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2 Posts
Hi all,
A few months ago my daughter purchased a 1.8 litre 2009 Cruze, (which is sold by Holden down here in Australia.)
A week or so back she noticed that occasionally she'd be driving along, there'd be a hesitation in the engine, a slight 'rattling' sound followed by a huge plume of smoke billowing from the exhaust... It's almost like it had something caught in its throat, coughed, and then resumed driving as per normal...
We also noticed that it was using a bit of oil..
Over the last few days the 'coughing' became increasingly frequent to the point where we took it off the road until we find out what the problem is..
I did a bit of Google Engineering and read that some of the early Cruzes were notorious for having PCV valve issues, (and the symptoms seemed that they could be related to the PCV valve..)
One site suggests that the diaphragm in the PCV can be replaced, (after pulling the valve cover off and accessing the PCV valve), yet other sites claim that it's a non-serviceable part and the entire valve cover needs to be replaced... I called our local dealer who also seemed to think that you couldn't simply replace the PCV valve, (possibly so that they could make more money from me buying a new valve cover?)
I then found a site showing images of the PCV valve removed from the valve cover with a new diaphragm being installed... I sent the guy a message asking how he removed the PCV valve, (which appears to be held in with those brittle plastic lugs that always scare me when I go near them with a screwdriver!) He told me to use a hairdryer to heat up the plastic which makes it easier to remove.
I went ahead and removed the valve cover to find that the seal/gasket was dry/brittle in a couple of places and there were traces of oil sitting down around the spark plugs...
So I guess at the very least I need to buy a new seal/gasket..
To test the operation of the PCV valve I sucked and blew into the outlet of the PCV valve and found there was basically no air restriction in either direction, (almost as though it was just an open pipe)
I would assume that there should be some sort of resistance in at least one direction? This makes me think the PCV valve is shot.
So my question is, has anyone else successfully replaced the PCV valve on a 1.8 litre Cruze?
The dealer quoted me AU$710, (~US$550) for a new valve cover and seal... I thought I must have been hearing things so asked him again but he gave me the same figure the second time!
If it is only the diaphragm that's faulty, (which can be picked up on ebay for ~$30), then handing over $710 to the dealer is going to be a hard pill to swallow!
Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions etc. that might be able to help?
Cheers, and thanks in advance!
Darren :bowing:
A few months ago my daughter purchased a 1.8 litre 2009 Cruze, (which is sold by Holden down here in Australia.)
A week or so back she noticed that occasionally she'd be driving along, there'd be a hesitation in the engine, a slight 'rattling' sound followed by a huge plume of smoke billowing from the exhaust... It's almost like it had something caught in its throat, coughed, and then resumed driving as per normal...
We also noticed that it was using a bit of oil..
Over the last few days the 'coughing' became increasingly frequent to the point where we took it off the road until we find out what the problem is..
I did a bit of Google Engineering and read that some of the early Cruzes were notorious for having PCV valve issues, (and the symptoms seemed that they could be related to the PCV valve..)
One site suggests that the diaphragm in the PCV can be replaced, (after pulling the valve cover off and accessing the PCV valve), yet other sites claim that it's a non-serviceable part and the entire valve cover needs to be replaced... I called our local dealer who also seemed to think that you couldn't simply replace the PCV valve, (possibly so that they could make more money from me buying a new valve cover?)
I then found a site showing images of the PCV valve removed from the valve cover with a new diaphragm being installed... I sent the guy a message asking how he removed the PCV valve, (which appears to be held in with those brittle plastic lugs that always scare me when I go near them with a screwdriver!) He told me to use a hairdryer to heat up the plastic which makes it easier to remove.
I went ahead and removed the valve cover to find that the seal/gasket was dry/brittle in a couple of places and there were traces of oil sitting down around the spark plugs...
So I guess at the very least I need to buy a new seal/gasket..
To test the operation of the PCV valve I sucked and blew into the outlet of the PCV valve and found there was basically no air restriction in either direction, (almost as though it was just an open pipe)
I would assume that there should be some sort of resistance in at least one direction? This makes me think the PCV valve is shot.
So my question is, has anyone else successfully replaced the PCV valve on a 1.8 litre Cruze?
The dealer quoted me AU$710, (~US$550) for a new valve cover and seal... I thought I must have been hearing things so asked him again but he gave me the same figure the second time!
If it is only the diaphragm that's faulty, (which can be picked up on ebay for ~$30), then handing over $710 to the dealer is going to be a hard pill to swallow!
Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions etc. that might be able to help?
Cheers, and thanks in advance!
Darren :bowing: