[14LTZDan]

Hey guys, So the cars acting up again. :th_thumbsdownsm:
I live in Massachusetts so this week it has been in the single digits. I usually use the remote start to warm it up but i was running behind schedule and didn't get the chance too.
I headed down the road on Monday and about 30 seconds after driving i could smell burning oil, i look behind me and the street is filled with smoke. I got out and its definitely from the tail pipe, definitely oil. I put the car up on the lift, found only the front crank seal leaking, no other obvious leaks, and the vacuum spec at idle is right on for the breather system. Removed the tubing to the intake, and even though it looked gunky (brownish crap) it still had the red check valve in it. I blew through the tubing and its free, tried sucking air and its very hard too, but i can get a very, very slight amount of air through it(to the point of where I don't see it being a issue). I still got the feint smell of oil, not sure if it just hasn't burnt off in the exhaust yet, but what the **** is going on. Anyone ever run into this?
Car is a 13 LTZ with about 76K on it.

 

[Chevy_Country]

Hey guys, So the cars acting up again. :th_thumbsdownsm:
I live in Massachusetts so this week it has been in the single digits. I usually use the remote start to warm it up but i was running behind schedule and didn't get the chance too.
I headed down the road on Monday and about 30 seconds after driving i could smell burning oil, i look behind me and the street is filled with smoke. I got out and its definitely from the tail pipe, definitely oil. I put the car up on the lift, found only the front crank seal leaking, no other obvious leaks, and the vacuum spec at idle is right on for the breather system. Removed the tubing to the intake, and even though it looked gunky (brownish crap) it still had the red check valve in it. I blew through the tubing and its free, tried sucking air and its very hard too, but i can get a very, very slight amount of air through it(to the point of where I don't see it being a issue). I still got the feint smell of oil, not sure if it just hasn't burnt off in the exhaust yet, but what the **** is going on. Anyone ever run into this?
Car is a 13 LTZ with about 76K on it.

Sounds like the pcv issue the crude has in the colder months, common issue in the community, you can look up pcv valve and you get results and others commenting their symptoms to cross reference with your vehicles symptoms yo make sure.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[jblackburn]

I think at this point, I'd run a compression test. If the check valve IS still present, pull off the air pipe to the throttle body and see if it's full of oil (signs of turbo bearings going).

 

[14LTZDan]

I suspected possible PCV issue also, but its only done it once and like I said, its within vacuum specification. I did note a bit of weepage at the intercooler inlet, but i also see that on all of the Volvo's I work on. I would also expect it to be constant smoke if the turbo was on its way out. Im gonna check the plugs tonight and see what they look like, might as well do a compression test while i'm in there. Figures in 20 miles out of warranty with the used car dealer.

 

[jblackburn]

I suspected possible PCV issue also, but its only done it once and like I said, its within vacuum specification. I did note a bit of weepage at the intercooler inlet, but i also see that on all of the Volvo's I work on. I would also expect it to be constant smoke if the turbo was on its way out. Im gonna check the plugs tonight and see what they look like, might as well do a compression test while i'm in there. Figures in 20 miles out of warranty with the used car dealer.

Haha, as a former S70 owner, I know what you're talking about. It's fairly typical for Volvos to have oil...everywhere in the turbo system. With a Cruze, oil leaking from the intercooler connections is usually a sign of a PCV issue; under normal operating conditions, not much oil passes through them.

 

[14LTZDan]

I did check the inlet of the turbo where the PCV intertwines into it and there wasnt much. There was streaking but no amount that would really stick to my finger. Definately wasnt dripping wet like i would have expected a large smoke cloud out the exhaust to give me. I did notice it started to slight hickup/misfire at the time it was smoking, so im wondering if it was being injested from either the turbo or PCV

 

[jblackburn]

I did check the inlet of the turbo where the PCV intertwines into it and there wasnt much. There was streaking but no amount that would really stick to my finger. Definately wasnt dripping wet like i would have expected a large smoke cloud out the exhaust to give me. I did notice it started to slight hickup/misfire at the time it was smoking, so im wondering if it was being injested from either the turbo or PCV

That oil streak is typical for all Cruzes...not being wet there is a sign the PCV is doing what it's supposed to do. But the compressor wheel (if leaking at seals) is further down from there. When the turbo finally blew on the S70, there was lots and lots of blue smoke and oil through the IC piping. I have only seen Cruze turbos fail on the exhaust side though, which equates to tons of white smoke (since it isn't being burned; it's just hot).

 

[14LTZDan]

Ill be curious to see what the plugs look like tonight. Too bad there isnt a group buy on the intakes.

 

[14LTZDan]

Plugs looked good, No oil or coolant signs. 190-200PSI on all cylinders. Still single digits here in Ma, but it hasnt done it again.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Still single digits here in Ma, but it hasnt done it again.

Maybe the problem was putting the engine into boost before everything got warmed up?

That's not a great answer, but it's all I can come up with.

 

[14LTZDan]

Its possible. I wasnt hard on it, but honestly thats what im leaning towards - a frozen check valve that was stuck open and sucked out more air from the crank case that the valve cover was capable of filtering out