2013 Sonic leaking coolant/fluid under the oil filter area

[Parrot]

Hey all,

So I'll admit I am NOT the most car savvy, but I have located a leak of coolant under my oil filter area. I am assuming it is coolant because of the white smoke that the car produces when the coolant burns combined with the smell. I can try to take a picture of the area tomorrow if needed, just curious if anyone would have an idea of what this could be. The car does not overheat currently.

I realized I could have a leak because of the combination of smoke/burning smell/and before the smoke I could smell coolant inside the cabin of my Sonic. The coolant reservoir also almost looks dirty, with condensation on the inside. Not sure if this means anything, but figured I would throw that out there as well!

2013 Chevrolet Sonic LS 4 Cylinders H 1.8L MFI FFV DOHC

 

[Gobinator98]

Hey all,

So I'll admit I am NOT the most car savvy, but I have located a leak of coolant under my oil filter area. I am assuming it is coolant because of the white smoke that the car produces when the coolant burns combined with the smell. I can try to take a picture of the area tomorrow if needed, just curious if anyone would have an idea of what this could be. The car does not overheat currently.

I realized I could have a leak because of the combination of smoke/burning smell/and before the smoke I could smell coolant inside the cabin of my Sonic. The coolant reservoir also almost looks dirty, with condensation on the inside. Not sure if this means anything, but figured I would throw that out there as well!

2013 Chevrolet Sonic LS 4 Cylinders H 1.8L MFI FFV DOHC

Sounds like the oil cooler needs replaced on your engine. Seems to be a common occurrence on the 1.8l engines at least. Could you possibly take some pictures of the area where it is leaking?


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[Parrot]

Sounds like the oil cooler needs replaced on your engine. Seems to be a common occurrence on the 1.8l engines at least. Could you possibly take some pictures of the area where it is leaking?


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Yeah! Here's some pics. Included a pic of the coolant reservoir as well. Thanks!!

 

[Gobinator98]

Definitely looks like the oil cooler needs replaced. You should also buy a new reservoir tank because you can’t really flush it out and clean it really good. Have you checked to make sure the oil and coolant haven’t mixed? As long as it’s just the coolant leaking externally, you should be fine to just replace them two parts.


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[Smartdave]

Do you have oil in your coolant reservoir? When my oil cooler failed it pumped some oil into the coolant system which resulted in a oily sludge building up on the coolant reservoir cap

Can you take a pic of the underside of the cap?



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[Z71]

To inspect where the leak may be coming from, remove the exhaust manifold shield to expose the oil cooler. l would run the engine without the shield to see if there is coolant dripping somewhere from the oil cooler.