[cory151]

Found out from GM I have a blown head gasket and a leaking rear main on my GEN1 Volt. GM wanted $3300 just to do the Head gasket. I located a totaled Volt near near that has a completely crushed rear end with 37,621 on the OD. I paid ($538.75) for the motor on the spot and will be going to pick it up tomorrow.

The job bills out @ 10.8 hours but was unable to find any resources or "how to" swapping out the gas generator, in the Volt. I have replaced the HV traction batteries on 4 different Prius, as well as water pumps and other little things but have never done a Volt, and I'm not a mechanic. I do know I need to pull the service disconnect plug (just like the prius), first.

Has anybody done this? Are there any resources known to aid me?

 

[saghost]

Welcome. Quite an ambitious project for your first Volt experience.

Haven't really seen it done - I assume the GM shop manual would be the best set of directions. I do know that if the MSD is out while 12V power is on the car, you need a dealer computer to reset the resulting codes (not just any code reader/scanner.)

 

[TheBlueFlash]

There's no resources out there because nobody has needed to do this yet I would imagine, thus far full engine replacements have been extremely rare. Maybe 1-3 reported and they were done under warranty by a dealer. Steverino will know for sure. I suppose you are out of the powertrain warranty on your 2013?

 

[kgvickers]

Subscribed!

You've got that spare Tesla so go for it. But this is going to be complicated. Got access to a lift?

I'm guessing the best way to do this is drop the engine and trans out the bottom. Unfortunately there are cooling lines running everywhere for the big battery so you're gonna have to figure that one out. The AC is also used to assist in cooling during charging so that's an additional complication if you've to to open that up.

If you were local I'd be volunteering to help because this looks like a fun project.

Good luck!

 

[Belgin]

I believe the engine (generator) is part of the Voltec system, hence it would be covered by the 8 year 100,000 miles warranty. Since your are in CA that warranty is 10 years 150,000 miles. At the very least it should be covered by the 5 year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty GM had on 2013 cars.

I would confirm with GM or another dealer that this is covered under warranty- I am assuming you have had the car serviced by the dealer at the proper service intervals. Without documentation to verify, you are SOL.

 

[cory151]

I believe the engine (generator) is part of the Voltec system, hence it would be covered by the 8 year 100,000 miles warranty. Since your are in CA that warranty is 10 years 150,000 miles. At the very least it should be covered by the 5 year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty GM had on 2013 cars.

I would confirm with GM or another dealer that this is covered under warranty- I am assuming you have had the car serviced by the dealer at the proper service intervals. Without documentation to verify, you are SOL.

Really? Maybe I'll do that as this is a California Volt (2013).

 

[2VoltFamily]

I believe the engine (generator) is part of the Voltec system, hence it would be covered by the 8 year 100,000 miles warranty. Since your are in CA that warranty is 10 years 150,000 miles. At the very least it should be covered by the 5 year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty GM had on 2013 cars.

I would confirm with GM or another dealer that this is covered under warranty- I am assuming you have had the car serviced by the dealer at the proper service intervals. Without documentation to verify, you are SOL.

Agreed. Unless mileage was exceeded this would be under warranty for a 2013.

 

[cory151]

Subscribed!

You've got that spare Tesla so go for it. But this is going to be complicated. Got access to a lift?

I'm guessing the best way to do this is drop the engine and trans out the bottom. Unfortunately there are cooling lines running everywhere for the big battery so you're gonna have to figure that one out. The AC is also used to assist in cooling during charging so that's an additional complication if you've to to open that up.

If you were local I'd be volunteering to help because this looks like a fun project.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. Based on how my replacement engine was removed, Im thinking I may be able to separate the engine from the trans in the car, simply removing the generator. Though Im prepared to do either. The car is a 2013 with 118,000 miles on it.

 

[fotomoto1]

I believe the engine (generator) is part of the Voltec system, hence it would be covered by the 8 year 100,000 miles warranty.

There is a separate 5/60 powertrain warranty that the ICE would fall under. In the Toyota world, the Prius transaxle that contains the electric motors/generators is considered a part of the powertrain and not the hybrid system much to the chagrin of many an owner.

 

[Steverino]

As far as I know, you'd be the first attempting this. I think getting the GM service manuals would be in order.

If you do go through with this, please take lots of pictures and notes to post here. Many would be interested.

