Manufacturers are pushing thinner oils and longer oil change intervals while also making engines as cheaply as possible, the days of the overbuilt 3800 V6 and the like are sadly over
@@bendino9016 that's the whole point of a swap. Make it fit. Make it better. Most of the auto world has been covered on TH-cam, it is time for the plentiful 3800 to shine and get a new life replacing these over engineered turbo I4s!
Running 0W20 oil isn't an issue. It's the intervals and the crap designs of some engines. Plenty of older Toyotas spec'd with 0W20 oil running just fine out there.
I can tell by the looks of the underside of that valve cover that this engine went long intervals between oil changes. More than likely the rings are coked up and you are way low on compression or the pistons are cracked. That is the second most common failure with these engines. Call a scrapper and get an engine on the way, you're going to need it. I just bought a replacement LFV for a 2016 Malibu that had 22k miles on it for $2200. Reman's are astronomically priced and a crate engine is more than half the value of that car. There are so many of these Equinox's and Malibu's on the road that the part's breakers have tons of them. Try and get the lowest mileage engine that you can. Anything over 50k miles and you are going to gamble that it will be in the same condition.
I agree this engine looks like it's been driven hard and put away wet. My friend is a mechanic and his wife owns a 2018 Equinox 1.5t they never had a problem with the engine, it gets regular oil changes since there bought it it has about 85,000 through 90,000 thousand miles on it and it runs great! This engine looks like it failed because of lack of proper maintenance....just look at that oil it looks like mud...when was the last time the oil was changed they don't mention that. This can happen to any brand of car that's not properly taken care of don't blame the manufacturer because you couldn't follow a maintenance schedule!
This is a perfect example of what not to do. Fixing today’s modern cars is not as simple as some portray on TH-cam. Just because you didn't have a trouble code to guide you doesn't mean there aren't non-intrusive ways to test components without disassembly. You ended up doing a lot of unnecessary work based on assumptions without conducting any diagnostic testing. It's important to rely on proper diagnostics rather than guesswork to avoid unnecessary repairs. Fortunately, this was on a friend’s car and not a customer, but it's still crucial to approach repairs with thorough diagnostics to ensure accurate and effective solutions.
I bought my wife a 2019 Equinox Redline with the 2L engine. It has 75K miles now and still runs as well as the day we bought it. I have had to fix a broken wire on one of the back up sensors and replace the tires. Oddly enough the factory tires lasted longer than any other vehicle I have ever owned. Hate away on the equinox all you like.
5k max full synthetic oil changes on any domestic turd. When the vacuum pump fails, it sets a code for low vacuum at the brake booster. If that code isn't there, the pump didn't fail, and the cam is fine. Small displacement turbo engines eat plugs like it's their diet. Always start there and do a compression test, leak down, and use a borescope before proceeding.
You have got me hooked on this now, so you and Eric must find the problem asap! The suspense is killing me and I am starting to lose sleep over this ! Well, not really but , let’s hope that it is only one problem and not a combination of things.
It’s the result of letting accountants run the company instead of engineers. This is what Mercedes did in the mid 1990s destroying their own reputation.
This is what happens when you engineer engines for gas mileage and emissions only and completely ignore reliability. GM makes some of the worst quality engines in the world. Sad
I just lost my job with a leased vehicle drive away company and almost half or more of the vehicles we managed were Chevy Equinox's and that got me thinking, "Were these vehicles produced soley to be leased?" and lo and behold, I found an article that states that the Equinox was the most leased vehicle for a few years. Makes sense, they are POS and made to be driven and junked when they are no longer profitable.
The milky oil can be a oil mix caused by synthetic mixed with veg or mineral based oil. A cheap junk oil put in at a quick change oil/ filter if you are lucky place.
@@kc0lif Wax. Some mineral oil can form a waxy precipitant at cold temperatures. This wax can rise along the oil's upper surface and/or may be simply a hazy suspension within the body of the oil. Other Insolubles. A hazy or milky appearance can result from mixed incompatible oils, glycol contamination, grease suspensions and a host of other impurities. Many of these contaminants will affect both the colour and clarity of the oil.
