Chevy Equinox- Devil in Disguise?

MustangIIMatt said:

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

Click to expand...

MustangIIMatt said:

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.

Click to expand...