Chevy Equinox- Devil in Disguise?

[RaggedGT]

For starters, I love my wife-But I Hate her Equinox.

Story time- She had a Mazda CX7 that had an untimely end meeting a Deer.

Insurance painlessly paid out - and a fair amount more than blue book , so the search was on. I wanted to get an Edge or an Explorer- She wanted an Equinox- I gave all the reasons why Equinox’s where not a great choice. She sent me listings for Equinox’s. I protested. She insisted. So we drove two hours away to buy an Equinox with 120K miles-V6- All wheel drive and had just recently had the timing chains-tensioners changed with documentation .

The First six months where business as usual with an older used car- basic maintenance and minor upgrades to make the wife happy

But I admit- it had a “Eating Rocks” sound when it had been parked over night and First started- but I Pretended not to see(hear) that.

Then one day after rapid acceleration to get on in traffic-it developed a misfire- no big deal- set of coils and plugs seemed to take care of it. For a month or two.

Then the dreaded GM High Feature V6 Death codes started showing up .P014 and P017 - cam/crank correlation etc.

The forum / internet folks said to replace the VVT solenoids. So I ordered the whole set, and upon removing the vvt related to the code-the motor made a “Clank” sound.

I thought,that’s weird,I guess it relaxed the tensioners when I pulled the VVT. So I put it back together-spun the engine over,and immediately smashed the valves on the rear cylinder head. After a short period of set it on fire aggravation and coming to terms with what was coming. I tore it down, and while it had new chains in it-they where done poorly-ultimately the phasers where bad-and the guide that mounts on top of the oil pump was missing- I had to figure out what was next for the Devil Infused Equinox

 

[RaggedGT]

Meet the Donor Equinox-

Another 120K mile Equinox that also recently had the chains done etc. but then got T-Boned.

So after securing a donor- the swap began

Look past all the Hillbilly/ shed tree and utterly dangerous ways I went about removing two cradles and installing one lol.
I was on a shoe string budget,and while I have a very fair amount of tools and equipment in my home garage,I do not have a lift. So 4x4’s and jack stands had to come into play

 

[Noobz347]

All of this just makes me think beck to when beer commercials were about "MEN"!


A group of whores squeeze their ugly asses into comic-book suits and take a ride in a huge penis for 10 minutes, land, and run their mouths for 48 hours straight.


--or--


A dude goes down to the junkyard and buys a truck as a parts bag, to fix another.


Which of these scenarios qualifies as a Super Bowl commercial?


On another note: Car manufacturers... Stick a mother fking V8 into these mid-size cars and we won't have any issues. A-Holes!


You can't even get a new Ranger with a V8... or 2 doors. WTF? It a GD 4-door!

I just don't understand how they constantly ignore the obvious and still sell cars.

 

[nickyb]

I bet the wife's next car won't be a chebby

 

[89ripper]

That VVT stuff scares the crap out of me

 

[RaggedGT]

All of this just makes me think beck to when beer commercials were about "MEN"!


A group of whores squeeze their ugly asses into comic-book suits and take a ride in a huge penis for 10 minutes, land, and run their mouths for 48 hours straight.


--or--


A dude goes down to the junkyard and buys a truck as a parts bag, to fix another.


Which of these scenarios qualifies as a Super Bowl commercial?


On another note: Car manufacturers... Stick a mother fking V8 into these mid-size cars and we won't have any issues. A-Holes!


You can't even get a new Ranger with a V8... or 2 doors. WTF? It a GD 4-door!

I just don't understand how they constantly ignore the obvious and still sell cars.

I bet the wife's next car won't be a chebby

That VVT stuff scares the crap out of me

I will admit- I enjoyed getting rid of the parts car more than I should have -


View: https://youtube.com/shorts/kKccwNsE1IU?si=dW-JHGrvKo9Gfj4_

 

[Noobz347]

That was fast.

 

[Adieu]

For starters, I love my wife-But I Hate her Equinox.

Story time- She had a Mazda CX7 that had an untimely end meeting a Deer.

Insurance painlessly paid out - and a fair amount more than blue book , so the search was on. I wanted to get an Edge or an Explorer- She wanted an Equinox- I gave all the reasons why Equinox’s where not a great choice. She sent me listings for Equinox’s. I protested. She insisted. So we drove two hours away to buy an Equinox with 120K miles-V6- All wheel drive and had just recently had the timing chains-tensioners changed with documentation .

The First six months where business as usual with an older used car- basic maintenance and minor upgrades to make the wife happy

But I admit- it had a “Eating Rocks” sound when it had been parked over night and First started- but I Pretended not to see(hear) that.

Then one day after rapid acceleration to get on in traffic-it developed a misfire- no big deal- set of coils and plugs seemed to take care of it. For a month or two.

Then the dreaded GM High Feature V6 Death codes started showing up .P014 and P017 - cam/crank correlation etc.

