Oil leak?
 

I don't usually check my oil until it is time for oil change. It was always full. Recently, I noticed small oil leaks around valve cover and oil filler. I checked oil today and it turned out to be pretty empty in there. I have no idea how long the car ran like this. I think I put about several cups in there to fill it. If the oil leak was that bad, wouldn't I actually see it or it just evaporated?

Doesn't HHR have oil check sensor on it to warn about this sort of situations?

The car has 150K miles. It has been about 2 months and 6,500 miles since the last oil change. I will continue to closely monitor the oil on daily basis from now on. Is there anything I should consider doing?

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Get a new gasket for the filler pipe. Check to see how much oil is in the PCV hose. Do a compression test to rule out rings.

The only oil level sensor is the driver.

No, the HHR does not have a low oil sensor.

Oil can evaporate and leave a film in very small amounts of leakage.

Valve cover leak can drip onto the oil filter area.

Add oil as needed. Do you do a lot of highway driving?

Do you monitor your DIC (Driver Information Center) to see when it's recommended to change the oil ?

Check the elbow at the throttle body, oil can be sucked out of the valve cover through the PCV hose


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I tried a loop of hose but ended up cleaning out the valve cover


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You never check it until it's time for an oil change? Why even bother to check it at all? Just dump the oil and throw in fresh stuff.

6,500 miles? It may be overkill but I change my oil every 3,000

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was reading up threads on normal oil consumption, which I never thought about before.

I do a lot of city driving in stop-and-go traffic. I would say around 150 mi a day, 5 days a week. That puts my care in sever maintenance category. Considering that it is okay for GM cars to consume 1 qt of oil every 2000 miles, it is nothing that I should be alarmed about. In 6,500 miles that would be 3 qts, which is nowhere close to what I put in to top it off. I just had to check oil more often. My bad on this part.

As far as changing oil every 3,000 miles, I monitor my DIC instead of using preset intervals. I usually do it at 25-30%. Right now it is at 35%.

I'll use this post: (https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/prob...90/) to monitor oil consumption on my car, and then if it is anything beyond normal, I will compression test and all the other things.

I found this thread about filler pipe gaskets (https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...ks-06-a-60296/). Anyone tried screwing the cap directly into the valve cover? I assume you don't need the grommet to do that (https://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.c...modelYear=2011).

Thanks for posting those pictures, oldblue! I was woundering where that PCV hose was. It seems like it is pretty easy to check once the air filter is removed. Am I looking for oil deposits inside of the tube?

Yes, that's how I have run mine for the last 12 years (I put on a different intake which doesn't need the filler extension tube to clear it like the factory setup). Never any problem.

Steve

Inside the tube , yes but it will go into the throttle body, so I always undo the one gear clamp there and lift off the elbow to check. No need to completely remove the OEM air filter box.


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The clamp on the left is the throttle body end the PCV hose attaches to the shiny black fitting.

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This is a picture of Oldblue when I had the FIPK intake , note no oil filler extension pipe. BTW this is now owned by fastsuv. The HHR , not the air box.