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Water Outlet Replacement

129K views 51 replies 25 participants last post by  BaezaG  
#1 ·
Had the water outlet replaced on the Cruze today. I saw the coolant leak on the garage floor last week and thought it was oil. The coolant was leaking from the water outlet at the rear of the cylinder head. They replaced the water outlet and coolant hose to coolant bottle. Coolant hose broke upon removal. Bleed cooling system.

Luckily it was covered under the powertrain warranty. I'm glad it wasn't worse.
 
#2 ·
Had the same issue on my 2011 I bought the part myself and did it in about 45 minutes as the dealer ship has been backed up for weeks. Wondering if there is a bigger problem with this part. The part number was replaced when I ordered it With a new number.
 
#3 ·
Also to add my coolant hose was also broken going back to the surge tank. Luckily I had ordered a new one. It was staying On ok but once removed it was obvious the inside was like falling apart almost like the plastic corroded.
 
#4 ·
do you have the new part number? did you need to buy a gasket too?
 
#7 ·
http://www.chevrolet.com/owners/warranty.html

Powertrain Coverage


In addition to the 3-year/36,000 mile protection, many of your powertrain components are protected even further with coverage extending to 5 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Engine

Engine coverage includes all internally lubricated parts, engine oil cooling hoses, and lines. Also included are all actuators and electrical components internal to the engine (e.g., Active Fuel Management valve, lifter and oil manifold) cylinder head, block, timing gears, timing chain, timing cover, oil pump/oil pump housing, OHC carriers, valve covers, oil pan, seals, gaskets, manifolds, flywheel, water pump, harmonic balancer, engine mount, turbocharger, and supercharger. Timing belts are covered until the first scheduled maintenance interval. Exclusions: Excluded from the powertrain coverage are sensors, wiring, connectors, engine radiator, coolant hoses, coolant, and heater core. Coverage on the engine cooling system begins at the inlet to the water pump and ends with the thermostat housing and/or outlet that attaches to the return hose. Also excluded is the starter motor, entire pressurized fuel system (in-tank fuel pump, pressure lines, fuel rail(s), regulator, injectors, and return line), as well as the Engine/ Powertrain Control Module and/or module programming.


- For trucks equipped with a 6.6L Duramax diesel engine, the diesel engine, except those items listed under “What Is Not Covered” later in this section, is covered for 5 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.


GM has trained the dealers really good not to cover a part that is covered in black and white on their web site.
I really wish customer service here would comment where the disconnect is with the web site and these dealers.
 
#8 ·
The problem here seems to be the way the document is written. The Coverage on the engine cooling system begins at the inlet to the water pump and ends with the thermostat housing and/or outlet that attaches to the return hose is listed in the exclusions segment of the document. It has been like this for over 5 years in the warranty document. This needs to be revised so it does not get misinterpreted by the dealerships.
 
#13 ·
I have 91,000 miles on my 2012 Cruze LTZ and had my thermostat housing replaced two weeks ago at my expense of $300. I tried asking the dealership's service department for clarification on why it wasn't covered when in the print it states the exact part was covered. They told me that all they do is put a part number in and it tells them if it is or isn't covered. I called GM directly and worked with a "Senior Service Advisor" and she keeps restating that it is NOT covered under the powertrain as it is listed under exclusions. Can somebody PLEASE explain this to me? Is this covered? If so, how do I get in touch with somebody who is competent enough to understand this wording??

Thank you in advance.
 
#16 ·
I just wanted to say thank you for this thread/forum! I had a coolant leak and from this forum I found that it was covered under warranty on my 2012. I took it in to the dealership and they stated that my outlet also had a leak and that it was going to cost me $265. I gave them the "Ok" to fix it for that cost then though....That doesn't make sense that it wouldn't be covered too. It took me one google search to find this thread then reference the Chevy Warranty page (Warranty Coverage: Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Vans | Chevrolet) where it states "Coverage on the engine cooling system begins at the inlet to the water pump and ends with the thermostat housing and/or outlet that attaches to the return hose." I called the dealership back and told them that it was covered and to look it up on the website. Once I pushed back a little they texted me back and said they made a mistake and it was going to be covered. They also tried to sell me on an oil change when I am at 53% and a brake flush....Very disappointed with them.
 
