[ouimetteracing]

I have a 2013 Cruze Eco 1.4l with 93000 miles on it. Recently I noticed it began running rough on initial startup, but after about 15 seconds it would level out and run just fine. Well in the last 2 weeks its been getting significantly worse so I decided to take a look into solving the problem and would like some feedback from yall before I dig too deep into this thing.

First, knowing I've had ignition coil problems in the past I figured I would pull the plugs. To my surprise they were covered in oil! I then checked the pipe leading to the intake and it also had a good coating of oil, though I would not classify it as totally excessive. I didnt have much time to dig too deep into it that night so I cleaned the plugs and backed it out of the garage.

The next morning when I fired it up I noticed it was running rough again, so I popped the hood and noticed a a decent bit of smoke coming from the turbo and could actually see oil dripping onto the cat and burning off. It looks like it is coming from around the flange but its hard for me to really see exactly where it is coming from as it burns off so quick.

I know of the PCV issues these cars have and am not sure if this would cause the excess oil through the turbo that I am getting. I did check crankcase pressure and it appeared to be around -16in H20 which I believe is correct. With that being said I do not believe it is a PCV issue but before pulling the turbo to inspect further what are some of yalls opinions on this matter?

Symptoms
rough idle on initial startup
Oil covered spark plugs
Oil dripping from turbo onto catalytic converter on initial startup but smoke dissipates after 30 seconds
-16 inchesH20 crankcase pressure
-no CEL or engine codes

What do you think? turbo seals? or clogged turbo oil drain tube? Ill start digging into this more next week, but before I start pulling this apart I wanted to get some expert feedback. Has anyone else seen symptoms like this and what was the final diagnosis.

 

[Shroomie]

I have a 2013 Cruze Eco 1.4l with 93000 miles on it. Recently I noticed it began running rough on initial startup, but after about 15 seconds it would level out and run just fine. Well in the last 2 weeks its been getting significantly worse so I decided to take a look into solving the problem and would like some feedback from yall before I dig too deep into this thing.

First, knowing I've had ignition coil problems in the past I figured I would pull the plugs. To my surprise they were covered in oil! I then checked the pipe leading to the intake and it also had a good coating of oil, though I would not classify it as totally excessive. I didnt have much time to dig too deep into it that night so I cleaned the plugs and backed it out of the garage.

The next morning when I fired it up I noticed it was running rough again, so I popped the hood and noticed a a decent bit of smoke coming from the turbo and could actually see oil dripping onto the cat and burning off. It looks like it is coming from around the flange but its hard for me to really see exactly where it is coming from as it burns off so quick.

I know of the PCV issues these cars have and am not sure if this would cause the excess oil through the turbo that I am getting. I did check crankcase pressure and it appeared to be around -16in H20 which I believe is correct. With that being said I do not believe it is a PCV issue but before pulling the turbo to inspect further what are some of yalls opinions on this matter?

Symptoms
rough idle on initial startup
Oil covered spark plugs
Oil dripping from turbo onto catalytic converter on initial startup but smoke dissipates after 30 seconds
-16 inchesH20 crankcase pressure
-no CEL or engine codes

What do you think? turbo seals? or clogged turbo oil drain tube? Ill start digging into this more next week, but before I start pulling this apart I wanted to get some expert feedback. Has anyone else seen symptoms like this and what was the final diagnosis.

it does sound like the turbo seals are leaking or the drain line is clogged. you're on the right track. or problems with rings

 

[ouimetteracing]

Another thing I left out. I just attributed it to poor bleeding of the coolant system after a previous coolant leak, but the coolant level seems to be dropping and last night when I fired it up to look over it it smelled like coolant as well as the oil burning off the turbo. Has anyone heard of any issues with these cars with the turbo cracking or something causing it to burn both coolant and oil? Or should I be looking into a something else or potentially multiple issues?

 

[Shroomie]

I would do a compression or a leak down test before pulling the turbo off.

 

[ouimetteracing]

So I have been slowly doing a little more investigation into this and am still at a loss as to what the issue is and can use some help from this community.

I did a compression test and my results were (I know these are all high I'm attributing that to my gauge being off) 210, 205, 175, 195.
I then did a leak down test figure out why Cyl 3 was low. I tested the leak down at 50 psi and got the following drops. 2,2,17,8. psi
Cylinder 3 has very high leakage out of the rearward exhaust valve and cyl 4 was mostly out the forward exhaust valve.

I also pulled the pcv pipe to inspect that system. To my surprise the intake check valve nipple is still in position and it seems the check valve on turbo side is also functioning ok.

