should be heated up with a torch and then will come of easy. Transmission tube needs pulled out too. Its just a pain to move the manifold pipe around while getting the crossover pipe out and back in. Its not that bad for someone who knows what they doing but it aint no fun doing it either the first time! See if your dealer will do it for $100.00 an hour or try $550 . this is America! Negotiate
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Post by Rocinante on Jan 10, 2009 20:33:22 GMT -6
After picking up my car, I took a closer look at my bill statement from the dealer. Am I correct that there are actually 3 gaskets that need to be changed for this procedure?
This is the exact quote on my statement:
COOLANT CROSSOVER PIP GASKETS...$23.60X3+TAX EGR GASKET.....................................$8.70+TAX THROTTLE BODY GASKET....................$7.75+TAX COOLANT..........................................$23.00+TAX LABOUR(6.0HRS)...............................$655.00+TAX
Does this look correct to you?
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Post by aurora2001tan on Jan 10, 2009 23:08:00 GMT -6
if you want to be cheap tell them to reuse the egr gasket if it is not damaged and it shouldnt be but could be.
Yes there are 3 of them, you cant see the one in the back. Tell them to do it in five and they got a deal.... really this is a design flaw. The gaskets should have been made out of aluminum like the new 3800 intake gaskets or just better designed all together. This is BS this has to be done around 100,000 miles believe me.
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