Fords are known for throwaway vehicles. Escape, fusion, ecosport, etc. basically anything with an ecoboom engine. GM/Chevy are doin quite well with their engines compared to FoRd.
These modern day cars/engines are built to be difficult to repair to get you to have the car serviced at the dealership. That makes for repeat business for the dealership.
I have a 2019 GMC Terrain Denali 2.0 turbo. I change with Costco synthetic oil every 5k miles and 60k miles in drives like the day I bought it new. AWD on it’s really quick off the line. This Eq was purchased used and probably wasn’t taken care of with regular maintenance by the previous owner. Just traded in my 2014 Buick Lacrosse with the 3.6 120k miles no problems again every 5k Costco Synth for a Bolt Euv which I’m really liking. No more gas no maintenance and it’s very zippy around town. One pedal driving is awesome and 9” screen all in under $20k with tax credit and trade.
Did you check crank/cam timing? If it somehow skipped at the crank you will hate yourself for putting it all back together and having to pull it apart again.
Okay…so I’m hooked now, I’ll be back for the next episode of ‘What’s Wrong with the 2019 Equinox’. I currently own a 2020 LS FWD, and I can’t wait for this kind of fun! 🤩
When the crank position sensor goes bad, the ignition system and ECM don't get pulses to know the engine is spinning (by starter), so the ignition system and fuel system just stop working like the engine is not spinning. Therefore no codes. At least that is how the crank position sensor works on my 2005 LeSabre with the 3800 in it. Probably one of the last passenger car engines to be able to run half a million miles without internal destruction.
My GMH 03 (Australian) with a 3.8 L v6 only has 80k miles with two faults I fixed myself, so the coil pack module failed and the stereo amp failed and caused a battery draw.
Remember when you had an engine that had no coolant. No computers. No electronics, No oil filter? And the valve covers came off with a flick of a screwdriver? VW remembers
The thing that’s bugging me in the first video there was no RPM showing when you were cranking it, which tells me crank position sensor is faulting/ temperamental 🤷🏼♂️
There's a lot of guessing going on with no real diagnosing. Scoping the timing and comparing to known good signals would have verified the reluctor position with no disassembly.
I had a freshly built LS dyno broken in with all new sensors. Onec installed, If I could get it started it would run like crap. No codes. I refused to believe it was a sensor due to them being all new oem and no codes. While chasing grounds my buddy was holding the scan tool and was like dude you have no rpm while cranking. Sure enough swapped the crank sensor and i fired right up and ran great.
This is exactly why I love the mid-1990s Saturn S series, so easy to work on, I have one of those but I also have a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu with the same engine, 187K miles and I've had zero issues, it's been a very good car and it has a CVT that is still working flawlessly
Hubby and I just bought a 2018 1LT and I'm now VERY glad that it does not have the turbo. We went on the recommendation of a friend who put 185k on her 2018 (She was doing a Phd in nursing in 2 states over and drove back and forth.) She never had one problem out of hers but used full synthetic oil...hers also wasn't the turbo. I'll gladly take less power to not have the troubles.
Id replace that PCV valve thats on the bottom side of that valve cover while you have it off. It also has a very small hole in it that gets plugged when the oil isn't changed on time. Yet another bright idea by GM
I have owned a 2012 Cruze, a 2015 Sonic, both with 1.4T gen1. Currently have a 2018 Cruze with a gen2 1.4T, the same engine family as this Equinox. I have 135k miles on my 2018, all trouble-free. The biggest issues I've seen with these engines, are people not changing the oil frequently enough, or using the wrong oil. Since 2017, all GM cars require a full synthetic oil, now dexos gen3. Dealership oil change price is a deal vs anywhere else when this is considered. Guarantee most people are not putting full synthetic oil in at their local oil change place. I'd suspect compression issues, rings coked up with crud. It's a turbo engine, it needs full synthetic oil.
man GM gone down hill when in it comes to engine quality. Remember the legendary 3.8? Bulletproof engines! especially when they supercharged them too! I wish these engines were back in production
Still driving one of the supercharged ones. :-) I also have a 2019 one of these. I like my 24 year old Bonneville more though. I'm either getting rid of the equinox, or if I decide to keep it, gutting the electronics to make it a "dumb" car and engine swapping at some point. I hate modern cars so much.