The intake pipe is by the throttle body is coated with a light coating of oil but it doesn't appear to be much more than the standard I would expect in a turbo engine post pcv.

Now I am at a loss. I have oil leaking into the cylinders while parked somehow. (bad valve seals?) and based on my leak down result it appears to have burnt a valve? or 2? or potentially its just excess carbon build up. Has anyone experienced any of these cars with similar symptoms/ test results? Any other ideas of what to be looking for?

 

[Shroomie]

So I have been slowly doing a little more investigation into this and am still at a loss as to what the issue is and can use some help from this community.

I did a compression test and my results were (I know these are all high I'm attributing that to my gauge being off) 210, 205, 175, 195.
I then did a leak down test figure out why Cyl 3 was low. I tested the leak down at 50 psi and got the following drops. 2,2,17,8. psi
Cylinder 3 has very high leakage out of the rearward exhaust valve and cyl 4 was mostly out the forward exhaust valve.

I also pulled the pcv pipe to inspect that system. To my surprise the intake check valve nipple is still in position and it seems the check valve on turbo side is also functioning ok.

The intake pipe is by the throttle body is coated with a light coating of oil but it doesn't appear to be much more than the standard I would expect in a turbo engine post pcv.

Now I am at a loss. I have oil leaking into the cylinders while parked somehow. (bad valve seals?) and based on my leak down result it appears to have burnt a valve? or 2? or potentially its just excess carbon build up. Has anyone experienced any of these cars with similar symptoms/ test results? Any other ideas of what to be looking for?

did you figure this out? you can get a new cylinder head fairly cheap

 

[ouimetteracing]

did you figure this out? you can get a new cylinder head fairly cheap

Sorry I've been working on this EXTREMELY slowly lol. I've just been putting it off since I have another vehicle to drive.

So I have not really figured out the root cause of the initial problem. but I did pull the head off and realized the seat on cyl 3 exhaust valve was fairly warped which was causing the high leak down rates. I decided to go ahead and try to lap the valves back in and just clean all of the seats up myself since I already have it all apart. I'm not sure if this is the original problem but I am glad I pulled the head because this would have become a burned valve before too long.

I also found one of my rollers had a bad groove in it from some sort of debris. the cam looks fine so Im just going to replace that rocker,

Since I am unsure if this is the cause of the problem and the car has 100,000 miles on it I am going to just go ahead and replace the turbo, intake, valve cover, pcv, water pump and ignition coil while I'm in here. I got to looking at the turbo and a couple of the blades were nicked from debris, the wastegate has 3 solid cracks in it, and there is a slight oil leak from the flange and it has 100000 miles on it so I'm just going to bite the bullet and toss a new turbo in it too.

The head isn't warped or cracked, so I'm hoping a simple valve job and some new parts will do the trick and get me another 100,000 miles. I'll let you know if this fixes the problem. I'm not normally one to just throw parts at a car but given the high defect rates of these components and the mileage of the vehicle I figure its worth it. Otherwise Ill be pulling it apart again in 3000 miles.

I'll update this page once I get the car back on the road.

 

[Shroomie]

Sorry I've been working on this EXTREMELY slowly lol. I've just been putting it off since I have another vehicle to drive.

So I have not really figured out the root cause of the initial problem. but I did pull the head off and realized the seat on cyl 3 exhaust valve was fairly warped which was causing the high leak down rates. I decided to go ahead and try to lap the valves back in and just clean all of the seats up myself since I already have it all apart. I'm not sure if this is the original problem but I am glad I pulled the head because this would have become a burned valve before too long.

I also found one of my rollers had a bad groove in it from some sort of debris. the cam looks fine so Im just going to replace that rocker,

Since I am unsure if this is the cause of the problem and the car has 100,000 miles on it I am going to just go ahead and replace the turbo, intake, valve cover, pcv, water pump and ignition coil while I'm in here. I got to looking at the turbo and a couple of the blades were nicked from debris, the wastegate has 3 solid cracks in it, and there is a slight oil leak from the flange and it has 100000 miles on it so I'm just going to bite the bullet and toss a new turbo in it too.

The head isn't warped or cracked, so I'm hoping a simple valve job and some new parts will do the trick and get me another 100,000 miles. I'll let you know if this fixes the problem. I'm not normally one to just throw parts at a car but given the high defect rates of these components and the mileage of the vehicle I figure its worth it. Otherwise Ill be pulling it apart again in 3000 miles.

I'll update this page once I get the car back on the road.

make sure to change the valve seals and springs.. don't pass up the springs lol

 

[ouimetteracing]

haha ya valve seals and springs are on order as well. I guess I missed those in my response lol Thank you.