The forum / internet folks said to replace the VVT solenoids. So I ordered the whole set, and upon removing the vvt related to the code-the motor made a “Clank” sound.

I thought,that’s weird,I guess it relaxed the tensioners when I pulled the VVT. So I put it back together-spun the engine over,and immediately smashed the valves on the rear cylinder head. After a short period of set it on fire aggravation and coming to terms with what was coming. I tore it down, and while it had new chains in it-they where done poorly-ultimately the phasers where bad-and the guide that mounts on top of the oil pump was missing- I had to figure out what was next for the Devil Infused Equinox

I love the Equinox... It makes me A LOT OF MONEY!

Ford 3.5 Ecoboosts, Chevy Equinox and it's platform mates, Chevy Traverse and it's platform mates, old Jelly Bean F150s, Nissans, and for some reason lately, Subarus, are what keep me in business.

 

[RaggedGT]

I love the Equinox... It makes me A LOT OF MONEY!

Ford 3.5 Ecoboosts, Chevy Equinox and it's platform mates, Chevy Traverse and it's platform mates, old Jelly Bean F150s, Nissans, and for some reason lately, Subarus, are what keep me in business.

I feel like the jelly bean f150 comment is a dig at my poor old truck

Just kidding

 

[RaggedGT]

That was fast.

Truth be told it’s been back together and running since February. Just took me awhile to decide if I actually wanted to post it or not. I liked the idea that was getting kicked around for the other auto tech section-so I’ve added a couple lol

Recently I replaced the AC compressor and Manifold line- also some what a pain-

And a Beauty Shot of my Old F150 disposing of the parts car Corpse

 

[Bullitt347]

I work on them all the time.
I would never own one.
It could have been worse, it could have been a Diesel...

 

[Adieu]

That VVT stuff scares the crap out of me

Just don't buy anything with a ty VVT system.

Honda has been doing VVT (aka VTEC) for decades with very few issues.

Toyota VVT-i is bulletproof except on about five years of the 2.4L engine.

Ford VVT on the Coyote can be noisy, but is very reliable in general. Ford VVT on the Ecoboosts (other than the 2.7L V6) is garbage though.

GM VVT sucks.

Chrysler VVT sucks with the exception of the Chrysler 3.6 Pentastar (Chrysler has made exactly two good six-cylinder engines that weren't AMC carryovers, and that was the 225 Slant and the 3.6 Pentastar. Both of those have their faults, but they're also both really good in general except for a handful of known faults that are usually easy to correct.)

BMW VVT is a mixed bag, some years/engines have a good system that will run perfectly until the end of time as long as it's maintained, while others will need VANOS solenoids or Valvetronic motors as damned near scheduled maintenance. (Most of us at the BMW dealership stashed a known-working Valvetronic motor in our toolbox for testing purposes.) The biggest problem with a VANOS or Valvetronic failure with BMW is that it won't start and will have to be towed in, nobody else's does that instead of a limp home mode. Then there's the N20 and it's damned timing chain (I miss doing 2-3 of those a week, EASY money!)

VW/Audi VVT just works. All of the major German automakers overcomplicate the hell out of things for no damned reason, but VW/Audi at least makes sure it works before it leaves the factory.

Mercedes VVT... Is amazing when it works, which it usually does... but not always.

Kia/Hyundai VVT works just fine.... it's the bottom end of the engine you might have to worry about. Part of this is because they have a "crush/clean" cycle that automatically runs when you shut the car off to get any sludge or debris out of the solenoids. You can sometimes hear it (it'll sound like 5 real quick "clicks" under the hood about fives seconds after you turn the key off).

I've repaired the timing/VVT systems on Hyundai/Kia, GM, Ford, BMW, Mazda, Mercedes, Mini, Honda, and Toyota over the years. The Hyundai/Kia, Honda, and Toyota were due to a lack of maintenance, the rest, as a general rule, were not. Other than a few of the manufacturers deciding to eliminate keyways and rely solely on bolt torque and surface friction to keep things in time, there's nothing inherently difficult about it with the right tools, and on some of them (mainly certain Fords and Mazdas) a pair of crescent wrenches will work in a pinch.

#CliffNotes- VVT’s suck-Except for Toyota-but Matt is a Supertech who can fix all of ‘em

 

[RaggedGT]

I work on them all the time.
I would never own one.
It could have been worse, it could have been a Diesel...

I work on diesels daily-still wasn’t a fan of this project

 

[Adieu]

I feel like the jelly bean f150 comment is a dig at my poor old truck

Just kidding

Not a dig, they just look like a jelly bean with a bed, and lately we've had a TON of them in the shop.

