missing coolant
 

OH NOO! Ginger is sick. we only had 30 day warranty from haldimand and that was up 2 or 3 weeks ago. had to top up coolant 2 weeks ago(bout 1/2L in upper hose, 1L in exspansion tank). been dropping in the exspansion tank since(1/2"). just took a real close look at dipstick and oil. the oil isn't milky but i could see small(tiny) droplets in the oil. i also checked the filler cap. its also showing signs of moisture but not grey goop(not yet anyway). is the most likley cause, the head gasket?

i just had a thought. would a leaking head gasket be covered by gm warrenty. we've still got 1 year of powertrain warranty left. 93,000km on odometer.

Get thee to a tech forthwith good sir! I'm very concerned about the amount lost, its going somewhere, either on the ground or worst case into the engine. I'd check with a Chevy dealer and see about the warranty situation in regards to coverage, Canadian warranties cover some different things than US warranties do. If nothing else have it checked out soon, it might be something like a loose hose, but then again it might not.

I don't see how that WOULDN'T be covered under powertrain...since the engine is just that....?

Engine is powertrain so it should be covered..... Head gasket sure isn't a ware and tear maintenance item, even if it's not head gasket this should be covered.

You both are right, it should be covered, but Canadian GM warranties do differ from US coverages at times....just why I advised him to check with a dealer. Better safe than sorry, right?

i think ill do a pressure test and stick a borescope down the spark plug holes to see what there is to see. we live in small town in niagara peninsula and the nearest dealers are 1hr away. pretty sure its internal cause i been looking for external leaks but theres no trace anywhere that i can see. the droplets in the oil and moisture in the filler neck are a bad sign. coolant in crankcase is NOT good for mains and rods.

But the engine is essentially the powertrain...

will call dealer tomorrow to find out about coverage and registering gm warranty to me.

one way or another, its gonna get fixed SOON. i just hate the thought of someone else wrenching on my stuff.

I can understand you not wanting anyone else wrenching it.. But if Ur getting coolant in the oil. Time for a hand-off to the Dealer. It could be quite expensive, depending on the findings.

One thing you could try, is pull the dipstick out of a hot motor.. Wipe it on the exhaust manifold. Oil will not bubble or sizzle. Coolant will..
Oil will only smoke & smell..

Welcome to another meeting of the "I've got socks older than some members club". I was going to suggest just what you suggested sleeper, then I remembered that you need to be double jointed to get to the exhaust manifold on the HHR. Grandpa taught me that trick when I was maybe 8 years old and helping him with the Farmall tractor.

Phew - now I don't feel that old!! LOL

Well thank you gentlemen for teaching this not-so-young anymore whippersnapper a new thing! :twothumbs:

Anytime asanti, some of us here are full of useful info like how the set the magneto up on an Allis Chalmers tractor, or replacing the spring in a Victrola. All kidding aside, I'm a firm believer that the day you stop learning is the day you stop breathing, I pick up knowledge here all the time.

10-4 If you don't lean anything today, go back ,:lol:cause you weren't paying attention.:smile:

And in your case today you will learn to spell :p:

hi sleeper
an appoinment is made at queenston chevy for fri afternoon. as far as cost, a head gasket job is not unreasonable , even if i were to do it myself. my main concern is how long its been leaking. weve had the car for 6 weeks and the coolant was low when we got it. how long has it been leaking into crankcase and what damage has the coolant done to rod and main brgs. coolant and bearing babbit dont play nice together. hopefully i can convince them to r&r a rod brg for inspection. i dont think the mains are accesible cause of the split crankcase design. me thinks that requires an engine r&r.
as far as dropping some on a hot exhaust, i dont think there's enough coolant in the oil to notice any sizzlin. the few drops i detected were pinhead sized. good idea though. just like dropping frozen fries into a deep frier.

my wife is a facebook addict. this sight here is what i keep comin back too. ur'all awesome.