Somewhere in a boardroom ten years ago: "Well, we could do it THIS way and it will cause 40% of our engines to die prematurely, but we'll save two dollars making every vehicle!"
A lot of short run intervals would definitely explain the slight milkiness of the oil. It doesn’t look like it was maintained well in its previous life either.
Here in Brazil these engines are terrible, it has a timing rubber belt inside the engine, when that goes bad it mess the timing really bad, idk if in the US they use the same engine, but it's something to look after, good luck for you my friend =D
@@johnmitchell8925 here in Brazil, GM, Fiat and Jeep had the stupid idea of putting rubber belt inside the engine, it would not last 60k KM (around 40k miles), Ford is also doing this in Brazil, it's awful =/
You should of done a compression check 1st. I advised that in the 1st video. No need to pull the valve cover 1st. I have heard of the cam mechanism slipping on the cam & creating timing issues. The engine sounds like it's out of time to me.
Now I think I know why so many of those cars have been showing up on second and third tier used car dealerships in our area. Nobody wanted to pay for the labor part of the repair bills.
I notice that with low-end dealers also. You'll seeEquinoxes, Dodge Nitros, Malibus, Ford Escapes, Jeep Compasses, etc. At these types of dealers you you will not see anything Japanese.
@@scottk.8494 Oh you'll see Nissans, cause they are junk as well. But yeah hardly ever Honda or Toyota products cause they can't snag them cheap enough at auctions to make $$$ on them. Also A LOT of these places have old rental cars, which are mostly junk Korean(anything small GM/Hyundia/Kia), Ford, or Fiats(masquerading as MOPARS)
@@scottk.8494I'm pretty sure it would be a close "race" between any of the vehicles you mentioned for number of units seen on the lots of lower end used car dealerships around here. And until you mentioned it, I had not thought much about the very, very few Japanese cars and trucks I've seen on those same lots. Now if we start talking cars produced in South Korea that would be an entirely different matter with some of those cars looking almost brand new inside and out and having relatively low mileage showing. Despite outward appearances and lowish mileage, I would not trust my hard-earned retirement money on any of them.
i recently leased one of these . There is no way i would have a car longer than the warranty today,although i did get a free engine put in my Kia at 109k miles ,you cant beat that .
The water/oil mix in the intake could just be moisture from the engine not getting up to temp for long enough to evaporate the moisture that forms naturally from temperature changes. This is a common issue in older 2.0 VW engines, The engines would get this nasty yellow thick sludge under the oil cap and PCV system because the engine doesn't get hot enough to burn the moisture out and thus creates this oily watery mixture, VW tried to remedy this with a PCV heater which didn't work.
Our 2012 Equinox base 4 cylinder ran fine until they replaced a leaky water pump. We were told by some people that the pump is connected to the timing chain somehow. Chevy said it's not. But it runs different from before the replacement.
@dreadfulsimplicity6944 there is a weird noise when you're accelerating and the remote start is always toss up whether the car stays running. The car is presently getting another water pump because the aftermarket one is leaking now. It's under warranty and I paid extra for a factory pump. They said they are having trouble with the timing.
Like others have said here likely the balance chain tensioner was not reset because the replacement pump was done using the holding tool and the chain moved just enough to let the tensioner extend to max. It is resettable but the timing cover is coming off for sure. Honestly had it been done on first replacement only adds like another 20 minutes plus new timing cover gasket to the job. BTW the delco replacement pumps are not very good. Have done two on GMC terrains (one 2011, one 2013) and the aftermarket pumps by Napa are much better and have better warranties. Also used water/glycol resistant RTV along with the pump gasket...close to 100K since the replacement on the 2013 and still going strong. Sold the 2011 as a flip but it was also running fine with no leaks. This craziness that they dropped in to replace the old 2.4 seems to be even worse! Aside from the turbo and its additional "stuff", why would they put the DI stuff on top? On the old engine it is behind the Intake manifold in the front...valve cover gasket is a 20 minute job. Methinks planned obsolescence was designed into this motor.