Business partner's son dropped a nut down an intake runner on one, so I had to put a Jasper reman 5.4 in it (Jasper has gotten good again, that engine is an absolute BEAST and has been running like a champ for a few months now). I did plugs and coils on one a few weeks ago. I've got one in my bay right now that was towed in because it "wouldn't idle" (more like wouldn't run for more than 2 seconds!). I replaced the burned through PCV hose causing the massive vacuum leak, and the fuel pump that was only building 25psi of fuel pressure (did the regulator and filter while at it), now it still doesn't idle, but now I can keep it running with my right foot (I suspect the IAC, will verify tomorrow). I put a new transmission in one last month (4.2L truck, SUPER clean with 300,000 miles). I did valvecovers on another ridiculously clean 4.2L truck, and a clutch on another.

People that still have Jelly Bean F150s won't let go of them. They don't die either. The one with the "bad" transmission had just started to slip in overdrive, and the one I did the engine in was running just fine until my partner's son **** it up.

 

[89ripper]

Just don't buy anything with a ty VVT system.

Honda has been doing VVT (aka VTEC) for decades with very few issues.

Toyota VVT-i is bulletproof except on about five years of the 2.4L engine.

Ford VVT on the Coyote can be noisy, but is very reliable in general. Ford VVT on the Ecoboosts (other than the 2.7L V6) is garbage though.

GM VVT sucks.

Chrysler VVT sucks with the exception of the Chrysler 3.6 Pentastar (Chrysler has made exactly two good six-cylinder engines that weren't AMC carryovers, and that was the 225 Slant and the 3.6 Pentastar. Both of those have their faults, but they're also both really good in general except for a handful of known faults that are usually easy to correct.)

BMW VVT is a mixed bag, some years/engines have a good system that will run perfectly until the end of time as long as it's maintained, while others will need VANOS solenoids or Valvetronic motors as damned near scheduled maintenance. (Most of us at the BMW dealership stashed a known-working Valvetronic motor in our toolbox for testing purposes.) The biggest problem with a VANOS or Valvetronic failure with BMW is that it won't start and will have to be towed in, nobody else's does that instead of a limp home mode. Then there's the N20 and it's damned timing chain (I miss doing 2-3 of those a week, EASY money!)

VW/Audi VVT just works. All of the major German automakers overcomplicate the hell out of things for no damned reason, but VW/Audi at least makes sure it works before it leaves the factory.

Mercedes VVT... Is amazing when it works, which it usually does... but not always.

Kia/Hyundai VVT works just fine.... it's the bottom end of the engine you might have to worry about. Part of this is because they have a "crush/clean" cycle that automatically runs when you shut the car off to get any sludge or debris out of the solenoids. You can sometimes hear it (it'll sound like 5 real quick "clicks" under the hood about fives seconds after you turn the key off).

I've repaired the timing/VVT systems on Hyundai/Kia, GM, Ford, BMW, Mazda, Mercedes, Mini, Honda, and Toyota over the years. The Hyundai/Kia, Honda, and Toyota were due to a lack of maintenance, the rest, as a general rule, were not. Other than a few of the manufacturers deciding to eliminate keyways and rely solely on bolt torque and surface friction to keep things in time, there's nothing inherently difficult about it with the right tools, and on some of them (mainly certain Fords and Mazdas) a pair of crescent wrenches will work in a pinch.

#CliffNotes- VVT’s suck-Except for Toyota-but Matt is a Supertech who can fix all of ‘em

I post on an impala forum and ive heard all about the GM stuff!

 

[Bullitt347]

Not a dig, they just look like a jelly bean with a bed, and lately we've had a TON of them in the shop.

Business partner's son dropped a nut down an intake runner on one, so I had to put a Jasper reman 5.4 in it (Jasper has gotten good again, that engine is an absolute BEAST and has been running like a champ for a few months now). I did plugs and coils on one a few weeks ago. I've got one in my bay right now that was towed in because it "wouldn't idle" (more like wouldn't run for more than 2 seconds!). I replaced the burned through PCV hose causing the massive vacuum leak, and the fuel pump that was only building 25psi of fuel pressure (did the regulator and filter while at it), now it still doesn't idle, but now I can keep it running with my right foot (I suspect the IAC, will verify tomorrow). I put a new transmission in one last month (4.2L truck, SUPER clean with 300,000 miles). I did valvecovers on another ridiculously clean 4.2L truck, and a clutch on another.

People that still have Jelly Bean F150s won't let go of them. They don't die either. The one with the "bad" transmission had just started to slip in overdrive, and the one I did the engine in was running just fine until my partner's son **** it up.

We never see them here.
Then again, to see anything on the road that is 15 years or older and not completely rusted out is a minor miracle.

 

[RaggedGT]

I bet the wife's next car won't be a chebby

Turns out-you where right…

 

[Adieu]

Turns out-you where right…

Remember that internal, timing chain driven water pump I replaced on my mother's Taurus in the middle of my build thread? You might want to go look at those pictures.

 

[RaggedGT]

Remember that internal, timing chain driven water pump I replaced on my mother's Taurus in the middle of my build thread? You might want to go look at those pictures.

Warranty

Edit:
They’re all Junk my friend-So just pick the one you like lol