Author Topic: Leaking valve cover - fixed (Read 21965 times)

Brazen17 · « **on:** October 27, 2010, 04:19:48 PM »

Took the wife's redline in today for an oil leak. Just got the call it is the turbo and they are going to replace it. Her car has ~40K miles on it. How many other leaking turbo's are out there? Is this a trend? I have about 4K more miles on my GXP and drive more aggressively than she does so I am kind of surprised hers is the one leaking. Good news is it is covered under drive train warranty and should be ready by COB tomorrow.

chuckdoc · « **Reply #1 on:** October 27, 2010, 04:29:45 PM »

Two so far, yours and mine. Mine was replaced under warranty as well.m lilndn also may have one as well, but have not officially heard. Another maybe is ducksol but again nothing official.

Brazen17 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 27, 2010, 04:56:14 PM »

The warranty clock starts all over with the new turbo, doesn't it?

HAMMER DOWN · « **Reply #3 on:** October 27, 2010, 05:03:47 PM »

No, but most GM parts have 12mos./ 12000 warranty. Or if your 5yrs/100,000 mile power train warranty is longer. It would be covered until then.

Mike

chuckdoc · « **Reply #4 on:** October 27, 2010, 06:27:30 PM »

Actua
Ly, the dealer I went to has a sign that says they cover all repairs for life. I hope they do not shoot me if the turbo goes again.

HAMMER DOWN · « **Reply #5 on:** October 27, 2010, 06:32:15 PM »

^^^WOW^^^^

Check your local dealer for details.

1LILNDN · « **Reply #6 on:** October 28, 2010, 12:42:36 AM »

chuckdoc ; Where you been I posted that Mine was leaking and they said it had a crack at the Bottom. It also was replaced along with the check valve and line.

Arabas · « **Reply #7 on:** October 28, 2010, 04:15:33 AM »

Brazen17, also reporting 3 turbos (these are the ones i know) replaced in my country.
two were replaced under warranty and one was sent for repair.
there is a repair kit, coz it is quite common for the turbos to thross and their gaskets to become corrupted.
so they change the gaskets (hope they are called this way), they calibrate the turbo and eliminate the thross.
BUT, a new turbo is a far better solution.
it s no suprise that your wife's turbo and not yours failed.
it all depends on the use (warm it up, cool it down) and of course it all depends on the quality of the turbo from the factory.

here s what i had reported
http://www.kappaperformance.com/forum/index.php?topic=5008.0

Brazen17 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 28, 2010, 12:33:52 PM »

Quote from: Arabas on October 28, 2010, 04:15:33 AM

Brazen17, also reporting 3 turbos (these are the ones i know) replaced in my country.
two were replaced under warranty and one was sent for repair.
there is a repair kit, coz it is quite common for the turbos to thross and their gaskets to become corrupted.
so they change the gaskets (hope they are called this way), they calibrate the turbo and eliminate the thross.
BUT, a new turbo is a far better solution.
it s no suprise that your wife's turbo and not yours failed.
it all depends on the use (warm it up, cool it down) and of course it all depends on the quality of the turbo from the factory.

here s what i had reported
http://www.kappaperformance.com/forum/index.php?topic=5008.0

Thanks for the info Arabas. Don't know yet where it is leaking but hopefully will know by the end of the day.

Brazen17 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 29, 2010, 12:09:45 PM »

Latest info is a leaky seal. Don't know which one or where yet. I'm not even sure how many seals are on the turbo that could leak!?! Should be picking it up later today.

Arabas · « **Reply #10 on:** October 29, 2010, 12:50:03 PM »

Brazen17, it would be interesting to ask the dealer if the turbo "throsses" (that is if the axle moves a bit forth and back and/or up and down)

Sol Asylum · « **Reply #11 on:** October 29, 2010, 01:39:48 PM »

Arabas sounds like throsses is about the same as end play, woble, or slop

Arabas · « **Reply #12 on:** October 29, 2010, 03:53:14 PM »

Thx SA!

Brazen17 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 29, 2010, 04:28:39 PM »

Quote from: Arabas on October 29, 2010, 12:50:03 PM

Brazen17, it would be interesting to ask the dealer if the turbo "throsses" (that is if the axle moves a bit forth and back and/or up and down)

I'll see what I can find out when I pick the car up.

TomatoSoup · « **Reply #14 on:** October 29, 2010, 04:38:40 PM »

Quote from: Brazen17 on October 29, 2010, 12:09:45 PM

Latest info is a leaky seal. Don't know which one or where yet. I'm not even sure how many seals are on the turbo that could leak!?! Should be picking it up later today.

