Check your turbo coolant pipes
Check your turbo coolant pipes
So Friday night heading to dinner I noticed a smell of coolant coming from the engine bay and decided that though I wasn't low on coolant, I should definitely figure out where that smell was coming from. Saturday rolls around and I park the car in the garage at work, hour later there's a small puddle of DexCool on the ground just behind the motor. Well she didn't lose much coolant after that, just a bit while the system was pressurized. Promptly after work I snagged 4 gallons of distilled water to ensure I would make it to my friend's house so we could put it up on ramps and figure out where it was coming from.
I get it to his house and I can hear coolant hitting either the turbo or exhaust manifold. We pressurize the system with an air compressor and discover that there is coolant spraying onto the gasket between the turbo and exhaust manifold. Too dark to do anything so we pick it up the next day. I buy the banjo bolt gaskets and pull the turbo coolant return pipe off to discover this nice little gash in it:
Turns out the manifold gasket actually cut the pipe somehow, so I bent the gasket down flat so it wouldn't rub any more and tossed some QuikSteel onto the cut spot:
I spoke with a dealership before I pulled everything apart and they said the coolant pipe wouldn't be covered under the 100k mi powertrain warranty. So I elected to just patch and replace it myself. Ordered a new pipe from GMpartsdirect.com for $70shipped and will hopefully be putting that on next weekend.
TL;DR? Exhaust manifold to Turbo gasket cut turbo coolant return pipe, GM said no warranty on that part, bent the gasket, patched pipe myself and will be replacing with an OEM piece soon.
I get it to his house and I can hear coolant hitting either the turbo or exhaust manifold. We pressurize the system with an air compressor and discover that there is coolant spraying onto the gasket between the turbo and exhaust manifold. Too dark to do anything so we pick it up the next day. I buy the banjo bolt gaskets and pull the turbo coolant return pipe off to discover this nice little gash in it:
Turns out the manifold gasket actually cut the pipe somehow, so I bent the gasket down flat so it wouldn't rub any more and tossed some QuikSteel onto the cut spot:
I spoke with a dealership before I pulled everything apart and they said the coolant pipe wouldn't be covered under the 100k mi powertrain warranty. So I elected to just patch and replace it myself. Ordered a new pipe from GMpartsdirect.com for $70shipped and will hopefully be putting that on next weekend.
TL;DR? Exhaust manifold to Turbo gasket cut turbo coolant return pipe, GM said no warranty on that part, bent the gasket, patched pipe myself and will be replacing with an OEM piece soon.
That's just what the service writer said when I asked, for the record I did not take my car in. They wanted $120 for diag if it wasn't covered. Twas cheaper for me to just buy the part and do it myself than chance that it wasn't.
That JB Weld doesn't work all that well for these kinds of things. Luckily you got the new one on the way! I just looked at mine this weekend while doing the clutch. Good info here.
Yeah, max operating temp is 500*F. Sitting 1/4" off the exhaust manifold might not be so great for it. It'll only be there till the new one gets here.
Too late now, they won't touch it with QuikSteel on it.
Too late now, they won't touch it with QuikSteel on it.
Last edited by YelloEye; Feb 16, 2012 at 12:09 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
It is fairly obvious if you read the PT warranty it is not covered....
Chevy Warranty Information | Owners | Chevrolet
Sucks yes, I agree, but the internals of a turbo etc are covered. So you give a trade off. The expensive stuff is covered but the cheap easy to have break stuff is not. Glad you found the break before **** hit the fan though.
Engine
Cylinder head, block, timing gears, timing chain, timing cover, oil pump/oil pump housing, OHC carriers valve covers, oil pan, seals, gaskets, turbocharger, supercharger and all internal lubricated parts as well as manifolds, flywheel, water pump, harmonic balancer and engine mount. Timing belts are covered until the first scheduled maintenance interval.
Engine: 2010 Chevrolet vehicles
All internally lubricated parts, engine oil cooling hoses, lines and radiators. Also included are all actuators and electrical components internal to the engine (i.e., Active Fuel Management Valve Lifter Oil Manifold, etc.), 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, starter motor, 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 are the 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.
Cylinder head, block, timing gears, timing chain, timing cover, oil pump/oil pump housing, OHC carriers valve covers, oil pan, seals, gaskets, turbocharger, supercharger and all internal lubricated parts as well as manifolds, flywheel, water pump, harmonic balancer and engine mount. Timing belts are covered until the first scheduled maintenance interval.
Engine: 2010 Chevrolet vehicles
All internally lubricated parts, engine oil cooling hoses, lines and radiators. Also included are all actuators and electrical components internal to the engine (i.e., Active Fuel Management Valve Lifter Oil Manifold, etc.), 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, starter motor, 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 are the 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.
Sucks yes, I agree, but the internals of a turbo etc are covered. So you give a trade off. The expensive stuff is covered but the cheap easy to have break stuff is not. Glad you found the break before **** hit the fan though.
Senior Member
Joined: 06-22-09
Posts: 5,989
Likes: 7
From: Kathmandu
Yeah, everyone is always saying "Honda does this for you" and "Honda does that for you. They're so great." The reality is that Honda is just like every other car company. They wouldn't cover this, either. I can tell you that from experience. It's all about dealership customer service at that point. If you bought your car at the dealer you're getting serviced at, they'll generally help you out with things like this. To this day, the best warranty I have ever had was on a 2000 Altima SE. Nissan replaced seals on that thing all the way to 120K and it leaked out of quite a few of them. That Nissan dealership spoiled me for the rest of my life.
Member
Joined: 01-05-12
Posts: 239
Likes: 0
From: Brenham TX
Interesting seeing those pictures. I noticed a gash like that on mine, but it wasn't in an actual pipe, it was a piece of metal that appeared to be protecting the pipe. I'm not sure what it is, but when I saw that it wasn't on an actual pipe I just didn't worry about it.
Junior Member
Joined: 01-26-11
Posts: 471
Likes: 0
From: Manassas, VA
I have found if you are over your 3yr/36k warranty 99% of the time if your **** isn't blowing up they won't cover it. Save yourself the headache and just fix it yourself or take it somewhere else. Dealerships are not worth the hassle.
Most of the time you will leave with a bill for more than the part would have cost in the end with nothing done.
Most of the time you will leave with a bill for more than the part would have cost in the end with nothing done.
Senior Member
Joined: 03-14-09
Posts: 1,039
Likes: 0
From: Anna, TX
I have found if you are over your 3yr/36k warranty 99% of the time if your **** isn't blowing up they won't cover it. Save yourself the headache and just fix it yourself or take it somewhere else. Dealerships are not worth the hassle.
Most of the time you will leave with a bill for more than the part would have cost in the end with nothing done.
Most of the time you will leave with a bill for more than the part would have cost in the end with nothing done.
Interesting seeing those pictures. I noticed a gash like that on mine, but it wasn't in an actual pipe, it was a piece of metal that appeared to be protecting the pipe. I'm not sure what it is, but when I saw that it wasn't on an actual pipe I just didn't worry about it.