 

[mpmoore1979]

The engine is covered under the powertrain warranty and not the Voltech warranty. The coverage is 5 years, 100k miles unless there was damage to the car that caused the engine to over heat.

Replacing the engine is not hard to do in this car, I have done 2 of them. I'am not going to go in to the safety issues but the rest of the job is simple. You do not have to discharge the a/c, just remove the compressor and put it to the side with out removing any lines. You have to disconnect the engine from the drive unit, just like disconnecting a torque converter on a normal car. There is a access plate where the starter would be on a non-volt 1.4 liter engine to get to the bolts. The engine will come out from the top without removing the drive unit. You may want to remove the intake and exhaust manifolds to give you more wiggle room. Also when installing the new engine, make sure the belt in on, its very hard to replace the belt when the engine is installed, I found that one out the hard way.

 

[CCIE]

Found out from GM I have a blown head gasket and a leaking rear main on my GEN1 Volt. GM wanted $3300 just to do the Head gasket. I located a totaled Volt near near that has a completely crushed rear end with 37,621 on the OD. I paid ($538.75) for the motor on the spot and will be going to pick it up tomorrow.

The job bills out @ 10.8 hours but was unable to find any resources or "how to" swapping out the gas generator, in the Volt. I have replaced the HV traction batteries on 4 different Prius, as well as water pumps and other little things but have never done a Volt, and I'm not a mechanic. I do know I need to pull the service disconnect plug (just like the prius), first.

Has anybody done this? Are there any resources known to aid me?

I would get a copy of the service manual (can probably find it online if you search around). I'd also get a VCX Nano GM from Amazon, which will include GDS2 and allow you to do any required SPS programming.

Beyond that, it should be just like changing any engine. The unit that contains the motors, reduction gearing, and differential looks just like a transaxle and mounts to the ICE in a similar way (though without a torque converter).

Disconnect the 12V battery before you start and before you pull the MSD.

 

[kgvickers]

This question is really for mpmoore1979 ....

Is it possible that the antifreeze in the exhaust could have started to damage the cat? Meaning, should the OP plan to replace that also?

 

[El Dobro]

This question is really for mpmoore1979 ....

Is it possible that the antifreeze in the exhaust could have started to damage the cat? Meaning, should the OP plan to replace that also?

If it's still good, get the one off the crash car that donated the engine.

 

[timoshev]

I would get MP Moore of Phoenix on the phone asap and offer him round trip airfare on Southwest and an overnight stay or two at a budget motel in exchange for having him stand over your shoulder and advise. He need not get his hands dirty. Consider this an insurance investment in getting the job done right.

 

[mpmoore1979]

Coolant can destroy the catalytic converter over time but I would not replace the converter unless there is a failure code p0420 after the repair has been made.

Also, Budget Motel would not get the job done, 4 star or above only on Hotels!

 

[Upper5Percent]

Found out from GM I have a blown head gasket and a leaking rear main on my GEN1 Volt. GM wanted $3300 just to do the Head gasket. I located a totaled Volt near near that has a completely crushed rear end with 37,621 on the OD. I paid ($538.75) for the motor on the spot and will be going to pick it up tomorrow.

The job bills out @ 10.8 hours but was unable to find any resources or "how to" swapping out the gas generator, in the Volt. I have replaced the HV traction batteries on 4 different Prius, as well as water pumps and other little things but have never done a Volt, and I'm not a mechanic. I do know I need to pull the service disconnect plug (just like the prius), first.

Has anybody done this? Are there any resources known to aid me?

How many miles do you have on your Volt?
Have you been doing anything unusual with your Volt?...Autocross?...Street Racing?...Towing a trailer?...

 

[cory151]

How many miles do you have on your Volt?
Have you been doing anything unusual with your Volt?...Autocross?...Street Racing?...Towing a trailer?...

My volt has 118,000 miles. Never raced, never autocrossed, never towed. About 31% off lifetime milage is on battery alone.

 

[cory151]

Thank you everyone for sounding off. I will do my best to document everything to the best of my ability, to help future owners. Having said that, my post count appears to be too low to post pictures and I'd like to start documenting sooner. Anybody know many posts must you respond to before it allows you to upload pics?

 

[freshcut]

I'll be sure to follow this as My '13 is roughly the same mileage neighborhood yours is. I just recently hit 111K and have about 30% electric 70% engine.

As for posting pics, I believe after 10 posts.