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what was the outside temperature?
was it cold outside, was car parked in an outdoor parking lot for an hour in cold weather?
GM Service Bulletin 14882 - Blocked PCV valve causing Rear Main Seal failure
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was it cold outside, was car parked in an outdoor parking lot for an hour in cold weather?
Posting for others that might be having the same issue. If you have had any problems with oil consumption, timing chain, pistons, or PCV valve issues please call the class action office at 310-474-9111. There has already been a settlement for a variety of Chevy and GMC models but mine (a 2014 GMC Terrain) is not included. Feel free to private message me if you have any questions. The more that call the more they have a case. There has already been a settlement for several other GM vehicles so it may not be that hard to get additional vehicles covered.
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You have several choices when it comes to reducing crankcase pressure in your 2.4 liter ecotec LEA engine....
... to reduce the chance of crankshaft rear main seal failure
And improve the life of your engine
Google.....
1
The Ac delco Fc219 oil cap.
If you try to blow through it, when it is new and no oil on it, you will not be able to blow through it, which means that the cracking pressure will be between 1.5 and 2.5 psi.
This oil cap allows air out of crankcase and not in and costs the least.
It should prevent rear main seal failure under cold conditions,
And it will probably will not vent under idle since cracking pressure is greater then 1 psi , and crankcase pressure at idle is less then 1 psi.
2
The c-f-m performance valve cover breather
See post 19. https://www.equinoxforum.net/31-engine-drivetrain/26053-2-4l-piston-ring-replacement-progress-2.html
Allows air out of engine at a very low psi of about 0.1 psi
Or 0.2 psi or 0.05 psi, who knows?
And it does not let air into crankcase.
It vents even when my Equinox is at idle, when the intake manifold is pulling a 9 psi or 10 psi vacuum, as measured with a scan tool. While getting crankcase gasses out of crankcase is good,
a risk of venting at idle would be that if your fresh cabin air intake, which is outside of your engine
at base of wipers, is covered wth snow and ice, you might suck in and smell "crankcase oily smell" into your passenger compartment.
There is a gasket that seals between fresh air intake and the engine compartment, but if that gasket is damaged or missing, then crankcase smell might get into passenger compartment.
1 case has been reported in these forums of crankcase smell getting into passenger compartment, but no details are known if snow covered wiper area.
As a precaution, as a test, even though I have no such smell on my 3 equinox's in a 1 year time frame,
I added a radiator hose to duct the escaping air from the cfm oil cap to the ground, as a precaution. This radiator hose is a perfect fit for my equinox's.
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p..._content=404718&c3ch=Affiliate&c3nid=IR-27795
3
A third option would be
"Billet Aluminum Valve Cover Oil Cap w/Breather Air Filter Fit For LSX"
and purchase a 1/2 inch ID hose, ( the breather air filter is removed and replaced with 1/2 inch hose, and use the provided hose clamp to attach 1/2 inch hose to billet.)
This idea (like the cfm idea) was presented by adidas in these forums. See his post 56 for pictures,.....
https://www.equinoxforum.net/9-terr...778-frozen-pcv-rear-main-seal-blow-out-6.html
The 1/2 inch hose was added to duct crankcase fumes away, to the ground, as a response to the 1 reported case of crankcase smell in passenger compartment, as described above.
This "billet" does not have a check valve, so air can be sucked into crankcase when the crankcase is in a vacuum state.
On a normal engine, this billet would not be good for fuel trims, that is, UN metered air flowing in through this oil cap, then thru the dirty side PCV, and then into combustion chambers, would throw off fuel trims on a normal engine.
But, this is not a normal engine.
As I said above, even at idle, when intake manifold vacuum is 10 psi, I feel crankcase pressure exhausting through the cfm oil cap.
However, i have also once seen, intake manifold vacuum at idle, on my newer 2016 Equinox with 19k miles, after a 1 hour 65 mph highway run, then afterwards at idle I measured a 10.7 psi intake manifold vacuum, and the crankcase was in vacuum also, the check valve on my cfm oil cap was sealed shut, that is, it was not venting.
Also, often when decelerating, intake manifold vacuum does exceed 10.7 psi vacuum, I have seen intake manifold vacuums of 11.7 psi while decelerating.
My point is your CRANKCASE will suck in extra air into crankcase through this oil cap, under certain conditions like decelerating
BUT
that does not mean that excessive air enters the intake manifold through the dirty side PCV,
that is,
on this poorly designed "internal to the engine, dirty side PCV orifice" even if air enters through the oil cap into crankcase does not mean that
It will impact fuel trims.
