Overheated Chevy Cruze / Sonic 1.4 Turbo LUV Engine Teardown. Don't Drink Coolant, It'll Lock You Up 

Absolutely love how the oil feed line wraps around the header before hitting the turbo, to insure the line overheats the oil and clogs.

The 1.4 isn't very good. However, I've had zero issues with my 1.8 yet. Other than it's 0-60 time of 3-5 business days.

My 1.4L Cruze was relatively trouble free over 178k miles of use. Plastic cooling system parts were the biggest headache for me. I was good about oil changes and used full synthetic. Never had turbo issues. The PCV system was a weak link but there was an upgrade kit available that eliminated that issue.

I got a 2015 Cruze With 312K Miles. Still runs fine. Maintenance really is everything.

You gotta love how General Motors appreciates their customers by making them pay for the absolute junk the produce .

I owned a 2014 Cruze, 2016 Malibu, and currently have a 2021 Trailblazer. I commute 50 miles to work, which turns to about 2500 miles a month with non-work related driving. About 95% of my driving is freeways. I change my oil at 7500 miles at the dealership, and get my 30k, 60k, etc heavy maintenance done religiously. I have had absolutely no performance issues with these vehicles. If my driving was more in-town, then I would change the oil at 3-5k, but because it's freeway driving, I extend it more. It's more about being cognizant of the type of driving you do, and keeping up on the maintenance to keep your vehicle in tip top shape. This can be said for pretty much every vehicle on the road, regardless of manufacturer or model. Great video, I love to see tear-downs of all scenarios. :)

Having worked at a Chevy dealership, these engines and the 1.5 in the Malibu were our bread and butter. Cracked pistons, cracked turbos, failing water pumps, leaking oil coolers and so much more. It was almost a rush to greet the customer when a Cruze showed up. Repairs were good money when it was under warranty as well, techs were able to make loads of time on the warranty repairs, and when the customer had an extended warranty, it was even better. Though it always made me sad when someone rolled up with one and it wasn't under some kind of warranty, those were the customers that I really felt for since I know I wouldn't want to sink in 1-7k into a Cruze.

Love my 2013 Sonic Rs with this engine. Bought it with 106K miles. Now has 147k miles. I change oil every 4k miles with synthetic. I love the gas mileage and pretty fun for a slow car. (6 speed manual) I have drove to florida and back to NY 6 times with it. Does not drink coolant or burn oil. No check engine light. If you take care of an engine, it usually goes well!

Let a 1.4 at normal operating temperature sit turned off for 5 minutes. Loosen the oil filter cap completely, but do not remove. Let it sit there while you drain the oil from the pan. Re-install oil pan plug, and now you can lift the oil filter cap and filter from the engine with no mess.😁 This applies to ALL all makes with a top of engine cartridge type oil filter.

I have the 1.8L version of the Cruze, about 10 year old by now. I do take care of the maintenance, and so far the car and engine are very good.

As a "proud" owner of a 2013 Cruze LT with one of these awfully designed engines, thank you for this video. It's been fun to watch on my lunch break.

12' 1.4 turbo I've had for 10 years. Head gasket went at 190k. Put another engine in, new turbo, new accessories, dorman newer style intake manifold, pcv fix, good tune. Ran fine for last 80k. 270k currently. Got to keep an eye on coolant levels and I don't do boosted launches at 22psi anymore.

Despite many turbo engines having design problems (companies trying to save money on the wrong places), I feel many of the problems could be avoided if people kept their oil cleaner and wouldn't wait on the drive thrus.

I was working for a rental car company when these cars were new. To be honest, these cars were awesome to drive. The transmission tuning, engine noise, and the torque from the turbo engine really made it enjoyable to drive. The seating position was perfect too. Some cars did come into the shop with blown head gaskets but many cars took the abuse and were returned to chevy after the lease was over.

Watched it again. It's amazing what you can find out by tearing an engine down. Great video!

I've owned 3 Sonics. The worst part about these engines is all of the plastic parts attached to it, they tend to break. Mechanically they are very solid though. Also take to aftermarket performance tunes surprisingly well, although the intercooler is too small and you'll have bad times in hot weather...

Even on a terrible engine, it's incredible how much engineering went into it.

