2013 Chevy Cruze Very Heavy Oil Leak

1368 Views 17 Replies 7 Participants Last post by CruzeBlues2013, 5 d ago

jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

5

I have notice a very bad oil leak on the passenger side left side of the engine not sure where this oil is gone from valve cover os torqued to 71inch pounds I replaced the gasket for both solenoid actuator and still they is a leak after drinking for 30 to 40min there is a lot of oil splash shield cover. any help would be greatly appreciated. See attached pics

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CruzeBlues2013

· #2 · 4 mo ago

I own a 2013 Cruze 1.4 Turbo 238,000+ miles and am suffering the same problem(s). A local shop told me it was the valve cover leaking oil. This is the second one I´m on now (OEM, replaced 2018). Not sure when i will get around to swapping in a new one. Glancing at rock auto, it looks like the oem they offer now is updated from the one I bought a few years back.
As for the solenoid actuators, I replaced both gaskets back in 5/2020 at 202,000+ miles. The problem did not go away. This past July I replaced both solenoids, have been dry ever since. Read somewhere, they fail and leak through the body somehow. It ´s been 5,000 miles / 7 months still dry.

jblackburn

· #3 · 4 mo ago

Looks like it might be the crankshaft seal from here, and the belt's slinging it around. A common seal to squeak after PCV issues from a bad intake manifold check valve, but slinging oil everywhere isn't that common.

And yeah, the valve cover in the upper corner appears to be leaking as well. When you install that, there are two ridges in the upper cylinder head that should have RTV put in them to seal. I suspect that's what may be leaking here.

Automotive air manifold Camshaft Gas Engineering Auto part

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jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · #4 · 4 mo ago

Cruzeblues2013 said:
I own a 2013 Cruze 1.4 Turbo 238,000+ miles and am suffering the same problem(s). A local shop told me it was the valve cover leaking oil. This is the second one I´m on now (OEM, replaced 2018). Not sure when i will get around to swapping in a new one. Glancing at rock auto, it looks like the oem they offer now is updated from the one I bought a few years back.
As for the solenoid actuators, I replaced both gaskets back in 5/2020 at 202,000+ miles. The problem did not go away. This past July I replaced both solenoids, have been dry ever since. Read somewhere, they fail and leak through the body somehow. It ´s been 5,000 miles / 7 months still dry.

Cruzeblues2013 said:
I own a 2013 Cruze 1.4 Turbo 238,000+ miles and am suffering the same problem(s). A local shop told me it was the valve cover leaking oil. This is the second one I´m on now (OEM, replaced 2018). Not sure when i will get around to swapping in a new one. Glancing at rock auto, it looks like the oem they offer now is updated from the one I bought a few years back.
As for the solenoid actuators, I replaced both gaskets back in 5/2020 at 202,000+ miles. The problem did not go away. This past July I replaced both solenoids, have been dry ever since. Read somewhere, they fail and leak through the body somehow. It ´s been 5,000 miles / 7 months still dry.

gaskets back in 5/2020 at 202,000+ miles.
I replaced the gaskets yesterday and they still leaking so I was going to replace both solenoids. I’m just tired of guessing what the problem is bc mechanics can’t pin point what the problem is either

jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · #5 · 4 mo ago

jblackburn said:
Looks like it might be the crankshaft seal from here, and the belt's slinging it around. A common seal to squeak after PCV issues from a bad intake manifold check valve, but slinging oil everywhere isn't that common.

And yeah, the valve cover in the upper corner appears to be leaking as well. When you install that, there are two ridges in the upper cylinder head that should have RTV put in them to seal. I suspect that's what may be leaking here.

View attachment 301204
I placed RTV in the corners when I replaced my valve cover last month. I saw a video on the crankshaft seal leaking and thinking that may be the case but my pulley is not squeaking at all.

jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · #6 · 4 mo ago

I was thinking that the 2 solenoids will need to be replaced because how wet the solenoids look. But I wasn’t sure if the solenoids could loose that much oil

skildude

· #7 · 3 mo ago

Do you smell oil burning or see smoke when the car is running?
If Yes, Check under the Turbo for the Oil Return hose. It is plastic and creates a massive leak when the plastic finally breaks. I had this problem at about 190k miles and its a pain to replace. Oil everywhere and darn near impossible to remove the hose without removing the CAT.

lbpwoody

· #8 · 3 mo ago

jdennis1014 said:
I have notice a very bad oil leak on the passenger side left side of the engine not sure where this oil is gone from valve cover os torqued to 71inch pounds I replaced the gasket for both solenoid actuator and still they is a leak after drinking for 30 to 40min there is a lot of oil splash shield cover. any help would be greatly appreciated. See attached pics

