Quite often the mix happens with the oil cooler.

 

What could be the cause for the vibrations when the car is stopped? It felt really rough. I'm trying to figure what would be the best approach since the car is going to be parked for quite some time and I'd like to minimize it as much as I can without throwing money everywhere.

This would ultimately be either head gasket, or oil cooler or both right? So it seems like there's no way around and I'll have to get a combustion test to rule out head gasket. and in the meantime I could take out the oil cooler to check its condition. I came across 2 tests on Amazon, do you have any idea what would be a better choice for the cruze?
Amazon.com: RELD Head Gasket Tester Kit Combustion Leak Detector for 50 Tests : Automotive
Amazon.com: Block Tester BT-500 Head Gasket Combustion Leak Test Kit - Made in USA : Industrial & Scientific

 

Replace the oil cooler, and all the rubber hoses involved, since the turbo is out you can get to the other ones.

Thermostat and outlet housing too. Those are garbage plastic.

The head gasket can be a pickle. Honestly take that gamble last. All you be out is loosening the turbo off the head again.

I've had head gaskets not mix oil, but burn antifreeze. I've had head gaskets not burn antifreeze, but mix with oil. Ive had gaskets burn antifreeze,but not blow the cap/hoses.


good luck!

 

btw upon inspecting the dip stick was bone dry. should I be concered? it seems like the oil probably got mixed with coolant and gushed out the overflow. should I add oil till it reads the correct level and see how much was missing or completely drain and refill?

 

Oh that's a good one.

Last vehicle I had with a bad headgasket, it sat for a while. Coolant was empty, but the dipstick was 8x overfilled.

Coin flip might be your best bet. Good luck.

 

Its a matter of effort attack at this point.

Pull the oil cooler and inspect, go on from there if that is not it. You will need to clean out the cooling system to clear out the oil no matter what the final problem is. Get some oil cleaner stuff and flush the block then change the oil with good fresh oil. Last thing you want to do is the head. Ordering a combustion tester is a good idea even if the head is not bad. Eventually you will need it. I bought one a few years back and now I have used it a few times since.

 

Its a matter of effort attack at this point.

Pull the oil cooler and inspect, go on from there if that is not it. You will need to clean out the cooling system to clear out the oil no matter what the final problem is. Get some oil cleaner stuff and flush the block then change the oil with good fresh oil. Last thing you want to do is the head. Ordering a combustion tester is a good idea even if the head is not bad. Eventually you will need it. I bought one a few years back and now I have used it a few times since.

Alright, so I've pulled the oil cooler today and the gaskets were as good as new (Not surprising as I did replace them 3 months ago). I figured what holes are for the coolant and what are the oil passages. I used a syringe to fill both holes with water (I did plug the coolant hose ends with rubber glove and some rubber bands) and then tried to put air with a syringe into the holes. It seems like there was no issue there. no bubbles came out from the other side for both coolant and oil holes.

As for the second part that attaches to the oil filter assembly (the one who got the coolant hose from the thermostat)

, whenever I put water inside the oil passages it leaks down the coolant hose. I guess this is not supposed to do so. So that's the issue? I need some help figuring if my test was a good indicator

Here is a video I took


You could clearly see that when putting water through the coolant port water immediately drips from the coolant hose hole, where as when I put water into the oil passages it drips slowly

 

I've ordered a new genuine oil cooler, although the oil filter assembly itself passed my inspection I did not want to do this job again and if the core failed it's a manner of time till the assembly itself could fail.
I hope that that will fix the issue. Any tips regarding on how to flush both coolant and oil system? I did run water from a hose through the heater outlet and the radiator inlet till clear water came through the drain valve on the radiator. Is that enough for an initial flush? I will run distilled water and flush several times after I'll get the new oil cooler installed, and for the oil?

I'm planning on draining the old oil, replacing the filter and doing a flush again after running the engine for 15-20 minutes, then another oil change in 500 miles maybe. how does that sound? should I do anything different?

 

I used a mixture of dawn dishsoap and water. Pull a hose, dump it. Refill.

3x soap and water, or until it cleans up.
2x with distilled water to flush the soapy mix.

If you think its clean enough, fresh orange juice and call it a day

 

What hose did you use to run water through? The heater core hose goes through the pump and through the block and out of the outlet from what it looks.

 

I pulled the big easy hose down in passenger bottom corner. You fill the system with the reservoir up at the strut tower.


The little drippy drippy petcock takes forever.