I’m sure you get this a lot. Please keep doing these man I love these videos. You don’t have stupid sponsorships at the beginning of the video, you don’t have these long intros talking about off topic stuff. You just show us how this thing works, why it failed and how everything fits together. I’m gonna keep watching this channel until you stop making videos. Rock on man

Thanks for the teardown! I'm in the process of getting rid of my 2015 Cruze LT 1.4 252,000 miles. Lots of cooling issues with water outlet valve, plastic valve cover etc. Replaced with Compass 2.4L

They are great motors. Just have to keep an extra eyes on the water pump and plastic thermostat housing and outlet housing. Everytime they have a high overheat episode, heads always go out of spec. I've known people who have always kept an eye on maintenance and never had to open the top end.

If you even read this, thank you for taking the time to take these engines apart. It’s interesting to see what it takes to pull these engines apart and sometimes it helps me know what I’m getting into when I need to tear an engine apart.

Wow, a blown up 1.4 ecotech with a cracked waste gate seal that is completely unrelated to the failure of the engine... who would have guessed. Thanks GM. And thank you for the great content!

I had to drive from Central Texas to southern California (1500 miles) in three days. Was doing 80mph for 2-3 hours at a time only stopping for gas and to get some food or drink. Took me 2.5 days and had no issues with anything. A week later I'm driving around Los Angeles doing UberEATS and my check engine light comes on at high rpm, gas mileage went down hill, sputters at low rpm. I think it's the air intake/fuel sensor. Going to change the fuel filter and install new AIC sensor and throw some B12 chemtool into the fuel. Checked the plugs, one has a little oil in it. Had the valve cover gasket and timing belt done a year ago. Solid little engine, I've been keeping up on oil and fluid changes.

My father owned a cruze and we loved the vehicle. Engine lasted us up to 99,995 miles then the head gasket blew. My father called the dealership and since he was 5 miles under 100k warranty and had 30 days left as well it got replaced for free. We got lucky but Ik alot of people dont get so lucky. This is the engine that really got me started working on vehicles though as I was constantly helping my father maintain it.

I have a 2012 with 200,000 miles. The water pump was replaced at 127,000 under warranty. I replaced the valve cover, pcv valve, at 70,000 myself for about 70 dollars. Shocks and struts at about 140,000. Still runs perfectly. Followed all the factory service recommended intervals. No other issues.

Eric, thanks for what you do, truly enjoyable and informative.

My turbo cracked at the waste gate as well, couldn’t build any boost and thus my shiny pile could barely pull itself up onto the ramps I used to work on it, nevermind take the wife and kids down the road. Never again. You’re the man bro, killer video!

Other than the PCV issues, it's a solid engine. Keep up with the oil changes and it's fine. Had mine for 160k no issues.

Excellent choice. Yes, this is an entry-level economy engine. The plastic cooling inlet and thermostats on these engines are known to leak and fail. The car will go into limp mode if it overheats, ( I know, lost coolant because plastic inlet cracked) I got a good deal on used manual Sonic and loved the gas mileage! People rip on this engine but for people like me, they are easy to maintain and parts are easy to get. I sold it with 150K , running great without a check engine light and no oil burning issues....kinda miss it.

Very interesting video. I have a 2012 Sonic with 170K miles with this engine. I have had fairly good luck with this engine. It still runs well getting 40+ mpg on the hwy. There have been problems, but none of the serious ones you described here. For these engines to survive you must maintain them: changing the oil often and NEVER letting the cooling get low overheating the engine. I changed all the cooling hoses and parts after 80K miles/5 years and will do them again soon to ensure that the cooling system never fails. A few other comments: 1) The oil filter housing actually is quite good and easy to work on but does not "..puke[s] oil right down the front of the engine." In my view it is not too close to the exhaust to cause problems. 2) Sticking coil boots are a problem. Unless you were very careful and patient, you could almost never get the boots out whole. Originally, you could not buy the boots separately and you had to buy the entire coil pack ($100+) just to replace a $2 boot for a plug change. Now the boots alone are available aftermarket, As you would say: "ask me how i know." 3) From what I have heard, the oil system in the engine is pretty good. It seems that the cooling system is the real problem in that many problems are caused by overheating. 4) I am not sure it is ever worthwhile rebuilding these engines. It is pretty easy just to replace the whole engine so rebuilding just isn't a value proposition.

As the owner of a cruze it brings me joy seeing you take one apart, thanks

I drive a 2017 sonic and I have had no problems. Yes some of the details of the engine design arent great, nothing is perfect. Yes finding after market parts for the 1.4 are hard but you learn to live with. Great teardown nice to see what I can look forward to.

