Valve cover woes and PCV

12119 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Crashtrex, Dec 24, 2020

flyingvee

Discussion Starter · Feb 11, 2016

Hoping someone can suggest a good idea here. As posted in another forum here I have had the pcv valve replaced twice already and when it failed again a third time I swapped it myself. Now I followed all instructions and was HAND tightening the screws before i even got to put on the torque wrench, and the rear left screw appeared stripped. Hoped it would hold but I had an oil leak. So back to the dealer, since I am out of warranty. But to my shock the dealer said if its a stripped thread in the head, they can't fix it. WHAT!!! A Chevy dealer can't fix their own engine? One service guy suggested a machine shop before the manager berated him for saying it cant be fixed. Now I'm worried. They'll have some guy who's worke don these look at it tommorrow, they've given me a loaner, but I'm worried if a **** stupid stripped thread might be reason for them to say swap the whole head. This thing was swapped twice, so I'm sure one of the techs prior must have stripped it by over-torquing it. I'm man enough to say i screwed it up, if I had, but I was extra careful. In case Chevy says they can't fix, what options do I have. The car despite having 105,000 mile son it is in prefect shape. Any ideas? Anyone in the Orlando area?

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lakemg

· #2 · Feb 11, 2016

I haven't messed with my 1.4L enough to know where the location is on the head that you're mentioning, but it should be repairable. Do a google search for helicoil. With it, you basically drill out the existing threads and thread the helicoil in. So you should not have to replace your head. The questionable part is whether or not the head will need to be removed to gain access to do the work on it.

What's the torque spec for this bolt? Might even be able to fill the hole with an epoxy or something and then tap it with the right threads. So in summary, I think you have some options.

Keep us posted.

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carbon02

· #3 · Feb 11, 2016

The valve cover bolts to the head. The bolts for the valve cover are really small and clearly don't need anymore torque than what a 1/4" ratchet can produce.

I'm thinking some mechanic didn't hand start each bolt, and rather used an impact to set all the valve cover bolts. He didn't have one straight and he stripped it.

If this is the case it's time to open a discussion with the Service Manager at the dealership about how they plan on fixing this properly. If pervious repairs were done at a dealership then they are responsible. Especially if your within typically 12 months 12,000 miles of the repair. Hopefully you have documentation of the previous repairs to show they were done at a dealership.

If that get's you no where it's time to send a private message to the corporate Chevrolet account representative on this board. If a dealer created the problem, it should be the dealerships responsibility to repair the problem they created.

Please keep us informed. If this was a dealership trying to cover their mistakes at the cost of the customer, then General Motors needs to know. There's no way a thread in the head strips itself. Someone wasn't careful is my opinion.

It's issues like this that place a really negative perception on GM. GM makes great cars, however they need to help hold dealerships responsible for poor service if and when it happens.

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Chevy Customer Care

· #4 · Feb 11, 2016

Hoping someone can suggest a good idea here. As posted in another forum here I have had the pcv valve replaced twice already and when it failed again a third time I swapped it myself. Now I followed all instructions and was HAND tightening the screws before i even got to put on the torque wrench, and the rear left screw appeared stripped. Hoped it would hold but I had an oil leak. So back to the dealer, since I am out of warranty. But to my shock the dealer said if its a stripped thread in the head, they can't fix it. WHAT!!! A Chevy dealer can't fix their own engine? One service guy suggested a machine shop before the manager berated him for saying it cant be fixed. Now I'm worried. They'll have some guy who's worke don these look at it tommorrow, they've given me a loaner, but I'm worried if a **** stupid stripped thread might be reason for them to say swap the whole head. This thing was swapped twice, so I'm sure one of the techs prior must have stripped it by over-torquing it. I'm man enough to say i screwed it up, if I had, but I was extra careful. In case Chevy says they can't fix, what options do I have. The car despite having 105,000 mile son it is in prefect shape. Any ideas? Anyone in the Orlando area?

Hey flyingvee,

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing concerns with your Cruze. If you require any additional assistance, please feel free to send us a private message. We are always happy to help.

Cecil J.
Chevrolet Customer Care

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Crashtrex

· #5 · Dec 11, 2020

Ugg i hope torque is same for 1.8 engine (?)
pcv valve needed replacing as well as the cover seals .. 102k 2011 chevy cruze LS ..
replaced cover rather quickly but still had vacuum leak . pull out oil dipstick and car would almost die.. so undid cover - then re cleaned surface - applied black gasket sealant and re installed cover i bought new replacement..
Setting torque at 71 or 79 im not sure yet as seen mostly saying it’s 71 so ¯\(ツ)/¯
Also i disconnected pcv hose which was so stiff and cooked if broke in half easily. So that’s hopefully what i heard as the leak after installing cover once already. Awaiting hose from amazon - 8$ - should be here next day or two -
Then i can start car and clear codee and pray i dont get any more codes for lean in bank 1 and also hope it eliminates the stabili trac and traction control warnings that came up with the code ...

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Crashtrex

· #6 · Dec 24, 2020

update — ok actually got it torque !! 71inch pound torque wrench - perfectly.!!
now trying to replace the oil cap and OMG ...
What is this new cap ?? Doesn’t fit - wtf

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