My in laws owned one of these and mentioned that they would sell it before 60k miles. Crazy that there’s a known mileage failure with these and people still buy them.
@@morstyrannis1951 the car is trashed before 100k miles and 5 years. And every gen of the equinox had some major problems…..they should discontinue this garbage
In hindsight, would you have done the compression and leak down check before any disassembly? Could you have put a scope on it and checked valve, ignition and injector pulse timing before any disassembly?
Definitely cranks like it's got a compression issue, I'm guessing it has probably jumped teeth on the timing chain, you didn't mention anything about verifying the cam/crank timing? The crank is most likely a few teeth advanced, and/or the cams are out of time with each other, perhaps all of the above👍
@@stevenewsam6698 Yep for sure, a lot of work to go back in there again, something's not quite right. Hopefully JR did verify it but just forgot to mention in the video. And...then there's still the mystery of the forbidden coolant milkshake to investigate🤣
I saw a video where the reluctor came apart. The guy spun the engine by hand, and as the reluctor was rotating, you could see the sensor part of the reluctor shift as the reluctor rotated.
@zacharywhite8230 If I remember correctly, it was South Main Auto. I don't remember what car make it was, but I figure the cam reluctors are probably all about the same design.
We have the same 2019 equinox with the 1.5l. The intercooler on these engines gets condensation build up, mixed with oil, and in the winter months the water freezes. Remove the bumper and pull the intercooler to clean it out, i bet it's full of sludge like what you saw, run hot water through until it comes out clean and put it back together, unfortunately its a bad design.
The ecotec engines are prone to moisture buid up, so the milky oil is common as a wet dry wet dry rotations washing the junk off the walls of the block.
I bought a 1978 Toyota Celica 5 speed manual. The engine, transmission, brakes, suspension and steering were very good. The body tended to rust out and the interior had the most plastic of any car I’ve seen, including the seats. It was a very reliable car for the money and I’m sorry that I traded it in on a 1988 Subaru GL 4WD wagon. This was the most under powered and lifeless car we have ever owned. Hard to work on with that boxer engine and very thin panels. Should have bought a Camry station wagon instead😥😥😥
Our 2020 Chevy Equinox just failed on us. There was a smell of burned rubber. Then there was a dashboard message: "Reduced Engine Power." After that, the engine light came on. We had it digitally scanned at a nearby Auto Zone which informed us there was a failed turbocharger. We drove home and haven't driven it in two days because the dealership was closed for the weekend. We are at 50,000 mileage. I did find a class action lawsuit online as Chevy knew about this defect since 2019 and should have ceased selling this defective engine. Normal turbochargers may fail after 150,000-200,000 miles.
how does it go from running to not running if it wear? Shouldn't there be some time of not running well first? Maybe back to the basics to check the spark and spray in some starting fluid. I bet you were on the right track with computer/sensor issues.
What about checking the imobilizer if she had an aftermarket key phob that accidentally got erased you may just need to relearn the key to get it to work
I had a similar discover on a fe390 useing coolant no visible leaks. Cracked lifter valley. With operating temps at 210 coolant boils off will not show up on dip stick
A lot of car lots buy these from rental car companies and advertise them as one owner vehicle's. You really need to do your home work when buying a used car and get all the maintenance records
I was just looking at listings for them.. lots and lots of sales listing and the one thing I noticed on more than a few of them they are marked as "private/personal use" but have a rental agency by name listed as a contact. Pretty much most of the other listings were marked as "corporate/fleet" use vehicle.
Consistent oil & filter changes with full synthetic oil & quality filter every 5000 miles or sooner. Check oil level in between oil changes. Drain & fill the transmission every 30,000 miles. Never let it overheat.
Whaaaat!? A Chebby bag o rocks with engine problems? Balderdash!! 😂 Got a buddy whose wife had one of these rolling cat boxes. It died a horrible death.
I lost all faith in GM back when I bought a used 1980 Olds Cutlass. It was a piece of junk but it had been poorly maintained by the previous owner and been in an accident. I’m not defending GM but I feel that poor maintenance is a factor in how the vehicle holds up. Would I buy it again, no.