In fact,
addidas has said he has not seen any adverse variation of his fuel trims when using this "Billet Aluminum Valve Cover Oil Cap w/Breather"
4
A fourth choice for a vented oil cap would be jayTees home made checkvalve, that he proposed in fall of 2018 in these forums, as a method to prevent rear main seal failure.
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UGH!!! $2065.69 REPAIR!! I'M LEGIT CRYING!!
On a cold 12 degree day on my way to grocery shop on Sunday 1/19/2020 I was driving my 2013 GMC Terrain on a busy state highway doing the speed limit of 55 mph. Out of no where I began to smell the odor of burning oil and then seen white smoke coming from the rear of my vehicle. As soon as I noticed it my car's gauges started coming on. The check engine light, a warning to for "Service StabiliTrak", then the warning for "Engine Power Reduced". At the moment my car all the sudden SHUT OFF while driving down a major highway! There was no power steering and it was very hard for me steer my car into the parking lot of Walmart and safely off the road. Once in the parking lot I got out of the car and checked my oil. Smoke is rolling out of the dipstick shaft. I check my oil weekly due to GM's oil consumption issues with the 2013 GMC Terrains and on 1/15/2020 the oil was at full, was of normal color and consistency when I fueled and checked it that day. So I was shocked to see that there was NO OIL on my dipstick and instead a milky brownish sludge on it. So I go into walmart buy 2 quarts of oil just to get it to the Walmart Service department so they could look at it since I was in the Walmart parking lot. I added the oil drove it 100 yards to the service dept of Walmart. The service man pulled it into the garage and then informed me a few minutes later that the rear main seal blew and oil was flowing out of it. It was not driveable so I had to have it towed to a GM dealer. The GM dealer called me this morning 1/21/2020 to inform me that the rear main seal blew due to moisture in the intake and a possibly frozen PCV module which caused to much pressure to build up and blew the seal. The dealer quoted the repairs to be $2065.69 and informed me that the repairs are not covered under the GM Service Bulletin #14882 because my VIN number is not included in the service bulletin. After calling GM I got the run around about a CCM or CMC manager calling me in 3 days. But she said right now they will not cover any of the repairs bc my VIN isnt listed on that bulletin! Why!!?? It's the same make, model, engine, engine size, same problem, same issues, same everything!! Why isn't my VIN covered!!?? So through with GM!! I'm a single Mom I can't even afford another repair to fix this car again. 😭😭
On a cold 12 degree day on my way to grocery shop on Sunday 1/19/2020 I was driving my 2013 GMC Terrain on a busy state highway doing the speed limit of 55 mph. Out of no where I began to smell the odor of burning oil and then seen white smoke coming from the rear of my vehicle. As soon as I noticed it my car's gauges started coming on. The check engine light, a warning to for "Service StabiliTrak", then the warning for "Engine Power Reduced". At the moment my car all the sudden SHUT OFF while driving down a major highway! There was no power steering and it was very hard for me steer my car into the parking lot of Walmart and safely off the road. Once in the parking lot I got out of the car and checked my oil. Smoke is rolling out of the dipstick shaft. I check my oil weekly due to GM's oil consumption issues with the 2013 GMC Terrains and on 1/15/2020 the oil was at full, was of normal color and consistency when I fueled and checked it that day. So I was shocked to see that there was NO OIL on my dipstick and instead a milky brownish sludge on it. So I go into walmart buy 2 quarts of oil just to get it to the Walmart Service department so they could look at it since I was in the Walmart parking lot. I added the oil drove it 100 yards to the service dept of Walmart. The service man pulled it into the garage and then informed me a few minutes later that the rear main seal blew and oil was flowing out of it. It was not driveable so I had to have it towed to a GM dealer. The GM dealer called me this morning 1/21/2020 to inform me that the rear main seal blew due to moisture in the intake and a possibly frozen PCV module which caused to much pressure to build up and blew the seal. The dealer quoted the repairs to be $2065.69 and informed me that the repairs are not covered under the GM Service Bulletin #14882 because my VIN number is not included in the service bulletin. After calling GM I got the run around about a CCM or CMC manager calling me in 3 days. But she said right now they will not cover any of the repairs bc my VIN isnt listed on that bulletin! Why!!?? It's the same make, model, engine, engine size, same problem, same issues, same everything!! Why isn't my VIN covered!!?? So through with GM!! I'm a single Mom I can't even afford another repair to fix this car again. 😭😭
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On Monday morning, 1/20/2020, 5 degrees outside on the way to work my rear seal blew on my 2016 Equinox 2.4L Eco-tec, pcv intake froze. I don't think GM fixed the problem in the older models. 89,000 miles
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Yes. I am dealing with the EXACT same issue right now. Trying to figure out where to start, since GM and the dealership are denying everything and saying my car does not fit in the extended coverage for #14882.
