Warped Cylinder Head

[AshesToArmor]

Let's rewind to September 6th...

On my way to a wedding, the engine temp. light comes on along with a Code 82. About two miles later a Code 84 joins in on the fun and I start to lose power. So, I pull over in an attempt to reset the codes by restarting the engine -- no such luck. I popped the hood and immediately noticed the excessive heat blaring from the engine, then saw a lack of coolant in the reservoir. After letting the car sit on the side of the highway for about a half hour while I called for a tow, I saw a trail of coolant leaking from underneath leading me to believe it was a water pump failure/coolant leak etc.

About a week later I FINALLY got an answer from the Chevy tech at Tom Hesser in Scranton, Pa. that he found coolant in all four cylinders. No bueno. Apparently the engine overheating led to a warped cylinder head. My question is: did the water pump fail and THEN cause the problem with the cylinder head? Or was it vice versa?

In any case, I finally got the car back two days ago after a completely warranty-funded repair (thank God...). Now I'm just nervous about something like this happening again and if it's a common thing among Sonics...

 

[Sneakerfix]

It takes a lot of heat to warp a head so How far did you actually drive it while it was over heating? Also It wasn't the water pump that caused it I drove my car for over two months on a Bad pump no issues I even over heated once in AZ but hit the heater and shut down once I noticed the gauge going up.

 

[AshesToArmor]

How far did you actually drive it while it was over heating?

No more than three miles.

 

[BradF80]

It's odd to have coolant in all of the cylinders. Unless it was a coolant leak from the intake side of the engine; I just don't see that happening, ever. So did they replace the head?

 

[AshesToArmor]

It's odd to have coolant in all of the cylinders. Unless it was a coolant leak from the intake side of the engine; I just don't see that happening, ever. So did they replace the head?

The whole thing was odd... From the initial problem to turns ended waiting leading up to the diagnosis/prognosis. They did replace the head though, as well as the water pump and thermostat.

 

[Palmaris]

When the engine temp light comes on, please pull over IMMEDIATELY. And as another user has stated, turn the car off but leave the heat on and the blower on Max. It will cool down the engine faster.

 

[AshesToArmor]

Talk about having horrible luck... I came out of work yesterday to a flat tire. Put the spare on in the parking lot - no issue there. Was on my way to Jack Williams to see if they could repair the flat and the engine started overheating yet AGAIN!! Called Chevy Roadside and had it towed back to the dealership that just fixed the same problem last month.

Ugh, really not happy right now...

 

[TopazRS6spd]

Did they replace the head or did they resurface your original head? If it was bad resurface than yeah, will still have same issues if it wasn't machined properly. Hopefully it's not the same head and it was cracked. However if it is a new head...normally i would say a leak, but for the amount of time I can't see it leaking that bad without being noticeable. What brought you to the conclusion of the pump failing? What the fully proven to be a faulty pump?

 

[BradF80]

Bet money it had nothing to do with the head. These techs at these dealerships are flippin' idiots. I used to work at a dealership and I actually diagnosed the cars right the first time. These "GM Trained" guys just throw parts at em. I also think that it didn't have coolant in the cylinders nor a warped head. Did you ask them how much it was warped? They would have had to check with a straight edge to know that it was warped.

I'm thinking the cooling fan wasn't working or temp sensor not working right messing up the thermostat temperature control. Can't see the car to diagnose it properly; so I won't speculate any further.

 

[ChrisJ]

When the engine temp light comes on, please pull over IMMEDIATELY. And as another user has stated, turn the car off but leave the heat on and the blower on Max. It will cool down the engine faster.

Yeah, IF there's coolant in the system which from the sounds of it, there was not. In that case the heater and radiator do absolutely nothing.

Driving 3 miles after it started overheating. It has an aluminum head on a cast iron block, I'm not at all surprised the head warped.

Perhaps some of the dealer mechanics aren't the best but I see no reason to insult them in this thread.

 

[AshesToArmor]

These techs at these dealerships are flippin' idiots.

I'm beginning to think you're right. Three days after getting it back from the dealer, the saaaaame thing started up again. Engine temp light came on so I pulled over IMMEDIATELY and called Chevy Roadside to have them tow it right back to the dealer. Waiting on a call with the diagnosis...

 

[AshesToArmor]

Did they replace the head or did they resurface your original head? If it was bad resurface than yeah, will still have same issues if it wasn't machined properly. Hopefully it's not the same head and it was cracked. However if it is a new head...normally i would say a leak, but for the amount of time I can't see it leaking that bad without being noticeable. What brought you to the conclusion of the pump failing? What the fully proven to be a faulty pump?

The tech was super sketchy about the whole thing. Anytime I called for an update he was extremely short with me and the final answer I got was that "overheating caused a warped cylinder head" without specifics as to what else failed, if anything, and how much it was warped.

 

[kevjam79]

Take it to another dealer and get help from GM Customer Care on here. Ask for Patsy, she helped me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AshesToArmor]

Take it to another dealer and get help from GM Customer Care on here. Ask for Patsy, she helped me.

I've been working with the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center to see what they can do for me. So far they've been really reassuring and considerate, I just hope that that translates to helping me out. It's more than just an annoyance/inconvenience at this point.

If I don't get anywhere through the Assistance Center I'll certainly contact Patsy at GM. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Sneakerfix]

If the head was warped it was replaced it can't be refaced. But anyway the issue your having is that you have air trapped in the system the 1.4 has an issue with that happening that is why GM did that TSP to have the coolant levels checked.

The cooling system needs to be pressure checked

 

[MissingOrigin]

I've been working with the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center to see what they can do for me. So far they've been really reassuring and considerate, I just hope that that translates to helping me out. It's more than just an annoyance/inconvenience at this point.

If I don't get anywhere through the Assistance Center I'll certainly contact Patsy at GM. Thanks for the tip!

Did you get it fixed? I am having a very simular issue with mine now...