Just did this repair 2 days ago. Learned a lot from this video. Just a tip though....if you remove the oil filter cap, and also remove the metal cooling pipe on the front of the oil cooler, it will wiggle out of place behind the exhaust manifold. In my case, I did not remove the manifold or the turbo. I was also able to re-insert oil cooler with very little effort the same way. My Cruze is a 2011 with 1.4L engine. Hope this helps.
Jason, I know you said you didn’t have to remove the manifold or the turbo, but did you have to loosen the bolts on them at all or were you able to leave them completely in place?
Brad...I did not loosen the bolts at all. I did remove the clamp that holds the turbo to the Cat converter, and removed the converter. Make sure you remove the metal cooling pipe on the front of the oil cooler. I was just about to give up when it finally wiggled out of place.
JASON MAXFIELD , great info, thanks!! Another question - did you drain the oil before starting? If not, how much mess did taking the oil cooler off create before you were able to put it back on later? I ask because I would rather not drain the oil if I can as I just did an oil change before finding this leak.
Brad...I did not drain the oil, like you, I had just changed the oil also. Most of the oil loss came from what was inside the oil cooler. It was maybe a half quart that was lost. Also, in order to wiggle the oil cooler out, you must remove the cooling pipe and hose assembly( outlet?) from the oil cooler. That was a bit harder because the manifold does block access to that part, but it can be done, I was able to.
I have the same exact car and I just ran into the same problem today. Oil dripping from the oil cooler and making a burning smell because it's dripping on the exhaust. Thorough and informative video and it definitely helped me out. The dealership wants $750 to fix this. I will buy my own oil cooler seals from Rock Auto and replace these myself. Good video.
Al_Gunner yeah took it somewhere to get a dif opinion turns out my oil cooler wasn’t even leaking dealership made a what could have been 1000$ mistake.
I just completed this job myself. Went to do an oil change and noticed oil all up under the car. Had been smelling burnt oil for a long time. Seems I always smell coolant, but I think that's a design flaw in the location of the coolant tank. Anyway, thanks to your video, you gave me the confidence to try it myself. Best intro - I like how you kept things light hearted with comedy. The four pitfalls - "don't worry about it". The helper kitty, etc. I avoided the pitfalls except one. After removing the turbo/exhaust manifold, I tried to wiggle the oil drain tube out and it broke off inside the block. I about panicked, but it came out easy with a small screw driver. Took me about 8 hours from start to finish, plus I replaced the cam shaft seals, both oil feed and drain tubes, both gaskets on the cat - about $155 (dealer prices) in rubber, seals, lines and gaskets. Probably saved me close to $800 in labor from the dealer.
Daniel, the coolant smell is due to the weather hose clamps. I replaced all of mine and it solved the issue. If you don't, the hose will wear through the water inlet manifold on the driver's side of the motor due to rubbing at the hose fit.
Thank you so much for posting this video! It was incredibly helpful. I was quoted $2,600 for this repair. I ordered the parts on Rock Auto for $56 and completed the repair myself. Took about 8 hours altogether but great success! THANK YOU! 🥰
I sure wish I watched this before your other video about replacing the oil return line, ha ha. I thought THAT was the source of my leak and discovered the hard way after taking everything apart and putting it back together that my oil cooler is actually the source of the leak. Ooof. Glad you made this video. I'm gonna get a set of gaskets ordered now and do this next weekend after my back recovers.
I have to say, I absolutely love your videos. You have a great demeanor and sense of humor when working on cars. And your little kitten friend seems to always want to help.
Thanks for making the video, it was a big decision (along with retail costs from mechanics) in tackling this job myself. If I may, I would like to add a little from my experience. I have a 2012 LTZ with 105,000. Besides the three seals/gaskets you mention in your video, I decided to add a few items since I had the entire oil cooler, turbo, exhaust manifold and cat out of the car. I replaced the turbo oil feed tube (25198546), I had to take the existing one off and the new one comes with a double seal so for $30, why not. I also replaced the turbo cooler feed pipe (55568031) and the cooling pipe (55567067) about $40 for both and they are not easy to get to so if the old ones failed I would pretty much have to pull the exhaust manifold and turbo off, again. Finally, I replaced the exhaust manifold gasket, $10, again, why not. I soaked the crap out of the cat pipe bolts and still busted off the same one as you in the video. Went to the hardware store and replaced it with a generic set 5/16 x 1.5 bolt and nut (didn't want to replace the entire flange for $30). I used a 5/16 hose to drain the coolant. I drained it until it stopped coming out. Besides the coolant drained, there is a lot of coolant that is lost when you remove the turbo cooler pipes. With 105,000 it was a way to get a decent amount of new coolant in the system without flushing the entire system. After installing the oil cooler be sure to leave off the two turbo cooler feed pipes and install them on to the turbo before attaching the exhaust manifold/turbo. These are the two 17mm wrench fittings that are impossible to thread into their holes if they are attached to the oil cooler and with the exhaust manifold in place. So for about $100 in parts, all the seals/gaskets for oil cooler, feed lines for turbo, including the feed tube and exhaust gasket can all be replaced. I did an oil change at the same time so the first thing I did was drain all the oil and pulled the filter out and put the cover back on before I removed anything from the car. This way there was less of a mess when I pulled the oil cooler. I put in a new filter in after I pulled the cooler and at the same time as replacing the seals. Thanks again for your video. It helped a lot!