#17 ·
Hello all, I just want to make it a little clearer and update this post. I just this week had this problem. There is obviously much controversy over if the water outlet is covered under the POWERTRAIN warranty. YES it is. A family car was being driven from the looks of it low on coolant. The gauge would go up and down. Then the inevitable happened. Overheated 1 last time blew open the water outlet car stalled out and no suffers from a no start. I started searching for threads on this issue to see what is and isnt covered and if a water outlet swapped was needed to be done prior to bringing it to the dealer for the stall/no start issue. I called a service department and specifically asked is the water outlet covered under powertrain warranty. The first dealership I called said yes, so I told them Im having an issue. 2012 cruze 60k miles. Call Chevy roadside assistance for a free tow since its a warranty issue. Also the warranty will cover up to 5 days of an enterprise rental car if the dealership needs more then a few hours to do the repair. In this case after they did the water outlet under warranty they had issues getting the car to start. after starting the car smoked out the shop. Heads being removed to be sent out and the internals of the engine are to be inspected. Further diagnosis will happen after the heads are checked. I will try and update with more work needed on this car but the bottom line is YES the water outlet is covered under the 100k mile 5 year powertrain warranty. if you got charged i would call gm corporate and explain it to them and have the dealership issue you a refund and claim the job under warranty like they should have.
free labor
free part
free tow
free rental car if warranty work needs more then 3 hours (water outlet is a 2 hour repair)
 
#19 ·
Thank you for posting!! My 2012 Eco just had its 6th coolant problem visit to the dealer. This time they say it was the Coolant Outlet with a crack. $30 part, $140 for labor, not under warranty. BULL. I read it in the warranty print. My first call to GM I got a woman that told me someone must have edited the website and you can't go by that. She would not listen to me at all. She told me maybe they would cover it under the special waterpump extension 14371 service code. I told her its not the waterpump!! She knew NOTHING about cars. I got another lady that listened, called the dealer, said still not covered sorry. I begged her for a moment of her time.

I had her go to the website and look at what I was. GM says what is NOT covered, then what IS covered, then what is NOT covered. Terrible verbage. She said wow.. I made a mistake. This is horrible wording. I am sorry and I am calling the dealership right now.

I had to explain to her that a coolant system works like a circle. GM is saying this part of the circle is NOT covered, but everything in this other part of the circle IS covered. The outlet was the last part of the circle.

Dealership just called and this time (3rd call to me) they said its now covered and its fixed I can come pick it up. They gave me a survey to fill out, begged me to say positive things, and gave me a rose. 4th time something has broke under warranty and they told me the part that broke isn't under warranty. Why the heck would I buy another GM?? I have a vette, cruze, and silverado. So does everyone in my family! Same combo!! We all always have the same problem. I'm a die hard GM guy but man.. they are so hard to support anymore. I think as soon as this car is off warranty, I'm dumping it and buying a new non-gm car.
 
#21 ·
Depends on where you look. The section on replacement just says 8Nm/71lb-in.

But the specs table says:
1st pass: 8Nm/71lb-in
2nd pass: 30 degrees*
*Tighten only 2 bolts to a final pass, see water pump documents.

The specs table might be a faulty copy of the water pump section which is a tty bolt.
 
#23 ·
That means these are one time use TTY bolts.
If the table is correct. The instructions for the water pump replacement does a call out on tty bolts plus they specify how to do the second pass, but both are absent in the instructions for replacing the water outlet. It also seems odd that the line for the water outlet has a subnote to look a the water pump instruction.

I'm also have trouble believing in a TTY bolt for a plastic part. Especially when the initial torque specs are the same as the water pump. I'm thinking the simplest answer is that the torque table is wrong and the water outlet is not tty bolts.
 