Thank you for another great teardown. It is always amazing to see what has caused to see what happens to each engine.

Recent happiest days of my life - 1st the day my daughter bought her 2014 Cruze with NO assistance from us. 2nd the day she sold/traded it in for a Nissan. Turbo blew at 38k, warrantied. 2 valve covers. 3 gaskets. Water inlet and outlet, outlet TWICE. Water pump. Timing cover gasket, wiper motor assembly.. ALL BEFORE 85k miles. Total POS engine and car.

NA versions of this engine were quite common in Opel Corsa/Astra... They are not fast by any means, but they are quite simple and reliable. I own a 2015 Corsa with this engine, and there is not much to say about maintenance... The only thing that failed in 7 years was the coil pack (poor design), but it's a 70-80e part held by two bolts.

I love the 1.4 in my Cruz. Great low end power and efficient. Haven’t had a single issue. Then again, I take care of it.

Dang it Eric. THE DAY BEFORE I leave on a regular 500 mile trip to Colorado..in my 1 owner 177k mile Cruze Eco (45mpg, 6 speed manual, Thank you!) I'm just going to say if you are attentive and keep up maintenance it's been a fine car/engine. ALSO...If you can keep up with a driveway full of BMWs, you can make this car go lol. Love ya man!

I had a '12 sonic RS with this 1.4. Bought it used and only thing i had go was the water pump which i fixed myself. Otherwise that RS was a great car for its size. I regularly drove some twisty steep grades on freeways but that car just flew. Love this video!

Excellent presentation and thank you very much. Perfect pacing and videography.If I were still teaching, I would love to show this one. Happy motoring.

It's almost mesmerizing when you're loosening up the bolts and taking them out, you speed up the video and you hear the snapping of the bolts as they loosen. Pretty cool effect

Something that'd be interesting to see is an IDI Diesel. Like a 6.2 a 6.5 GM Diesel or a 6.9 or 7.3 Ford IDI Diesel

Hi from the other side of the Atlantic. I have a 2011 Opel Astra J with the same engine. I have 188.000 km (the last 75.000 with LPG), and it still runs great after 11 years. No apparent issues, no loss in power nothing. Although the last month, oil started leaking from the filler cap and even when its closed, you can feel it by hand its a bit loose. Overall very very happy with this engine.

Thanks for the video, I really enjoy your content and the humor you throw in there😊. My wife had a 2012 sonic that she bought new. She was so excited to get it because it had the 6speed manual transmission and I was excited because of the turbo and the fuel economy it was rated to get. She had really good luck with it and we traded it in at 98000 miles. Always had the dealer change the oil since she was given life time oil changes with purchase of car. Only things that were done and covered under warranty was the valve cover replacement which was done at least 2 times lol. I believe they changed the oil filter housing as well. The fuel economy was amazing, but I wasn't impressed by the power at all, it seemed like they had the car tuned really lean which would make since why fuel economy was so good I guess lol. We traded it in on a 2018 equinox with the turbo 1.5 and it was a night and day difference in power. I would be interested in seeing a tear down on the 1.5 if you get the opportunity, thanks😊.

Just like magic! Another Saturday night video!

I've recently rebuilt one of these engines. Unfortunately, all the smaller GM engines have a similar problem in my experience: leaking timing case gaskets (although this one was the last shop's fault). The gasket starts leaking, water gets in the oil, and it overheats. Then usually the head (and in this case even the block) warps. And for some reason I have never seen any of these engines without piston skirt wear. If you can see the wear, it's usually already out of spec. But other than that, it's a decent little engine. A lot better than the 1l 3cyl ecotec

I own a 2014 Cruze with the 1.4L turbo engine, it was interesting to watch you tear down the engine and see what they look like inside, I have heard that some aspects of these engines were not well designed, I did have to do a valve cover replacement recently as the PCV valve failed, and had to replace a worn front crankshaft seal and fix a minor hose leak, otherwise no major problems, and it's clocked up almost 183 000 Km (about 113 710 Miles) hopefully it will continue to run trouble free.

I've had surprisingly good luck with my '14 Sonic with this engine, albeit after taking care of it with regular oil changes and maintenance. Once had a temp sensor failure and the valve cover also needed replacing (another part known to fail on these) at around 90k miles but that's it so far for the engine and just reaching 100k miles now.

