[Chip]

I don't know how many of you visit our sister Solstice site, but there are some issues showing up on the Solstice that you should know about. I suggest you check out the tech. forum for the details, but I will offer up one problem that stands above all the other problems that have been reported so far.


It is faulty or poorly installed pinion seals in the rear carrier (differential) causing the rear end lube to be splattered over the undersides of the car. There is another rear end lube leak issue also. It seems that there is a diff. relief valve / vent that will under certain conditions allow lube to be vented under pressure out of the rear diff. There have been at least three rear carrier assemblies replaced also. The failure mode for this issue is not known to us at this point. I am not posting this to scare you. I just want to give you all a heads up. In all cases the first thing that owners notice is a lingering burning smell from underneath the car. If you have ever smelled differential lube before and smell it after you get your car...well you should know something is not right. A quick check under the car may reveal lube dripping to the ground. In most cases a trip back to the dealer for pinion seal set replacement is all that is needed. Be aware! :cheers:

 

[waywyrd]

Thanks for the heads up! :thumbs:

Hopefully nothing else major will show up with time....

 

[skyfan]

Soltice (Cadillac CTS ?) Differential

I don't know how many of you visit our sister Solstice site, but there are some issues showing up on the Solstice that you should know about. I sugest you check out the tech. forum for the details, but I will offer up one problem that stands above all the other problems that have been reported so far.


It is faulty or poorly installed pinion seals in the rear carrier (differential) causing the rear end lube to be splattered over the undersides of the car. There is another rear end lube leak issue also. It seems that there is a diff. relief valve / vent that will under certain conditions allow lube to be vented under pressure out of the rear diff. There have been at least three rear carrier assemblies replaced also. The failure mode for this issue is not known to us at this point. I am not posting this to scare you. I just want to give you all a heads up. In all cases the first thing that owners notice is a lingering burning smell from underneath the car. If you have ever smelled differential lube before and smell it after you get your car...well you should know something is not right. A quick check under the car may reveal lube dripping to the ground. In most cases a trip back to the dealer for pinion seal set replacement is all that is needed. Be aware! :cheers:

Someone told me that the Solstice/Sky used the Cadillac CTS rearend. Is that right? If that is so, I have a 2003 CTS and there has been no problem.

 

[rick112]

I hope they have a lot of these little problems cleared up by the time they produce the Sky.

 

[brentil]

Someone told me that the Solstice/Sky used the Cadillac CTS rearend. Is that right? If that is so, I have a 2003 CTS and there has been no problem.

It uses the CTS differential and that's all.

 

[tweety]

If I remember right about the thread over there was that it wasn't so much the failure of the diff but rather that the diff was over filled with fluid. Many of the guys in our local gatherings had pulled the plug to check the level only to have the fluid run out on them when the plug was pulled.
Now anyone that has filled a diff knows that the level should be to the bottom of the fill hole.
This lead to a discussion and guessing as to when the diffs were filled. On the car or off the car? And at what VIN number did these failures start to show up?
I have yet to see any spots on the garage floor and I have yet to check the fluid either.
Hit and miss.

 

[brentil]

If I remember right about the thread over there was that it wasn't so much the failure of the diff but rather that the diff was over filled with fluid. Many of the guys in our local gatherings had pulled the plug to check the level only to have the fluid run out on them when the plug was pulled.
Now anyone that has filled a diff knows that the level should be to the bottom of the fill hole.
This lead to a discussion and guessing as to when the diffs were filled. On the car or off the car? And at what VIN number did these failures start to show up?
I have yet to see any spots on the garage floor and I have yet to check the fluid either.
Hit and miss.

That was only a hypothesis. Some of the leaking was caused by possible overfill, but most were caused by either [A] incorrectly set relief valves or leaking pinion seals which was the major issue (I had it with my car).

The pinion seal issue seemed to be primarily on earlier (pre-6000) vin cars I believe. I don't think I've read of anyone above that vin having issues.

Also of note even if your reliefe valve and pinion seal are ok doing some very lively driving/racing can cause the reliefe valve to leak. That's the nature of the reliefe valve though, it's doing it's job.

 

[Chip]

I wanted to bump this thread so that the new owners can see it. It seems that most of the leaking problems in the Solstice fall in between certain VIN numbers.There are however, still some leaks being reported in cars (Solstice) that had late winter build dates. A lessor problem is that the rear Diff. vent / pressure release valve located on the Diff. might unseat and cause the loss of lubricant. Put a piece of cardboard under the rear diff. to check if this problem has translated over to the Sky. The lube. will show up as a wet stain on the cardboard. Both cars use the same rear carrier. (axles & differential). Let's hope no one here has a problem, but you need to be aware of the possibility.