#25 ·
All I have to go on is the 'add 30 degree' spec.........torque to yield has always been 'Torque to X (torque) + X degree's (yield).......the 30 degree's in this case initiates the 'stretch' or yield.
Understood. But the section on changing the water outlet doesn't have a step for degrees, nor a reference to reference to tty bolts (such as "see section 0-10"). The section on replacing the water pump has both of those. It's only the "specs table" that suggests that the water outlet is tty bolts.

The manual is inconsistent with itself. But which part is correct?

I'm thinking whoever did the table "slipped" a row and populated the line for the water outlet with the information intended for the water pump which is the line below it. For me to believe that the water outlet install instructions are wrong, they'd have to omit one step and a caution - or else they updated the engine to use tty and forgot to update the procedure.

From the drawings, it appears that the seal is from rubber band like O ring. I'm not sure if it needs a specific pressure like a gasket would. If it was me, I think I'd go with straight torque and see if there's any leaks. If it leaks, then consider the 30 degrees.
 
#29 · (Edited)
How to get this repair covered

Another update to the warranty coverage nightmare stories:

I bring my 2013 Cruze into the dealership after noticing the fan was running a lot more than usual, and seeing a puddle on the ground. I found this thread very quickly and told the dealership exactly what I though was wrong, as many of you had already had this issue. They of course said "we will take a look and get back to you."

They got back to me and said it was not covered under the powertrain warranty. They said it would cost me $500 for the work. I sad no way, call GM and figure this out. They came back with a 'special' discount from GM customer care of $300. I said no way, and called Chevy customer care directly. Meanwhile I told my father about what was going on and he said he would talk to the dealership in his home town where he has had an auto body business for years and has a good relationship with the GM dealer there. (I live across the country now, or that would have been the first place I would have gone to).

The dealer my father talked to said that if the part isn't put in the system with the right part number and the right part name (exact match only) it will not display as covered.

Ex. If the dealer put in part #25193922 and part name 'Water outlet pipe' <-- not covered
BUT Put in part #25193922 and part name 'Water outlet' <--BINGO.. you're a winner!!

The dealership I took it to was entering the part# correctly, but was calling the part a 'Coolant outlet pipe' so it was showing up as not covered. I called them up, had them recheck the part with just "Water outlet' and they called me right back and told me the work was covered and apologized for the confusion.

So I hope to save any other Cruze owners the pain and headaches I went through. If your Cruze is leaking coolant on the drivers side, tell you dealer:

"I believe the part you need to replace is part number 25193922 and be sure to put it through your system specifically as a 'water outlet'"

You can also tell them you learned this on the internet, where all knowledge come from ;)

-Josh

Also, i got absolutely nowhere with Chevy Customer Care. Thumbs Down.
 
#30 ·
The dealer my father talked to said that if the part isn't put in the system with the right part number and the right part name (exact match only) it will not display as covered.

Ex. If the dealer put in part #25193922 and part name 'Water outlet pipe' <-- not covered
BUT Put in part #25193922 and part name 'Water outlet' <--BINGO.. you're a winner!!

The dealership I took it to was entering the part# correctly, but was calling the part a 'Coolant outlet pipe' so it was showing up as not covered. I called them up, had them recheck the part with just "Water outlet' and they called me right back and told me the work was covered and apologized for the confusion.
Can we get this info pinned somewhere?
 
#33 ·
Im at the dealership now, I hope I don't have to argue about wether or not the part is under warrenty. With the history I have with the service department at the dealership, chances are I'm gonna have to drop some knowledge! Thank God for this site! The first thing I do after I buy a car is check the forums, and this one has definitely had the most helpful information on it! Thanks everyone!
 
#37 ·
I have the same problem with my 2012 Cruze with 42,000 miles on it. Dealership and GM are telling me it isn't covered. Is it suppose to be covered under the 5yr power train warranty or did you have to buy the extended warranty from GM? The dealership sold me an extended warranty, but it wasn't with GM.
 
#39 ·
I have the same problem with my 2012 Cruze with 42,000 miles on it. Dealership and GM are telling me it isn't covered. Is it suppose to be covered under the 5yr power train warranty
Yes. Read the warranty, it's specifically covered.

However, read this post. It appears that if the dealer enters the part description wrong, then their computer tells them it's not covered.