Excessive buildup on Engine

[Johnson1989]

Hey folks, I'm in the middle of an XLR rebuild and have noticed that my engine seems to be covered in quite a bit of gunk, especially on the lower end. Here are some pictures:

The second and third pictures are on the bottom front of the engine, near where the pulley's are located. The first and fourth is at the top of the engine. As you can see this gunk buildup is fairly light at the top, but very thick on the bottom. This doesn't seem like normal buildup to me, but I wanted to ask other XLR owners what they thought. Could this just be an engine that has been neglected(not cleaned). Or is this a symptom of a more serious issue? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Fireduck69]

Looks like the cam sensor covers leaking. Common problem with these engines

 

[cubby558]

I second Fireducks observation as well. Might as well get those fixed while you got the front on that all tore part. Then get it all cleaned up!

 

[Johnson1989]

Thank you both for pointing me in the right direction. I'm trying to locate part numbers for the gaskets and came upon an old thread you were involved in Cubby, haha. That led me to gmpartsdirect.com where I was able to get this screen capture. Using the diagram would either of you mind pointing out what part I actually need? I'm not finding anything listed as cam sensor cover. To be honest, I've never dug this far into an engine before, but I love doing the work myself. Appreciate your help!

 

[cubby558]

Having not had that problem personally on either XLR I have owned or currently own, I couldn't tell you for sure on the part/parts. If I had to guess, I would say the actuators, as this is a double overhead cam engine; there are two on each head. One for intake and one for exhaust. Since you have the front end apart, you could clean those up and even take one off to see what it looks like and take it to the dealer to see what they come up with for a part number.

Some on here have had that problem fixed and may have an invoice that lists the part number.

 

[Fireduck69]

I actually have the same problem with some oil leaking from a couple. I looked at the diagrams before but have not been able to find the correct part numbers as yet.

 

[David_B]

https://www.xlr-net.com/forums/cadi...oil-leak-survey.html?highlight=actuator+cover

 

[Fireduck69]

Thanks David_B, looks like it could be the actuator itself or leaking from around it, no gasket just a bead of RTV.

 

[XLRATING]

Apparently I had every oil leak you could possibly have on my base XLR, but fortunately also had a good warranty. Hopefully my bad luck will help you, as the dealer found I had all 4 cam actuator magnets leaking & fixed the problem by replacing the magnets. Magnets are part # 12567085, about $50 each for the parts.

While you're at it, may want to check/replace the front timing cover & gaskets & oil pan manifold & gaskets (I also had leaks here). Instead of using an actual gasket, GM used a sealant in some areas that can fail after 10+ years. The big cost in fixing these things is labor, so it will be easier to address it while things are pulled apart.

Good luck!

 

[Johnson1989]

Appreciate all of the feedback everyone! I think I'm on the right track... I've ordered that GM RTV sealant, should be in on Tuesday. I'll also be ordering new cam covers, haha they do exist! Apparently they already come with those magnets pre-attached. Here are the part numbers for both sides in case anyone else needs it; GM # 12596360 & 12596361 for both sides. The weird thing is that they are only listed for SRX, but come up when searching for XLR parts on GMPartsdirect. I can't find any that are specifically listed for the XLR. I think I'll give them a shot and see if they work.

XLRATING, thank you for sharing your experience with us! I almost ordered the magnets using the part number you gave me before I realized the cam covers above already have them attached to the unit. Those covers already range from 100-150 a piece so I figured I might as well replace the whole thing just in case. I've also thought about replacing the timing cover and gasket, but I've never done that before. After watching a few videos of people doing it to other cars I'm not sure how successful I'd be. The timing cover is actually pretty clean so I'm hoping I can get away with not switching it out. At the same time I'd hate to get everything put back together and cleaned up only to realize there is still a leak, haha. Oh decisions, decisions...

 

[David_B]

I am pretty sure you can order just the actuator covers without having to buy everything. I'd check out a Cadillac dealership for the part numbers.

Appreciate all of the feedback everyone! I think I'm on the right track... I've ordered that GM RTV sealant, should be in on Tuesday. I'll also be ordering new cam covers, haha they do exist! Apparently they already come with those magnets pre-attached. Here are the part numbers for both sides in case anyone else needs it; GM # 12596360 & 12596361 for both sides. The weird thing is that they are only listed for SRX, but come up when searching for XLR parts on GMPartsdirect. I can't find any that are specifically listed for the XLR. I think I'll give them a shot and see if they work.

XLRATING, thank you for sharing your experience with us! I almost ordered the magnets using the part number you gave me before I realized the cam covers above already have them attached to the unit. Those covers already range from 100-150 a piece so I figured I might as well replace the whole thing just in case. I've also thought about replacing the timing cover and gasket, but I've never done that before. After watching a few videos of people doing it to other cars I'm not sure how successful I'd be. The timing cover is actually pretty clean so I'm hoping I can get away with not switching it out. At the same time I'd hate to get everything put back together and cleaned up only to realize there is still a leak, haha. Oh decisions, decisions...

 

[XLRATING]

.
The timing cover is actually pretty clean so I'm hoping I can get away with not switching it out. At the same time I'd hate to get everything put back together and cleaned up only to realize there is still a leak, haha. Oh decisions, decisions...

The timing cover is also supposed to be pretty tricky to get on. I experienced the "still a leak" after my repair because of that, but fortunately it was a problem between my dealer, Cadillac (there was a possible defective part issue), & the warranty co. All is well now.

At least for what my car was doing, if the repair isn't perfect the leak shouldn't be awful. I probably would have left mine alone absent the warranty. It was messy more than heavy leaking.

 

[Johnson1989]

Wanted to give everyone a quick update. Thanks again for all of your recommendations and advice! I ended up replacing the 2 cam covers, both valve seals and the four actuators(2 on each side). After doing so I steam cleaned the front of the engine and removed all of that nasty oil build up. Its been around a week since I did so and I haven't noticed any more oil leaks! Looks like I fixed the problem. After taking off the old cam covers I could see where oil was seeping past the seal, so for anyone else having a similar issue, I would suggest starting there. The cam covers for the STS and SRX are exactly the same and is what I used. GM doesn't list these parts as working on the XLR at least from what I've seen, but I can confirm they work just fine. Again, thank you all for the help!

-Cory