Could be the timing chain cover gasket. Mine is leaking from there but the juice is not worth the squeeze to fix it. I plan on putting oil absorbent pads on the splash side to catch the oil to prevent it from dripping on my garage floor.

jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · #9 · 3 mo ago

Yea I smell oil burning when I drive no smoke yet. Just a massive leak all over the bottom splash shield I will look at the oil return hose. I watched a few videos thought it was the camshaft seal gone bad. I have the strong smell of oil in the cars cabin and when I turn on the heat and stuff.

lbpwoody

· #10 · 3 mo ago

jdennis1014 said:
Yea I smell oil burning when I drive no smoke yet. Just a massive leak all over the bottom splash shield I will look at the oil return hose. I watched a few videos thought it was the camshaft seal gone bad. I have the strong smell of oil in the cars cabin and when I turn on the heat and stuff.

The oil smell in the cabin most likely is from the oil cooler leaking onto the catalytic convertor, gasket is probably brittle and flattened.

jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · #11 · 3 mo ago

5

I took a few more pics and I still can’t find where the leak is coming from. I clean off the oil drive it nothing then all of a sudden there is the oil. The biting oil smell has gotten stronger over the past month. It’s like a phantom leak.

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skildude

· #12 · 3 mo ago

The cam shaft covers tend to just sweat oil. That's an easy fix. From your pics it looks like the oil cooler is dry. I see that you used a sealant on your gasket. That isn't needed. The Gasket itself is triple ribbed for your oil leak prevention pleasure. The only spot that needs sealant is where the timing cover meets the block. It looks like its time to take your car to the carwash. Keep it the car running and wash the engine thoroughly. Drive it 30 minutes or so and then check for leaks.

j.delgado1877

· #13 · 3 mo ago

jdennis1014 said:
I have notice a very bad oil leak on the passenger side left side of the engine not sure where this oil is gone from valve cover os torqued to 71inch pounds I replaced the gasket for both solenoid actuator and still they is a leak after drinking for 30 to 40min there is a lot of oil splash shield cover. any help would be greatly appreciated. See attached pics

Is the timing cover leaking, mine was the same way. At 150,000 started leaking and rattling too loud from word timing chain tensioner. I replaced the engine instead. It was from 2019 chevy trax 1.4 turbo with only 26,000 miles.

jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · #14 · 3 mo ago

skildude said:
The cam shaft covers tend to just sweat oil. That's an easy fix. From your pics it looks like the oil cooler is dry. I see that you used a sealant on your gasket. That isn't needed. The Gasket itself is triple ribbed for your oil leak prevention pleasure. The only spot that needs sealant is where the timing cover meets the block. It looks like its time to take your car to the carwash. Keep it the car running and wash the engine thoroughly. Drive it 30 minutes or so and then check for leaks.

I used a gasket maker this time because the cover was leaking oil so bad now I got that to stop and clean the all the oil that was running out. I do see a little bit of oil on one of the bolts on the back side of the valve cover. And once again the bottom of the splash guard

jdennis1014

Discussion Starter · #15 · 3 mo ago

j.delgado1877 said:
Is the timing cover leaking, mine was the same way. At 150,000 started leaking and rattling too loud from word timing chain tensioner. I replaced the engine instead. It was from 2019 chevy trax 1.4 turbo with only 26,000 miles.

My cruze is at 132k now and I can’t tell if its leaking

lbpwoody

· #16 · 3 mo ago

jdennis1014 said:
My cruze is at 132k now and I can’t tell if its leaking

to tell if it is leaking from the timing cover is (if you have the ability to): 1. jack the front of the car up, 2. remove the splash guard, 3. spray/clean all the oil and residue from where the oil pan meets the engine block, 4. start the car and wait to see if you see oil dribbling down from the timing cover.

bon_raven

· #17 · 5 d ago

CruzeBlues2013 said:
I own a 2013 Cruze 1.4 Turbo 238,000+ miles and am suffering the same problem(s). A local shop told me it was the valve cover leaking oil. This is the second one I´m on now (OEM, replaced 2018). Not sure when i will get around to swapping in a new one. Glancing at rock auto, it looks like the oem they offer now is updated from the one I bought a few years back. As for the solenoid actuators, I replaced both gaskets back in 5/2020 at 202,000+ miles. The problem did not go away. This past July I replaced both solenoids, have been dry ever since. Read somewhere, they fail and leak through the body somehow. It ´s been 5,000 miles / 7 months still dry.

What was the price im having the same issue and just want my car to get better only one I have so I needs it to be okay

CruzeBlues2013

· #18 · 5 d ago

bon_raven said:
What was the price im having the same issue and just want my car to get better only one I have so I needs it to be okay

The price for? I bought (2) actuators for $35 (GM 26195245) each or the valve cover for $44 (GM 25203036) on rockauto.

Or the price the local shop quoted me to do the valve cover for around $280.

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