I have a 2006 chevy cobalt ss/sc. Blew a hole in the flex-pipe and was forced to put on an aftermarket exhaust system due to the stock being so damn expensive.....Of course it threw the 02 sensor code...friend told me it was no big deal.

Today while driving...car started shuddering really hard....i turned right around and went home just in case.....it ran in the driveway for a bit.....sounded like it was running off 2 cylinders and it was running really hard. Thick white smoke coming out of the exhaust. It died and won't start at all now. turns over and over and over. Any ideas on what it could possibly be?!?!?!?!

(car was in a flood during the summer....up to about the middle of the tires....car stalled when the flash flood hit and wouldn't run for about a day) <------dont know if that would be of help....possible damage during flood?

 

White smoke out the exhaust is coolant... blown head gasket possibly

 

Thats what I was thinking but would it kill my car completely so it wouldnt start? There is coolant in my coolant tank so im lost atm

 

The other weird part is it says low coolant...but my jug is filled and im not losing coolant either...im so lost

 

how long have you had the new dp on?

 

About 1 month...hi flow cat.

 

Im thinking its a head gasket....I did a search here for a how to with no results...does anyone know where I can get one?

 

check the gaskets for any leaks

 

Its pretty dark out right now and pouring....I talked to a couple friends who own cobalts and they said either gasket or piston rings...im hoping its the first

 

Rings won't cause white smoke.

 

do a compression test and check ur oil.

 

I checked oil....its low....I have coolant so a head gasket leak wouldn't make sense. I finally got my car running....its running a little rough but a lot better....for now. I was thinkiing egr valve...but after some research apparantly our cars don't have one lol. Between the rough idle and the strong smell of gas at idle...im wondering if its the fuel pressure regulator or a stuck open injector??

 

do a compression test, you can usually go and borrow a compression tester from your local auto store, this also gives you an opertunity to check the spark plugs...also after the car ran for a while, did you notice any color changes of your oil?? or did it look...."creamy" or "foam/caronated"

 

damn that sucks man, def hope you figure out what happened. sub'd for conclusion... is there still white smoke? did the DIC ever flash Engine Power Reduced when this all started happening?

 

I wont be able to do any compression tests till monday....Are they hard to do? As for the oil I never noticed those symptoms.....I checked because I thought I blew the head gasket. I just took out cold air intake and found that there is a huge hole in the side of it from rubbing against that sharp side...thinking maybe thats causing some of my prob. I think one of my codes say running to lean bank 1

 

the hole is DEF the problem. as far as the low coolant goes, thats just a hit or miss faulty sensor. 85% of the time it works sometimes it wont. my 06 does the same thing. you should put your stock intake on and just convert it into a airbox mod which is exactly the same thing as a cai. ive been running it since i bought my lsj. the only time you need to change the intake to a cai or 3inch is if you go tvs or a pulley smaller then 2.8 imo.

 

also check PCV valve

 

While I understand it isn’t the best option for everybody, I would recommend bringing your Cobalt to your servicing dealership for a diagnosis.

I’ve looked through some more of the posts – if you’re looking to purchase some parts, I would recommend looking into gmpartsdirect.com, where you can find GM parts for perhaps a more reasonable price than elsewhere.

Hope this helps!
Sarah
GM Customer Service

 

Would a hole in the cai really cause all those probably?!? That's crazy...I figured that was the reason why it's running lean. Im in contact with someone to buy their stock airbox. As for tonight....im going to take apart throttle body and clean up as much crap as I possibly can from it....also going to check for vacuum leaks and stuff. Ill ducktape up the holes for now until I can get a stock airbox. At work right now so I can't do crap. Does anyone else have any ideas?

 

Sub'd.