I just bought a 2003 Alero, then discovered it had an oil leak. The main seal was broken. The dealer told me to take it to his mechanic and it would be fixed. 6 days later (today) I finally got my car back.

As soon as I got in it I noticed some play in the steering wheel. The mechanic said it's normal for GM's, but it wasn't like that when I bought the car and handed it over to the mechanic last week. He seemed to be blowing off my concerns.

I assume since he had to tear apart the whole front end to fix the oil leak that he disengaged the steering, and maybe he didn't tighten something up enough. I'm afraid it might be dangerous to drive it.

Can someone please tell me what steering parts could have been affected by working on the motor?

Thank you for any help you can give.

 

Did they replace the rear main seal? The only reason I ask is because the motor would have to come out to replace the seal. To pull the motor they would have pulled the axles and outer tie rods. If they didn't get a tie rod tight you would feel it in the steering. Does the it make any noise when turning the wheels? They would have disconnected the power steering hoses and there could be air in the system. What exactly did they do? You could take it to another shop and see if they find a problem.

 

Hi there,

Thanks for your response. I think it was the rear main seal, and I had thought the mechanic took out the motor to do it, but it turns out he took out the transmission.

I've since taken it in to someone else to be looked at, and it's a good thing I did. The guy who fixed the oil leak tore up the steering shaft and boot. Apparently, he didn't take it apart before taking out the cradle (or moving the cradle, or something) and it ripped right off. He reconnected the steering shaft, obviously, but didn't own up to what he did or bother to fix it.

And yes, he IS paying for me to have it fixed by someone else.