Probably the seal on the shaft (internal to the turbo). A worn seal could definitely result in "throssing" - though you probably wouldn't know it without tearing the turbo apart and I'm sure the dealer will just replace the whole thing and not even look.

On the other hand, you said you took it in for an oil leak, which implies drops of oil below the car. I don't think the shaft seal could cause a visible leak. So never mind!

Brazen17 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 29, 2010, 05:59:58 PM »

It would drip a few drops after it sat for awhile. It was not a bad leak but it did seam to be getting progressively worse. I kept trying to find the leak myself but finally gave up and took it in. I imagine it probably leaked more when the engine was running. The day before I took it in I checked the oil and it was down about 1/2 to 3/4 of a quart. We first noticed the leak about a month or so ago.

Brazen17 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 01, 2010, 06:28:20 PM »

Got the car back Saturday. Service rep couldn't tell me exactly where it was leaking and the guy who changed it was not in. He did ask me about adjustments to the waste gate of which I said I know nothing and he replied "as neither do I"! He said the paint was missing off the nut/rod and it looked like it had been adjusted a couple of threads. Also said there was supposed to be a clip on it that was also missing. Anybody know anything about a clip? He went ahead and replaced the turbo under factory warranty as he did not think an adjustment of two threads was the cause of the problem.

I don't think it was the problem either since my GXP does have the waste gate adjustment and I drive it far more aggressively than the wife drives hers. I have about 4K more miles on mine (almost all in town) and at least 8K of her miles were highway.

Vanguard · « **Reply #17 on:** November 01, 2010, 09:13:08 PM »

I think we might want to add me to the list...

That last photo is trying to show that there is some serious black soot all over the top of the turbo. I couldn't get a good shot of the wastegate, but of what I could see is that its pretty oiled up. In the end, I checked the oil and its a quart low.

Now, the big question...I know its covered under powertrain warranty, but I do have some mods that might freak them out (IC, exhaust stuff)...Do you think the local dealer will deny the warranty?

Arabas · « **Reply #18 on:** November 02, 2010, 03:34:29 AM »

sorry to hear this Vanguard... even if the dealer denies warranty, you can always look for a turbo at a good price.
it seems there is a serious leak.
might want to check your pipes and ic for oil too.

TomatoSoup · « **Reply #19 on:** November 02, 2010, 09:29:39 AM »

If it's just seals and you're out of warranty (or deemed 'not covered') you could just replace the seals. I remember seeing a post - maybe on the BB - about someone doing this. Not too difficult if I remember, and the seal kit was under $100. If you feel confident about removing the turbo in the first place - this might well be an option.

EDIT: Here's a how to (non-Solstice, but it is a K04): http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/showthread.php?t=214478

Arabas · « **Reply #20 on:** November 02, 2010, 09:55:43 AM »

great finding TomatoSoup.
this DIY is very good!!

Brazen17 · « **Reply #21 on:** November 02, 2010, 12:03:07 PM »

Quote from: Vanguard on November 01, 2010, 09:13:08 PM

I think we might want to add me to the list...

That last photo is trying to show that there is some serious black soot all over the top of the turbo. I couldn't get a good shot of the wastegate, but of what I could see is that its pretty oiled up. In the end, I checked the oil and its a quart low.

Now, the big question...I know its covered under powertrain warranty, but I do have some mods that might freak them out (IC, exhaust stuff)...Do you think the local dealer will deny the warranty?

As long as it is still under warranty and you didn't do anything to the turbo itself I don't think you will have any problems.

Vanguard · « **Reply #22 on:** November 02, 2010, 12:25:34 PM »

Just dropped it off. When I showed the tech the oil covering the intake pipe, he said "that looks like any standard diesel application...oil will cover that pipe." And then when I showed him the soot covering the top side of the turbo, he said "that looks like an exhaust leak." And finally, when I showed him that the underside had oil on it, he said "I've seen that happen before...that might be normal."

I want to put my head through a wall...

LatinVenom · « **Reply #23 on:** November 02, 2010, 01:22:27 PM »

That is certainly not normal and you should get GM involved.
Call the 800 number and get a case started.

Brazen17 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 02, 2010, 07:18:56 PM »

Quote from: LatinVenom on November 02, 2010, 01:22:27 PM

That is certainly not normal and you should get GM involved.
Call the 800 number and get a case started.

Just make sure that tech is not the one working on your car.

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Author Topic: Leaking valve cover - fixed (Read 21965 times)