Love these tear downs plus your sense of humor never fails to make me chortle! :)

Thank you so much for this teardown. I have a 2015 Cruze (approx 76,000 miles) that I have had for a year with this engine and I have heard good and bad things about it. To hopefully avoid those bad things, I am going to try to keep this engine maintained to within an inch of its life. The only issue I have had with this car is a faulty negative battery cable that bolts to the chassis. The electrical system would glitch out intermittently (radio turning off and on, wouldn't crank, etc). There apparently was a recall on those, but I went to my O'Reilly's and bought a new cable. Glitchiness resolved.

Thanks for doing this one. A very thoughtful approach. As for your comment on air blockage at the front being a possible cause, that would be high on my list of suspects. I think some of these Cruz models had a feature that used some kind of movable vanes behind the grill to block air flow through to the radiator at highway speeds. The thinking was, I guess, that enough air would still pass through the radiator but from under the car. An aerodynamic advantage would then be gained as a result, at highway speeds, from air moving up over the hood in a more laminar flow. Then, at lower speeds, these vanes would rotate open again, parallel to air flow coming in, and more air would pass directly through the radiator.

I have a 2012 Sonic LT. Non turbo version. It’s been very reliable as far as the engine. Knowing what I know professionally about the turbos, I’m glad I bought the cheapest option one.

That looks a lot better built than most. For that much sludge it must have been running extended oil changes. But comparing it to other engines, I think it’s easy to work on and well built.

Great tear down, I’d love to see a video like this showcasing an 3.2L V6, 4.2L V8, or a 5.2L V10 Audi engine.

I have the 1.8 L in my Sonic and I'm glad that I have that engine. It's a very strong and well built engine. I've had no problems with it so far. 10 years of owning it.

Love watching the tear downs....just found your channel an I'm in!!

That engine must have been sponsored by Torx with all those fasteners! Someone at GM hated mechanics.

Enjoyed this one. I have a 2012 Cruze with 158k on it. Owned it for 50k miles. Leaks oil around the oil cooler and it drips on the exhaust. Coolant leaks from somewhere and spots the garage floor from time to time. Other than the leaks, runs fine.

Own 2 of them. 235,000 and 85,000. Valve cover gasket and PVC valve are the weak links, but a very easy (and I'm no mechanic!) driveway replacement. 45+ mpg with the 6 speed manual. I'll be buying another in the upcoming months, great car for the teen.

Nice, very thorough and informative.

Another great teardown video.

Those cam sensors were actually adjuster magnets. They use a magnet to pull on a feeder tube located in the cam bolt to adjust oil feed to the phasers.

My cousin's Cruze with 1.8 NA has over 170,000 on it and is still running good. It sat for a few years and did have a handful of problems regarding coolant and coils, but the problems have been fixed and its good now. It's not a race horse but it gets the job done.

The water pumps are notorious! Great video!🤩🇺🇸👍

Wanna see a gm 3800. Love those engines!!!! I know it’s a old engine but love to see one!!!

No doubt about it, I am hooked on watching you tear down engines...keep'em coming.

I've changed out 4 of these turbos so far, usually will get a check engine code of underboost which signs for cracked wastegate, the vvt on those is simple it just moves a thing to let oil flow one way or another, these are common for chain stretch, leaky coolant hoses on the turbo, the turbo drain pipe cracking, and the pcv system in the valve cover and intake go bad as well. Awesome to see one tore down!

I have 2 comments 1) that massive spring in the oil pump is actually to make it a variable displacement pump, so when lighted load is on the engine I can use less power spinning the pump 2) you should compare the Honda fit rod to the rod from a 6.4 power stroke if you ever get the chance

I've seen a ton of these engines come through a couple shops I've worked at in Texas. Primarily, they have overheated or developed coolant/oil leaks from the very filter housing you pointed out. Surprise surprise, putting a rubber gasket on a cooler/warmer block and then shoving it into the head behind the exhaust manifold means it fails prematurely. Similar to the 3.6L Pentastar from Chrysler, all that heat soaking is just too much for those seals. I've also seen a lot of these engines work just fine with proper maintenance, but the design is still questionable. Love the small engines, and there are a ton of interesting small engine designs out there! Keep finding them!