2013 Equinox - Same exact problem
So, we had the same problem on 12/15/19. I drove 6 hrs and towed it from Madison, WI to home.
We pulled the engine, found ice in the PCV valve, completely disassembled it and found the PCV orifice plugged.
I called GM and of course, our VIN is not covered.
I need this back on the road, so I ordered parts; bearings, chains, chain guides, pistons, rings, gaskets, etc. About $600. When I went to swap the pistons, I found the wrist pin bronze bushings in the connecting rods were cracked and broken. I'm having a hard time finding bushings and/or connecting rods.
You would think with all the problems this engine has had that parts would be easy to find.
Anyone have a good source for the wrist pin bushings or connecting rods?
So, we had the same problem on 12/15/19. I drove 6 hrs and towed it from Madison, WI to home.
We pulled the engine, found ice in the PCV valve, completely disassembled it and found the PCV orifice plugged.
I called GM and of course, our VIN is not covered.
I need this back on the road, so I ordered parts; bearings, chains, chain guides, pistons, rings, gaskets, etc. About $600. When I went to swap the pistons, I found the wrist pin bronze bushings in the connecting rods were cracked and broken. I'm having a hard time finding bushings and/or connecting rods.
You would think with all the problems this engine has had that parts would be easy to find.
Anyone have a good source for the wrist pin bushings or connecting rods?
Sorry for being a little off-topic, but seems like if I were told this, i would chase the issue up the GM management chain to find out exactly why you are not covered, and then try to find out why some are on the list, and what is the differentiating thing that puts some on the list, and 99% odd the list. I am tired of hearing people reporting this, but since I don't have a horse in this race, I am not will to waste my time.
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Lynn,
I just got my 2014 Equinox out of the Chevrolet service shop in Evansville, IN yesterday for the same thing: Cold day on Friday, turned on the engine, smelled fumes in the cabin on the way to work, and later discovered that I was leaving a trail of oil behind. I noticed a pool underneath in my parking space and had it towed to the dealership. Cause: Plugged PCV valve which blew the rear main seal. I paid a $3,085 repair bill.
I called GM at (800) 222-1020 and they said, "There is no recall or special coverages, so we can't reimburse your cost." They took my name and number for future reference and gave me a case number in case a recall is issued later.
I am willing to go in on a class-action suit.
Thanks,
Alan
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Having this same issue. Car died last week during cold weather, stared leaking oil. Shop says rear main, likely from frozen PCV valve. Tried special Bulletin #14882. Vin doesn’t quality even though it is the 2.4L ecotec. I’m working my way through GM customer service, as it is wrong for them not to cover my repairs, when I have the same engine and same issues. No warning lights or check engine lights ever came on. My car just shut off while I was on a 4-lane freeway thankfully I was able to get over. GM needs to hold themselves accountable for a KNOWN issue that could cause bodily harm or death.
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Alan, I’m starting to think this is what it might come to again for GM. I’m waiting to see what happens with mine.
There is one suite:
https://www.classaction.org/media/b...tors-llc-final-settlement-approval-signed.pdf
Specially see page 3-4.
So since this includes ALL 2010-2013, I’m wondering how they are trying to get out of it. I’ll be quoting this class action to them when I hear back from them. Mine is a 2013, so I will force them to provide me the exact date and location my engine and PVC were manufactured, as well as the exact date the “production change” took place. According to the class action, I believe every ecotec between 2010-2013 is supposed to be covered. Not just select vin numbers.
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A great video...
In order to prevent crankshaft rear main seal failure from occurring in ice cold weather,
the skillfull gentleman in that video, added an ADDITIONAL dirty side PCV hose to allow crankcase pressure to escape crankcase
He connected "home made" vented oil cap to the intake manifold with a 1/2 inch inner diameter hose.
Brilliant!!!
GM should have implemented his ^^ solution in 2013, when GM knew that when folks drive their 2.4 liter LEA Ecotec engine in freezing cold weather, that the clean side PCV could freeze solid, and then rear main seal failure can occur.
