jpeyster58

I have a 2008 HHR SS that recently developed a small oil leak. I called my local Chevy dealer and I am getting mixed signals which males me very weary about taking the SS for them to check out. I have inspected the housing around the oil filter and it feels dry all around it. There is a small puddle on top of the engine behind the oil filter and I am not able to tell where it is coming from. I called a different Chevy dealer where they seem to have a much better attitude and am told that my drive train warranty will cover this unless it is the oil filter or due to somebody installing it incorrectly. The dipstick still shows full & I have included a photo so you can see the small puddle location. I saw a thread about oil leak from high pressure fuel pump... Could this be what I am experiencing?

If anyone has any advice or comments, please share them as I don't want take it in until I understand the problem more clearly.

firemangeorge

Fwiw. There is a foam insulator surrounding the high pressure pump. The foam will act like a sponge and soak up the oil from the leak. Once the foam gets completely saturated it will start dripping in that area in your picture.
Mine was doing the same thing. I removed the foam( a little tricky to remove the brackets in the way.) I squeezed out about an ounce of oil from the foam. I then cleaned up the engine real good so I could pinpoint where it was leaking.
Now the weird part. Since then, it hardly shows any oil leak at all. Just a very small seepage that hardly accumulates. I have not replaced the foam and have just watched it for about a year now. Has stayed "almost" dry since then.
Yours may be worse than mine, but it sure looks like it may be leaking from the pump shaft area.

Note; A coworker ask me why I had a small piece of paper towel stuck in the area behind the oil filter cap. I told him that was my poor mans oil leak detector.(it was dry by the way)

badassbowtie

If you have had it changed recently, and the tech was sloppy with it, it could seem like a leak.

XtremeSS

Chances are your dealership will just say its a spill from a previous oil change. Have them put dye in the oil and take it back in a few months. The lnf is notorious for having oil seepage in that area. If your dealer knows there stuff they will pinpoint exactly where it's coming from and install a new seal, which will probably start seeping oil again after some years.

Below is a thread on how to fix all the oil leaks our engines are known for..

http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/how-g...-leaks-189081/

IgottaWoody

If I remember correctly...there is a SB on this leak only when a customer complains....it should be fixed free...
#08-06-01-017: EI08224 - 2.0L LNF, 2.2L L61, 2.4L LE5 Engine Oil Leak (Engineering Information) - (Jul 18, 2008)


Subject: EI08224 - 2.0L LNF, 2.2L L61, 2.4L LE5 Engine Oil Leak (Engineering Information)


Models: 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, HHR

2008 Pontiac G5, G6

2008 Saturn VUE

with 2.0L, 2.2L or 2.4L Engine (VINs X, D, B - RPOs LNF, L61, LE5)



Attention: Dealers in U.S. and Canada Only -- Proceed with this bulletin ONLY if the customer has commented about this concern AND the EI number is listed in GMVIS. If the customer has not commented about this condition or the EI does not show in GMVIS, disregard the bulletin and proceed with diagnostics found in published service information. THIS IS NOT A RECALL -- refer to TSB 04-00-89-053B for more details on the use of Engineering Information bulletins.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Condition
Some customers may comment about an engine oil leak.

Cause
Engineering suspects an oil leak may be developing in the area of the A/C compressor bracket and would like to get further information. If a vehicle comes in to your dealership with an engine oil leak, complete the following steps:

Clean the side of the engine where the oil appears to be leaking from.
Install engine oil dye and run the engine or test drive the vehicle until you are able to identify the source of the oil leak.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Comments:
There won't be many HHR owners with this problem, but if it leaks in that area the fix is to replace the engine. It appears they may have drilled a bolt hole too

firemangeorge

That SB seems to be for another leak issue at the front of the engine. The OP's appears to be at the rear near the oil filter/HP fuel pump area.

IgottaWoody

your right..there was another one in the filter area that delt with cam seals on the head...was sleepy.

DrLoch

Old thread but useful information. My SS has been leaking in that area since the day I got it, now I know what to do about it. The car sat for ~ 3 years while I was making a move to another state.

I'm not one to take my car back to the dealer. I've never had anything good from from it. i.e. when the stage kits came out I was one of the many that jumped on it. The moron that flashed the computer with the new op system was using the my rocker as a foot rest and scratched the be jesus out of it. Mind you this car had never been to a car wash or been in the rain for that matter. That was part of the the learning curve at the time. I had a HPT tune it the was far better than what the stage provided. I and many others thought we needed the stage operating system to take advantage of the new sensors, every SS owner now knows that isn't the case. About a month and half ago I had to redo the wiring for the sensors because of a loss of boost issue I was having.