The amount of turbos and coolant hoses and valve covers I’ve replaced on this engine is ridiculous they are truly junk

I really appreciate this video brother, paints a clear picture of my engine. I own a first gen 1.4 T cruze, 138k M, bought it when it had 98k, had to replace the cat for a p0420, also water pump and thermostat housing, purge valve, and new valve cover due to leaks. Was looking for more info on what can go bad on this engines to get ready to replace it's weak points. ❤️

You forgot to turn this engine over by the crank bolt to see it its seized before you stripped it down ! - Great teardown as always man 👍👍

Keep these bangers coming. You're our favorite Adam Sandler version bro.

"It's not like it's a BMW" as if that was a bad thing. 😂

I have a 2014 with 160,000 miles and its been ok….. The issues I’ve had with it is the oil cooler springing an external leak and the overflow bottle cracking. I’ve also had to replace the intake and valve cover twice. I do all my own work and these parts arent that bad cost wise. In fact i found dealer prices often were cheaper. Its been reliable enough. Now things that have been great on it. Tire wear is awesome on this little car. I just put my 3rd set of tires on. The OE tires lasted 75,000 miles and the replacements lasted another 75,000. Put the first set of brakes on it at 140,000. So i guess you win some and lose some.

Love my 2015 Cruze 6sp 126,000 miles. Things break but parts are cheap to replace if you are mechanically inclined. I've replaced the valve cover, intake manifold, water pump, crankshaft seal, waterline fitting that goes to overflow, turbo feed line turbo oil drain line to block, and just today finished the oil cooler rebuild. Yay! It has never left me stranded on the side of the road though.

Watching you take this thing apart was hilarious, you detached the cam gears from the head rather than ripping apart all the timing cover first which is exactly how GM says you're supposed to do it. They have you leave all that stuff in place and just pin the tensioner before you remove the head, its actually a pretty good design. That's why the timing cover gasket has a perforation where the head meets the block, so when you do a head job you can replace just the upper half of that gasket and silicone the corner.

this is the most common engine to come through our shop. Mostly for turbo issues (internal crack develops between the gate and impeller 98% of the time). doesnt matter which manufacturer (honeywell or garret), they all crack in the same place. Second most common issue we see with them is they tend to bust rods. The 1.8L doesnt appear to have the same issues as the 1.4L.

I got a sonic 1.4l turbo. Thank god I haven't had issues yet. This been peppy and fun.

I've had a 2014 Cruze and a 2018 Cruze. The 2014 made it 85,000 miles before a deer totaled the car. Only problem that one ever had was a water pump replacement. Ran the 2018 100,000 miles and never had a single issue with that car. Not a leak. Not a battery. No engine issues whatsoever. I did keep up with the oil changes.

These are great engines, used in Vauxhall and Opels in Europe. I have rebuilt quite a few. The problems come from the drivers, not the engines. Most of these cars have a temp warning light and no gauge. The light comes on (usually due to a failed water pump) and people ignore it and run them till they stop. You almost always get away with a 5 thou skim of the head. A very strong engine and will take a lot of abuse.

I used to work at a GM dealership in the 90's. The 3.1 V6's had a recall where we would replace the pistons with new units that had coated skirts to help eliminate cold start piston knock. It always surprised me how engines with 60k, 70k, even 80k or more miles would have pristine rod bearings. We didn't replace them, only swapped the old pistons out and reassembled with new gaskets, new oil and filter and antifreeze and they were out the door. And it did quiet them down.

I have a Sonic RS with the 1.4 Turbo. Tuned for an additional 40ish hp. Big difference. Put 100,000km on it with the tune. Engine was still mint. Sold it back to dealership cause I mucked the subframe on a piece of concrete that kicked up from a catch basin in a parking lot

I enjoyed watching this. Thanks

Bought mine new in 2013. 185k on my 1.4 luv. It’s done nothing but run great. Been a great little car, I’d definitely buy another. Idk what everyone else is doing to them to destroy them 🤷🏻‍♂️

Thank you to premier auto! I just may be sending y'all a blown hellcat motor, think it would be fun to watch a tear down

Great video. Informative. Well Presented. I guess I'm from the old school...take care of it, and it will run. Have 2012 Sonic 1.4L turbo six spd. hatch. 133k. Runs like Swiss watch. Only things needed are normal for age and miles. New turbo oil line feed, water outlet, and coolant hoses at 132k. New water pump at 133k. KN CAI, ZZP coil pack, NHK Iridium plugs. Running 93 octane. Regular oil changes at 5k w/DexCool. Runs smooth at 110 mph.

Love the video!! Well explained 👍🙋🏻‍♀️

One day you’ll poke your eye out with those chain tensioners flying apart. 🤣 Keep up the good work.