But if the head has the slightest "warp", it will be the cost of a new head also. If I remember correctly, the head CANNOT be resurfaced.

Not trying to rain on your parade. Just making you aware !!

well, if warranty covers the head gasket, they should cover the head too. have to trust the dealer to do thier job. scary. never been to a dealer or any shop for that matter. ive always done my own wrenching

why cant the head be resurfaced?

^Random fyi, lose the "h" in ecotech in your sig. It's just ecotec.

:thumb:

Actually, I don't remember. But this topic came up before and I remember our EX-resident Service Manager making that statement.

Stan-

Good, I hope the Dealer does a very thorough inspection...That's why I stated: "It could be quite expensive, depending on the findings".

& Yep like frozen fries in a fryer..Very old test, but still works..& costs "0" to perform..

Snoppy is right, & being covered under warranty, (personally) I would prefer a new replacement head..

Keep us informed as to the progress, if you don't mind..

sleeper

well, i went to the dealer to have it looked at. long story short, the service manager doesnt think i have a problem. he thinks the drop in exspansion tank was caused by an airlock and the condensation in valve cover is just moisture. they have not seen any headgasket problems with 2.2l ecotec. also he said they have seen very few problems with hhr's. he recomends to continue to monitor it for now. this is acceptable to me. i have to accept his expertise and experience as i have non with these modern engines. he said if i find a problem does exist, to simply return for proper diagnosis. i still have 2 years and 60000km left on powertrain warranty so no worry. he was very good to deal with and spent a good deal of his time with me. i may have cried wolf but time will tell. all in all my first time at a dealer went well.

If you end up having any issues later on please let us know. I'm curious. Its good that you had a good first expierence with your service. I have a good relationship with mine and it helps for when there are issues that need to be fixed.

im still not convinced that there isn't a problem but they have the experience (or lack of due to no problems if u get my drift). i'll know better when i drop the oil. my experience has shown that if any liquid other than oil comes out first(water is at the bottom), then there is a problem. then ill pursue it further. that'll happen in about 2 or 3 weeks. i plan to drain into a celan container then let it settle out for a day then check for water at the bottom. ill also heat up a piece of plate and do the drop/sizzle test. i've never heard of that until this forum. thanks guys. ive also considered an oil analysis but that may cost too much. i asked the dealer. he figured about $70.

Stan...

You can get an oil analysis done for $25....and another $10 if you want the additional TBN (recommended), from Blackstone Lab, in Ft. Wayne, IN.

If you email them, write them, call them, they will send you the mailable container and instructions.

I know a lot of times, if you have a problem and it's documented, it may be covered under warranty later on even if you're out of warranty(as long as it's not like 10 years down the road)...

Really? Lived there for so long you would think I would have known that.

Yep....been doing business with them for many, many years.......both for GM and personal.

It is located in a part of town that you may not wish to visit.

Yep, just looked it up and it's in the bad part of town. No wonder I never ran across it :lol: Dowtown is the furthest south I went unless it was Southwest off of 69.

thanks guys.
snoopy what is tbn.
i have to check with my service manager to see where and how much i can get it done for. i know a couple of our trucker customers get an oil sample tested. but first things first. i need to drop the oil. i still think there's far more condensation than what there should be.

From Blackstone Labs: Do I Need a TBN?

thanks dayton
ive never had to deal with oil sampling. i work on older farm equipment. one of my motto's is"any oil is better than no oil". i dont have to get too fancy or complicated with things. i just fix it if its broke.

OK, so has anybody replaced the head gasket on a 2.2L themself. I just realized that it is my future. Question is, can a semi-skilled non dummy with a fairly well equipped garage do the job? I have air tools, a torque wrench etc.

I decided to go the chemical route, cost $17 plus tstat, coolant and 2 days, after 1000 miles seems to have worked. I only got one estimate, about $1400, the parts alone would cost me more than $300.