Thanks for the video! Similar to another comment, this voseo was a prime factor in deciding to so this repair myself. Hardest part I had was reconnecting the turbo coolant feed line...very little room to maneuver to manipulate the nut just right to get the screw to engage. Having a small extendable mirror helped significantly.
Thank you for the video. Dealership called and of course my oil cooler is not covered under the powertrain warranty on my 2013 sonic LTZ aunt wanted $650 to replace it. thanks to your video I believe I can do it myself which is going to save me a lot of money however I’m sure it’s going to add a little bit of pain. But it will be worth it
Thank you for the video. Dealership called and of course my oil cooler is not covered under the powertrain warranty on my 2013 sonic LTZ and wanted $650 to replace it. thanks to your video I believe I can do it myself which is going to save me a lot of money however I’m sure it’s going to add a little bit of pain. But it will be worth it
LOL At 8:09 where he said wrong He skipped the real important part of the whole job And he didn't describe how it really comes off Because it is a true headache ! But the video really makes it look real easy but it's a really complicated tough job..
Should really just replace the entire cooler for $60 if youre doing all the work. Also replace the oil feed and return, and coolant feed and return lines to the turbo while youre in there. No reason to do this more than once.
I ended up taking everything off without having to take off t45 banjo bolt that I stripped. So I basically ruined it for no reason lol. Oh well lessons learned. I had the wrong gaskets so now I have to wait again.
Hello! I had the same issue snapping the bolt on the cat flange. What did you have to do to get that bolt popped out. Mallet or did you have to drill it out?
Hey thanks for the video, super helpful i'm working on the same thing right now. For the bracket @8:18, do you recall what socket needs to be used to remove the two bolt?
what size rubber drain hose is that for the coolant? How much coolant does the engine hold? Or do I just drain out 1 gallon? After this is all done & replacing the coolant...will it continuously fill at the reservoir?
Hey Ruva! I was just wondering if I needed to drain the oil from the vehicle before starting this job? And what size hose did you use to drain the coolant?
GoodMoodFoodDude You don’t have to ... but I strongly recommend to change oil after , and I’m sorry I don’t remember the size of the hose that I used I guess whatever is available and whatever fits :-)
Thank you Ruva! I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly and I really appreciate you making this video! God bless you brother & wish me lucky today!
Hi, my issue was coolant temp sensor takes time to move in the dashboard. I put new temp coolant sensor and new thermostat. Coolant gauge temp in the dashboard still moves too slow. Fuel consumption is heavy! Anybody who has tips on the cause? I have no check engine light and no coolant leaks.
Ok thx. I have a leak as well..it pools beneath the oil feed tube right bolt. But i am changing all my seals as well..2011 cruze..thx for the video..helps alot.
see that little electrical...plus button blanket , heat..thing to the right at the bottom of oil cooler....i broke that...is that a sensor? lol that clamp on the cadillac converter broke on me as well...so easily. This car seems to leak badly..all the seals must be replaced. The bottom of my car is covered with oil.
ernesto centeno thanks ! Yes I would remove the turbo, it makes so much easier this way. And make sure to unbolt The turbo oil drain hose it's only two bolts
I have a Chevy Sonic 1.8 L having the same problem and just yesterday I found oil in the coolant. At first I thougth of a blown head gasket but my car hasn't overheat. I wasn't aware my car had an oil cooler so I hope this will fix it. Anyone else had the same experience with the oil in the coolant ?
I am currently having oil in my coolant and have for at least a couple months now. Hopefully this is the solution cause it sure is sketchy. 1.8l Chevy sonic
Big help cause the thing that made me worry the most want smell was ungodly but the smoke it little and infact there is none if I drive at highway speeds thanks I'm gonna get to working on it
@Ruva yes man non turbo, auto part shop showed me the gaskets and it looks the same as yours. thank you so much! very helpful video, i might DIY mine when i received the gaskets.
I have a 2011 chevy cruze lt (piece of fucking shit) The light came on last week saying "low oil pressure stop engine" I got it towed to my guy and he replaced a sensor and did a oil change. Today when I started my car the light came on for 1 second then turn off so I drove it still and it didn't come on. My mechanic said he thinks it's the turbo oil cooler. What do you think it is!? Please help!!
You are just directing others for disaster when you say bandage up the turbo oil line on the back side. You should not repair that. Replace it. Common sense. Also common sense is to just get a new clamp for the turbo. Third, the heat shield will come out completely without any issues. Dont make a video and provide poor information doing it.
You are right! I agree, if you can and if you have all the parts replace it ! But if you don’t have all the parts, quick repair will work but only temporary