Having one with 190k miles on it I will say the main problem with the engines is the cheap plastic cooling components, I have had multiple coolant leaks that I don’t think the average person would have caught. Cracked coolant fittings, thermostat housing. Over flow bottle ect. The engine it self seems decent other than the coolant leaks. Also had to replace The pcv which is also known to be poorly designed

Well done,very well explained,thanks!!

My 1.4 has a set of zzp rods diamond pistons. And a borg 62/58. 37psi 384wheel! 1.5 years old now, 57k miles hundreds of 1/4 mile runs. Still runs like a champ

I would imagine that these engines would actually last a while if you ran synthetic and performed scheduled maintenance on time. Like you said, most Cruze owners won't.

This engine had known water pump issues where they extended the water pump warranty to 150k miles. I found this out when I was having some early symptoms of overheating, found a leaking water pump, and looked for a replacement. Once I found out I just called a local dealer and they replaced it for free at 110k miles. I replaced the remainder of the hoses and heater core fittings and the reservoir and have been trouble free still at 140k miles.

I had one in a Buick Encore. Never overheated it, but it started using collant and the head gasket was blown. Changed gasket under warranty, but less than a yr later began using coolant again. Traded it for a Mustang and never looked back.

Ive had my 14' cruze 2LT for 7 years now with 160k miles on it. Mine still runs but with plenty of maintenance. I replaced the head cover gasket 4 times over the years which is a recall part. ($160 each time) Last year i replaced almost all the gaskets bc of oil leaks ($3k repair) Also ignition coils which tend to break off ($90 each time) Only thing that keeps me with this car is gas mileage and cheap insurance. Also had lots of good memories in this car but yeah if you decide to get one just make sure you budget for future repairs.

Great video. I daily a Cruz 1.4 t manual. And it was fascinating to see the teardown of the engine. 👍

I have one of these engines in my 85k mile 2013 Chevy Sonic. I bought it with just under 50k miles and in the 35k miles that I've owned it, I've had to replace the water outlet that attaches to the side of the cylinder head 3 times due to cracking in the same location. This is partly due to bad design and materials (it's plastic of course) as well as the factory hose clamp wearing out much earlier than it probably should have. I've also had to replace the thermostat housing twice, the first time due to a failure in the housing (it's also made of plastic) and the 2nd time due to a thermostat failure. Currently, I have an oil leak that appears to be a valve cover gasket failure but I haven't had time to replace that just yet. Overall, I'm not happy with the amount of maintenance I've had to put into a relatively low mileage car. This is the lowest mileage car I've ever owned and probably one of the worst I've had in terms of the amount of maintenance I've had to put into it. I miss my 2000 Chevy Cavalier. Bought it with 92k miles and when I sold it at 160k miles, the only thing I had done to it in 68k miles besides regular preventative maintenance was a new battery and a new alternator and the A/C had a leak but I didn't really care about the A/C.

My turbo is also cracked in exactly the same place though not currently as bad as that. Never noticed an issue with the stock power but when it was remapped the increased boost does escape and causes slight cyclic surging at high revs and loads. These engines (B14NEJ) do take well to performance mods; Stock 100hp (you can buy different power output but it's literally just the engine map), and with just a remap and an intake they give out about 170hp easily, and can take up to 200hp on stock internals and turbo (decat, and bigger intercooler required as a minimum though) Only issues encountered are with all the plastic parts attached to the block that leak and dribble. That and the general clattery sound of the engine, it's not thrown up too much trouble!

Have one in a Buick Encore. Had to replace the valve cover twice (the EGR is built into it and you have to replace the whole thing). The intake manifold had to be replaced because the check valve for the exhaust gas gives up after about 100k miles - it is plastic, as is the water inlet and outlet with the thermostat housing. Had to replace these as well because the broke from the heat (plastic? Who’d have thought). The problem with the exhaust gas blow by eventually kills the catalytic converter which failed at about 150k miles. The replacement converter is not warrantable for this engine because of the problem with the exhaust gas circuit. You can tell when you have a problem with the EGR because it smells like a hamburger is cooking on top of the engine. Will never have another one, but my wife picked it out. .

1.4’s just leak coolant at the temp sensor at the coolant neck near the oil housing at 60k miles. It’s a known problem with neglecting oil changes(so all cruzes/sonics) probably just got ignored for too long and slowly cooked the head gasket.