Had GM done that in 2013, then thousands of disastrous rear main seal failures could have been avoided.
I said "ADDITIONAL" dirty side PCV hose, ^^ because the existing dirty side PCV orifice is still functional in the intake manifold.! Remember he cracked the original intake maintold cracked drilling a pipe thread into it, so his brand new intake manifold has an " unplugged dirty side PCV orifice". He did not plug up the existing dirty side PCV orifice.
The brilliant gentleman just added a second way for the intake manifold to suck air into the intake manifold.
I wonder if his fuel trims are still good? . . . .???
I really wonder ? ? because it allows a lot of unmetered air into the intake manifold ......
At idle, his new hose really sucks "fumes" out of crankcase. You can hear it in the video when he puts his thumb over the hose.
The gentleman in this video seems very thoughtful and knowledgeable......
====>>. I bet his fuel trims are fine. <<<<<=====
And
With his additional vent for the crankcase, his engine will last much longer because of less crankcase gunk build up inside the crankcase
And he will not have rear main seal failure.
Finally, since this clever gentleman's set up did not mess up fuel trims,
that would imply that Adidas6804444 simple and low cost solution,
to prevent rear main seal failure
Should also NOT mess up fuel trims.
See post 56 in link below, an oil cap vent with no check valve
https://www.equinoxforum.net/9-terr...778-frozen-pcv-rear-main-seal-blow-out-6.html
The bottom line is, . . . adding a vented cap, wether the cfm cap, the oil cap with no check valve or the vented cap connected to intake manifold,
All three will keep crankcase pressure at zero, which not only reduces the inside of engine from gunking up all yer round
But
all three solutions will prevent crankshaft rear main seal failure in ice cold weather.
I have a 2012 Terrain SLE 4 cylinder. I had been noticing my car running a little rough and took it into my work and asked them to look at it. Found oil and water mixing in the valve cover, clogged PCV, and had to be replaced (valve cover and PCV). The previous owner clearly did not do regular maintenance, but oil levels should have not dropped that low after having the oil changed just over 80,000 miles, I am just over 82,200 now. I am now familiar with the excessive oil consumption and know to check more frequently. The mechanic and service manager said that doing this was possibly a fix, but not guaranteed that it won’t gunk back up again which is frustrating. I wouldn’t have a problem spending what I did and having the problem resolved, but not knowing if it could reoccur is very troubling. I went back to the bay and saw the crap the tech was scooping out with his finger and was horrified. He said that all the right circumstances were surrounding me to avoid a complete blowout. I am going to contact a different dealer and see what they are willing to say. I am assuming that if I were part of one of the recalls it would have been taken care of as such yesterday. I am willing to begin the fight starting with the dealership and working my way up to get this problem taken care of in a way that will completely prevent the problem from happening again, as well as hopefully reimbursing what I had done yesterday. I have always loved General Motors products and I understand that every car can have things go wrong with them. I am not angry that the product has this malfunction, but I am very aggravated that I’ve read so many people with the same exact problem who have NOT been properly compensated or hung out to dry. I do not understand how such a major issue can be swept under the rug, but being such a nice vehicle (and the first vehicle I have ever purchased) I do not want to take any risks of a major malfunction especially as I am trying to start life in the real world working a job and going to school. I feel like at 80k miles something this serious should not be a problem regardless of the make or model of vehicle. Walking out after paying hundreds of dollars and not knowing if it is going to last is very discomforting. I also do not know about the pressure relief caps, but I would like to talk to a GM service manager or executive about those as a temporary “safety” until I can get further results. I do not want to be nervous to drive my car to and from work everyday not knowing now what may happen to it along the way.
A great video...
In order to prevent crankshaft rear main seal failure from occurring in ice cold weather,
the skillfull gentleman in that video, added an ADDITIONAL dirty side PCV hose to allow crankcase pressure to escape crankcase
He connected "home made" vented oil cap to the intake manifold with a 1/2 inch inner diameter hose.
Brilliant!!!
GM should have implemented his ^^ solution in 2013, when GM knew that when folks drive their 2.4 liter LEA Ecotec engine in freezing cold weather, that the clean side PCV could freeze solid, and then rear main seal failure can occur.
Had GM done that in 2013, then thousands of disastrous rear main seal failures could have been avoided.
I said "ADDITIONAL" dirty side PCV hose, ^^ because the existing dirty side PCV orifice is still functional in the intake manifold.! Remember he cracked the original intake maintold cracked drilling a pipe thread into it, so his brand new intake manifold has an " unplugged dirty side PCV orifice". He did not plug up the existing dirty side PCV orifice.
