Not less reliable as a whole, and I'm sorry that it came out sounding that way, but they are more sensitive to maintenance and performance mods.

By its nature and construction the 2.0 Ecotec is one tough little engine, it has to be in order to survive the rigors of being a small displacement turbocharged power plant.

Where the SS models can get touchy and persnickety is when they are modified with anything from the Stage 1 kit from GM to assorted aftermarket tuning programs, etc.

And as with any other "performance" vehicle, you can run into problems that are particular to them only, where the "everyday" versions have their own issues particular to them.

 

Really ?? Not if it is correctly assembled.. Older engines used to be harder to seal up, with less precise tolerances..

 

Oil drips might be expected on something like my 75 year old Chevy truck, but not on an HHR, if its leaking they messed up....plain and simple.

*For the record, the '37 does leave a half dollar sized spot of oil after a drive, those old rope seals on the rear mains of 216 Stovebolt sixes do that. I could yank the engine and change it to a modern one piece seal, but that thing has been dripping like that for 3/4 of a century now, got to let it have some fun.

 

"For the record, the '37 does leave a half dollar sized spot of oil after a drive"

That assures ya it has oil, by marking it's spot.

 

And its much more polite than peeing coolant on fire hydrants.

 

Pics of the cleavage???

 

here's one I thought was particularly nice. I hope they aren't leaking too.

 

And for the umpteenth time this week, Sam's wholesome image goes right out the window.

 

I think Hyper might be refering to oil that got on parts of the car outside the motor and form puddles if you will. When the car is driven this oil will be blown onto other parts of the car or simply off the part it is on and then they will drip from there. These are sometimes hard to see from under the car and can be missed by the tech after reassembly clean up. A good steam of the engine bay after a job like this is what my old dealership would do to prevent this kind of come back. In these cases there is nothing wrong with the work performed but the car owner will think otherwise.

 

No steam cleaning for me. With all the electronics in these cars I'm not taking any chances.