It's cold out and I decided to go for a ride before the oil change to get it right. The AC Delco 1218 oil filter was pretty stuck on tight, maybe I overtightened it but I managed to get it loosened and as I spun the filter out there was this spurt of oil that came from the top of the oil heater assembly...

Am I screwed or what? First time dealing with this and kinda pissed that I may have cracked a seal or something I don't know but this is a first for me!

( nevermind the obvious leak next to the transmission, i'll worry about that later ) I need answers quick as I'm in suspense mode!

 

I did a Search ( found posts from 2003-2007 ) and it's not too serious of a problem however it seems there are gaskets to be ordered but from the dealership which isn't open on Xmas Day so I'm probably stuck for a few days.

Anyone else chime in on this? I don't want to tighten the center nut and complete my oil change only to leak oil all over my driveway. Just want to do this right.

 

Yeah, the old gasket could be hard & brittle, I wouldn't mess w/ it until you have the new one.

 

Oil cooler gasket is same as the one on oil filter.
If the gasket on old oil filter is still flexible, use that

 

the upper gasket could be bad or you could have cracked the oil filter adapter the bolts to the block.
Either way you have to take it apart to find it. Not a big deal.
Any local parts chain should have the gaskets you need..

 

OR... you could get rid of that crap and use the old style oil filter adapter with bolts, re-route anti-freeze tubes,and never worry about it again. I understand you're looking for a quick fix but this will help out in the long run.

 

Why?
Oil cooler will bring oil temp down closer to coolant temp once engine temps stabilized
My oil temp are consistently 15 -20 degrees hotter when the oil cooler is disconnected.
Plus it helps to warm oil up faster in cold conditions

 

Thanks Vetteoz and to those who replied.

I believe GM designed this for a reason so I managed to slip the old filter ( AC Delco 1218 ) seal and used a 1-1/16th socket to snug it tight to the block.

So far no leaks after a 50 mile run roundtrip. Monitoring this into next year.

 

That a good tip on reusing a filter base gaskets, vetteoz.

 

When you loosened the filter the sleeve inside the heat exchanger also loosened up. It's only held in with a snap ring so it doesn't fall out. Tighten the thing with the hex above the filter threads and it'll be good to go. No beed to swap the gasket if it wasn't leaking before.

The ring on the top is thicker than the new ones that come with most filters.You need one that's rather thing to clear the flange on the top, or you'll have the metal bead contact the block and there won't be enough crush on the ring to seal resulting in a huge oil mess.