The brilliant gentleman just added a second way for the intake manifold to suck air into the intake manifold.
I wonder if his fuel trims are still good? . . . .![]()
I really wonder ? ? because it allows a lot of unmetered air into the intake manifold ......
At idle, his new hose really sucks "fumes" out of crankcase. You can hear it in the video when he puts his thumb over the hose.
The gentleman in this video seems very thoughtful and knowledgeable......
====>>. I bet his fuel trims are fine. <<<<<=====
And
With his additional vent for the crankcase, his engine will last much longer because of less crankcase gunk build up inside the crankcase
And he will not have rear main seal failure.
Finally, since this clever gentleman's set up did not mess up fuel trims,
that would imply that Adidas6804444 simple and low cost solution,
to prevent rear main seal failure
Should also NOT mess up fuel trims.
See post 56 in link below, an oil cap vent with no check valve
https://www.equinoxforum.net/9-terr...778-frozen-pcv-rear-main-seal-blow-out-6.html
The bottom line is, . . . adding a vented cap, wether the cfm cap, the oil cap with no check valve or the vented cap connected to intake manifold,
All three will keep crankcase pressure at zero, which not only reduces the inside of engine from gunking up all yer round
But
all three solutions will prevent crankshaft rear main seal failure in ice cold weather.
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146 Posts
It will gunk up again.... unless....
May I ask....?
Did a new valve cover solve the rough idle?
Did you just develop an oil consumption issue? Do you qualify for new piston and rings?
My 2 cents...
The PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system is designed to remove fumes from the engine crankcase, and to alleviate crankcase pressure which could cause oil leaks or seal damage.
In the following video, the results of the bad PCV system can be seen in our GM LEA ecotek gdi engines.
Notice the crusty black varnish deposits,
can be seen in the tear downs of this GDI engine.
--> See the 30 second mark for valve train and 45 second mark for valve cover, "black varnish" in this u tube video
This ^^ black varnish is normal for this GDI fuel injected engine, because of higher compression pressure inside cylinders and the resulting higher crankcase pressure from piston blowby
And poor pressure relief of crankcase pressure from PCV system....... It is normal, but it is not right.
That ^^^ video of GDI engine, shows how much worse our GDI engine is,
Compared to the previous , but similar GM 2.4 liter LE5 engine that was PORT fuel injected.
The port injected engine had lower compression pressure, and less piston blowby
And no carbon build up on intake valves and because the piston and rings did not fail from LSPI, ... no oil consumption either.
And
on the older port injected engine, the same PCV system is used as on our GDI engines... it worked as intended on the older port injected engines.
See link below (kappa performance) for same valve cover as our GDI engine,
But from an older LE5 ecotec engine
--> look at Steelmesh's first picture, and notice no black varnish, compare it to video.
FYI, in that "steelmesh" picture, in lower right hand corner, you can see the clean side PCV nipple.
Briefly explaining, any time crankcase pressure exists, say 0.25 psi crankcase pressure,
then the crankcase pressure will escape crankcase by passing thru the "racetrack" shaped hole in steel plate, it (the steel has been cut on all sides except one then hinged down to let air past, and behave like a splash guard) then squeeze past thin die cast wall and plastic baffles interface,
then out thru a sintered plug and out that nipple.
From the nipple crankcase pressure escapes to airbox via cleanside breather hose.
Note crankcase pressure also escapes thru the dirty side PCV orifice... (see 1 minute mark in above video)
but any time Crankcase has positive pressure the cleanside PCV breather hose also allows crankcase pressure to escape.
http://www.kappaperformance.com/forum/index.php?topic=11671.0
In our GDI engines, when positive crankcase pressure is seen, which is almost all the time,
Clean side PCV venting occurs, and sludge and gunk is pushed out that nipple into airbox because of crankcase pressure. In ice cold weather, the moisture in the clean side PCV hose could freeze solid, then boom, high crankcase pressure causes rear main seal failure.
a vented oil cap would reduce crankcase pressure..... reduce the formation of gunk
Reduce black varnish build up...
the GM design PCV is not sufficient to evacuate all the crankcase vapor from GDI engine, .....
As addidas says in post 59
"the engineers did not account for excessive blow by from the piston rings when they designed the pcv system"
https://www.equinoxforum.net/9-terr...778-frozen-pcv-rear-main-seal-blow-out-6.html
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