Conflicted

[Kulthuas]

I am very new to this forum and was wanting advice. I purchased a 2012 Sonic LT 1.4T with the 6 speed standard transmission about a year ago for a really cheap price. Unknowing the crazy problems and money I would have to put into it to keep it on the road. I really like the car and need advice on when enough is enough, it has 120k on the odometer and was seemingly well kept. I have put many things into the car which is in the list below. I have spent well over 10k on this car for all of this and now coolant seems to be disappearing after all of the coolant work, my mechanic expects a head gasket although no signs of that are seen. The real question after all of this paragraph is, is it worth putting a head gasket on this version? I suspect someone put many mods on it and traded it in but I have no idea if that is true. Thanks for reading.

- oil cooler
- radiator and hoses
- turbo
- crankshaft pos sensor
- camshaft pos sensor
- valve cover gasket
- valve cover
- intake(stock)
- lines and hoses to it all
- ECU
- Coil pack
- Battery
- Brand new tires
- fixed many electrical problems
- vacuum lines
- purge valve

 

[Kulthuas]

Anybody have some insight?

 

[efaily]

Are you able to do any work on the car yourself? It usually becomes very cost inefficient to repair an older vehicle if you aren't able to do any of the work yourself. Labor is usually more than half the cost of most repairs. I would have suggested you let the car go before spending $10k on repairs, but it's too late for that now. I believe a somewhat common point of failure on the GM LUV engine is the plastic coolant outlet, part #25192922. You should be able to see signs in the engine compartment if that part is leaking though.

 

[Kulthuas]

Thanks for the reply, I have done much of the work myself although some I was uncomfortable doing such as the ECU and the turbo. Ill check that part next to see if its a potential failure point before breaking down the head.

 

[macdiesel]

Is it worth investigating a head gasket? Maybe? Rent a pressure tester from an auto parts store and pressure test the coolant system.

 

[Kulthuas]

Hey thanks for the reply. I've realized my head gasket is good. Now I just have the dreaded m32 whine and 6th gear pop. I'm too far into the car now I think to just scrap it so a rebuild it is.

 

[macdiesel]

Hey thanks for the reply. I've realized my head gasket is good. Now I just have the dreaded m32 whine and 6th gear pop. I'm too far into the car now I think to just scrap it so a rebuild it is.

That could be an easy fix with a fluid swap and shifter cable adjustment, both of which are easy on the sonic. You might have a low fill transmission if it’s never been changed. I changed mine at 130k and 2.5qrts didn’t come out. good luck.