These engines were why I quit working for GM. In 2017, I rebuilt or replaced 5 Malibu 1.5 engines for broken pistons before their second oil change in a period of two months. They had a recall to retune the fuel system to fix the issue, it didn’t work. That engine had 160 horsepower. So clearly, putting that same engine in a 500 lb. Heavier SUV and upping the power to 180 will be just fine. 🙄
I wonder if it developed a small misfire at some point and the previous owner just kept driving it and now the cats are just plugged? Should be able to just remove the upstream O2 sensor and that will give enough pressure relief on the exhaust for it to at least start? My wife has a 2009 traverse and it had the exact same issue and I thought the engine was hosed because it was literally a crank no start just like this with no check engine lights and I thought there was no way the cats were plugged because it was such low mileage, but sure enough the cats were both completely plugged and it was enough to cause the crank no start issue, even though it acted like it was going to catch here and there, it never started until I pulled the upstream O2 sensor and then it was able to run. Did the cat job and it was back on the road running perfectly 🤞
Looks like the 2015s still had those, so they got spanked by Honda N/A 2.4L I4s! I wished they at least included the 2.5 that the Malibu of the same year, had.
The camera was pretty close in one scene and I remarked to myself how much more gray he has than when I started watching his channel. Then remembered we are the same age and have a lot more gray. Next scene, BAM, no more gray.
Lots of very small oil holes that feed, oil to lots of vital parts on these cars including one at the vacuum pump and they clog if the oil isn't change properly Thats why buying one of these used is a big gamble
Boy, I thought the 2017 and Older Equinoxes and Terrains that have the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engines were Bad. The 2018 and Newer ones that have the 1.5 Turbo are Even Worse, maybe Worse than Ford's 1.5 liter Ecoboost engine.
My wives car had a no start issue on a 2003 buick v6 and it wound up being a bad wire in the top wire harness not giving the correct signal to the MAP sensor.
![[Gegagedigedagedago] NEW Help Gegagedigedagedago Nugget escape from Nikocado Avocado Challenge](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hJWnwRC2Fz8/mqdefault.jpg)
Remember when you could take the valve cover off with the engine running? Pepperidge Farms remembers.
Yep...and you could drink your Bartles & Jaymes wine cooler. "We thank you for your support." 😄
That’s what I grew up with 💯
Exactly....235 Chevy!
I Remember poking a hole in a metal can of Pennzoil and seeing the oil inside was Green !
@@lilibethdoherty295 I still have a couple of the funnels that stabbed in the top of the cans. lol
Manufacturers are pushing thinner oils and longer oil change intervals while also making engines as cheaply as possible, the days of the overbuilt 3800 V6 and the like are sadly over
LS swap this and LS swap that...I want to see somebody swapping those 3800 Series Gen II GM engines in these modern day GM GDI turds out of necessity!
@@joeliopro1740 that is a build I would like to follow for sure
@@bendino9016 that's the whole point of a swap. Make it fit. Make it better. Most of the auto world has been covered on TH-cam, it is time for the plentiful 3800 to shine and get a new life replacing these over engineered turbo I4s!
The oil spec on this one is 5w-30, ironically enough.
Running 0W20 oil isn't an issue. It's the intervals and the crap designs of some engines. Plenty of older Toyotas spec'd with 0W20 oil running just fine out there.
I can tell by the looks of the underside of that valve cover that this engine went long intervals between oil changes. More than likely the rings are coked up and you are way low on compression or the pistons are cracked. That is the second most common failure with these engines. Call a scrapper and get an engine on the way, you're going to need it. I just bought a replacement LFV for a 2016 Malibu that had 22k miles on it for $2200. Reman's are astronomically priced and a crate engine is more than half the value of that car. There are so many of these Equinox's and Malibu's on the road that the part's breakers have tons of them. Try and get the lowest mileage engine that you can. Anything over 50k miles and you are going to gamble that it will be in the same condition.
