GM 1.5T pictures with valve and front covers off - failed vacuum pump and tons of varnish

[wwillson]

More pictures from Bill's shop. This time a Chevy Malibu or Impala (I don't remember which) with famous 1.5T vacuum pump failure. The vacuum pump failed and took out the cam. This car had about 75,000 miles and obviously the OCIs were longer than the oil could tolerate. The yellow circle is the vacuum pump drive on the end of the cam either breaks or gets chewed up.

It's a shame to see a young engine with this much varnish.

 

[CharlieJ]

I don't think it looks too bad for 75K miles on a turbo engine with most likely minimal and inexpensive oil maintenance. Interesting that the rear of the engine (closet to the firewall) has more varnish build up. I am assuming that it gets and stays hotter than the front.

 

[wwillson]

I don't think it looks too bad for 75K miles on a turbo engine with most likely minimal and inexpensive oil maintenance.

I think it looks terrible. The oil changes were clearly neglected.

Interesting that the rear of the engine (closet to the firewall) has more varnish build up. I am assuming that it gets and stays hotter than the front.

Varnish builds up more on the cooler parts and those with minimal oil flow.

 

[bullwinkle]

Apparently a common issue-

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/07/chevy-malibu-lawsuit-filed-over-defective-brake-vacuum-pump/

Wonder if failure to use Dexos 1 oil contributes to these failures? Or is it just a junk design?

 

[wwillson]

Wonder if failure to use Dexos 1 oil contributes to these failures? Or is it just a junk design?

They replace a bunch of them. From what I understand, it’s a bad vacuum pump design.

 

[MalibuRam65]

Lower quality and extended OCI‘s will cause varnish and other problems down the line. (Possible oil control rings gummed up also). 5k OCI max on these little engines .

 

[MalibuRam65]

They replace a bunch of them. From what I understand, it’s a bad vacuum pump design.

How can GM push a product out knowing of the Bad Design smh not good . People would stay away from GM products if there isn’t a fix . And then you got folks will buy GM vehicles regardless of the known problems . A lot of folks are very loyal to the Big 3.

 

[oldcodger]

I don't see anything to get all excited about. Varnish yes, but no troublesome amount of true sludge that I can see.

 

[CR94]

What's the purpose of the vacuum pump? Brakes? To pull air through the crankcase?

 

[Soft Cars]

More pictures from Bill's shop. This time a Chevy Malibu or Impala (I don't remember which) with famous 1.5T vacuum pump failure. The vacuum pump failed and took out the cam. This car had about 75,000 miles and obviously the OCIs were longer than the oil could tolerate. The yellow circle is the vacuum pump drive on the end of the cam either breaks or gets chewed up.

It's a shame to see a young engine with this much varnish.

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Are you saying that varnish is an indication of pushing the oil too far?

Because if you are, I'm going to quote you the next time somebody says varnish doesn't matter.

 

[spackard]

What's the purpose of the vacuum pump? Brakes? To pull air through the crankcase?

A turbocharged engine often has no manifold vacuum. Vacuum-assisted power brakes needs a vacuum source.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

How can GM push a product out knowing of the Bad Design smh not good . People would stay away from GM products if there isn’t a fix . And then you got folks will buy GM vehicles regardless of the known problems . A lot of folks are very loyal to the Big 3.

Cause "Buy American"

 

[DemoFly]

I used to do a ton of warranty timing chains on L61 ecotecs, and it doesn't matter how religiously you change the oil or the oils detergency. The timing side of a GM 4 banger is always going to look like molasses because of how they choose to do oiling. I bet some chainsaw bar oilers produce more oil flow than what a GM 4 timing chain gets.

 

[Bill7]

More pictures from Bill's shop. This time a Chevy Malibu or Impala (I don't remember which) with famous 1.5T vacuum pump failure. The vacuum pump failed and took out the cam. This car had about 75,000 miles and obviously the OCIs were longer than the oil could tolerate. The yellow circle is the vacuum pump drive on the end of the cam either breaks or gets chewed up.

It's a shame to see a young engine with this much varnish.

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There is a bigger issue here that no one is thinking about.
Dealership's, car mechanics, quick lube places, etc use of the cheapest bulk oil in a drum they can find to maximize their profit.

 

[doublebase]

I used to do a ton of warranty timing chains on L61 ecotecs, and it doesn't matter how religiously you change the oil or the oils detergency. The timing side of a GM 4 banger is always going to look like molasses because of how they choose to do oiling. I bet some chainsaw bar oilers produce more oil flow than what a GM 4 timing chain gets.

Exactly, you can’t out oil a poorly designed engine. It’s like me...I work out six days a week, but my diet ruins most of it.

Some engines are not designed well, this is one of them.

I like the valve cover pics because you can see their PCV baffle system under it - I’d be curious to see what it looks like under there - I bet it’s not good.

 

[wwillson]

Are you saying that varnish is an indication of pushing the oil too far?

Because if you are, I'm going to quote you the next time somebody says varnish doesn't matter.

@OVERKILL did a great job of explaining why varnish is bad here:

Reducing Likelihood of Sludge & Varnish ?

Your oil choice to address this quote : "There are examples of lubes that not only run clean, but scrub off years of previous contamination loading" ? I've seen excellent results from HPLs PCEOs. (grp III, ANs, esters). I'm also a fan of the ester based cleaners.

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[supton]

I dunno—when I pulled the VC off my 17-ish year old Camry, with unknown history and who knows what conventional, I didn’t care. Hasn’t changed over the last 100k under my car (using whatever oil but changed often).

But if I saw that much gunk under a 75k/pretty new car… I’d be unhappy too. Pretty good process indicator to me that the oil isn’t up to snuff and well likely to cause problems before long. 200k and on last legs? who cares, but 75k? eww.

 

[bullwinkle]

I used to do a ton of warranty timing chains on L61 ecotecs, and it doesn't matter how religiously you change the oil or the oils detergency. The timing side of a GM 4 banger is always going to look like molasses because of how they choose to do oiling. I bet some chainsaw bar oilers produce more oil flow than what a GM 4 timing chain gets.

I'm glad you mentioned that-I have been half looking at a decent (appearing) HHR to replace the xB in my sig-but it has 161K on it, and the dreaded Ecotec 2.2 with ORIGINAL chains & water pump. Guessing having the L61 makes it a time bomb waiting to go off...

 

[ssspencerjr]

Reading this makes me worry. I have a 17 Malibu with this engine and almost 110k miles. Oil changes every 5k with synthetic since it was new. Is there a fixed design for this vacuum pump replacement? Are there any signs that the pump is failing before it actually fails?

 

[Dave Hess]

I used to do a ton of warranty timing chains on L61 ecotecs, and it doesn't matter how religiously you change the oil or the oils detergency. The timing side of a GM 4 banger is always going to look like molasses because of how they choose to do oiling. I bet some chainsaw bar oilers produce more oil flow than what a GM 4 timing chain gets.

Rotella or Delo oil would also have been burnt ?