2008 Chevy Aveo5 Not Turning Over

[5thBrother]

My 2008 Chevy Aveo5 is cranking but is not turning over.

Here is a little history of the car. It has 92,000 miles on it. I bought it November of 2015. Since then I have replaced several things on it regarding the engine. I have replaced the water pump and timing belt, the thermostat, battery and connections, plugs and wires, and Camshaft Position Sensor.

There has been several things going on leading up to this car not starting. It has been running rough when I first start up the car. After a few moments it will smooth out and run fine. One of these times the check engine light came on. I took it to Auto Zone and they read it code as being a misfire on cylinder 1. After I turned the car off the code went away.

I have had coolant disappearing from reservoir and have not been able to find the leak. When I checked under the hood when my car would not start I found a new puddle and leak at the connection to the radiator. The coolant is well below the min level.

I have checked the fuses, sprayed start fluid in the air box, and cleaned one of my grounds.

Could it be my spark plugs?
Fuel Pump?
Something electrical?
Or something related to the coolant?

Any Suggestions is appreciated.

[avguy]

Remove the plugs to check their condition, and then ground each one on the block as a helper cranks the engine, to see if there is spark.

[5thBrother]

Remove the plugs to check their condition, and then ground each one on the block as a helper cranks the engine, to see if there is spark.

I checked all the plugs. They all have spark. They are also all wet with oil.

I got a compression tester but I am not done figuring out how it works. The instructions say to test while the engine is warm. My car will not run so I cannot do that. Does anyone know if it will test fine cold?

[Daox]

I highly doubt its compression. For an engine not to run due to low compression something needs to be really wrong. However, feel free to test it cold. You just won't get numbers that are as high as specified.

Did the plugs have oil around them to begin with? Valve cover gasket oil leaks are pretty common with the Aveo. That could definitely be the problem causing misfires.

Also, get that coolant level topped off.

[5thBrother]

I did the compression test cold because my car will not run. These are the numbers 120, 110, 110, 118. I got these by turning over the engine 7 times.

Could the oil on the plugs be causing it not to start? or is that some other issue?

[5thBrother]

I found the problem. The coolant leak was tied into it not starting. My head gasket is blown which is allowing coolant into the cylinders. When the engine is turning over it was pressurizing the coolant which was causing it to spray out.

[avguy]

Head gasket usually only goes as a result of an engine overheating, or if it was installed incorrectly during a repair. Did this Aveo get way overheated during the time you've owned it?

[petrified.rabbit]

Head gasket usually only goes as a result of an engine overheating, or if it was installed incorrectly during a repair. Did this Aveo get way overheated during the time you've owned it?

While that is true, and logical. If sensors are all you rely on to tell overheating, the system can develop an air bubble around one of the cylinders at the head gasket, and then eventually lead to head gasket failure while the rest of the system operates normally. This can occur from improper maintenance (flushing) or related other repairs like replacing the water pump. Never going to be able to prove fault though.

The problem he has developed as soon as the cylinder 1 misfire occurred and has gotten worse.

Have you looked into whether the engine hydrolocked? Typically, the car would still try to start on 3 cylinders, but run rough at first like you described in the first post. If this has been prolonged, you might need extensive work and not just a head gasket. Coolant in the cylinder means coolant in the oil. Hydrolock can be a serious repair, you read compression numbers that were high, so I would think you were not there yet.

How did you discover the problem? I would think you would have blown coolant out during your compression test.