I agree this engine looks like it's been driven hard and put away wet. My friend is a mechanic and his wife owns a 2018 Equinox 1.5t they never had a problem with the engine, it gets regular oil changes since there bought it it has about 85,000 through 90,000 thousand miles on it and it runs great! This engine looks like it failed because of lack of proper maintenance....just look at that oil it looks like mud...when was the last time the oil was changed they don't mention that. This can happen to any brand of car that's not properly taken care of don't blame the manufacturer because you couldn't follow a maintenance schedule!
This is a perfect example of what not to do. Fixing today’s modern cars is not as simple as some portray on TH-cam. Just because you didn't have a trouble code to guide you doesn't mean there aren't non-intrusive ways to test components without disassembly. You ended up doing a lot of unnecessary work based on assumptions without conducting any diagnostic testing. It's important to rely on proper diagnostics rather than guesswork to avoid unnecessary repairs. Fortunately, this was on a friend’s car and not a customer, but it's still crucial to approach repairs with thorough diagnostics to ensure accurate and effective solutions.
Agree 100%, zero diagnostic approach.
JR is a wizard. Instant haircut at 8:54.
I bought my wife a 2019 Equinox Redline with the 2L engine. It has 75K miles now and still runs as well as the day we bought it. I have had to fix a broken wire on one of the back up sensors and replace the tires. Oddly enough the factory tires lasted longer than any other vehicle I have ever owned. Hate away on the equinox all you like.
5k max full synthetic oil changes on any domestic turd. When the vacuum pump fails, it sets a code for low vacuum at the brake booster. If that code isn't there, the pump didn't fail, and the cam is fine. Small displacement turbo engines eat plugs like it's their diet. Always start there and do a compression test, leak down, and use a borescope before proceeding.
I do that on my Toyota. Of course that is about my 1 year milage...
My 2016 camry oil is not even dirty at 5k, I always change it before 5.5k, and it has never burned a drop@@davidcarlson4811
You have got me hooked on this now, so you and Eric must find the problem asap! The suspense is killing me and I am starting to lose sleep over this ! Well, not really but , let’s hope that it is only one problem and not a combination of things.
Thanks a Ton for holding it down and keeping things real, John. I live for your busy work updates man. Keep going!
At least you have a nice warm shop with plenty of lighting to work in.
It's genuinely sad that this is what we've let our American cars come to. This is disgraceful.
It’s the result of letting accountants run the company instead of engineers. This is what Mercedes did in the mid 1990s destroying their own reputation.
@@morstyrannis1951 And BMW did around 2006.
This is what happens when you engineer engines for gas mileage and emissions only and completely ignore reliability. GM makes some of the worst quality engines in the world. Sad
@@Pold497 Only those EcoTec engines are crap. I'd still trust an LS in my vehicle. I have more problems with GM transmissions than engines.
Yeah that LS with AFM is a great engine. Great at destroying camshafts and lifters.
I just lost my job with a leased vehicle drive away company and almost half or more of the vehicles we managed were Chevy Equinox's and that got me thinking, "Were these vehicles produced soley to be leased?" and lo and behold, I found an article that states that the Equinox was the most leased vehicle for a few years. Makes sense, they are POS and made to be driven and junked when they are no longer profitable.
The best thing about this video.... The 2024 Equinox commercial that popped up just after 9 minutes 🤣
The milky oil can be a oil mix caused by synthetic mixed with veg or mineral based oil. A cheap junk oil put in at a quick change oil/ filter if you are lucky place.
oil is oil dude
@@kc0lif Wax. Some mineral oil can form a waxy precipitant at cold temperatures. This wax can rise along the oil's upper surface and/or may be simply a hazy suspension within the body of the oil.
Other Insolubles. A hazy or milky appearance can result from mixed incompatible oils, glycol contamination, grease suspensions and a host of other impurities. Many of these contaminants will affect both the colour and clarity of the oil.
This is basically a throw away engine.
throw away car. complete trash.
We have 2014 and 2020. So far I have no complains at all. Bought both brand new. I do my own maintenance@@bendino9016
“Basically”? No it’s legit 💯 a throw away engine. 😂😂😂
Isn’t every 4cyl lmao
Fords are known for throwaway vehicles. Escape, fusion, ecosport, etc. basically anything with an ecoboom engine. GM/Chevy are doin quite well with their engines compared to FoRd.
These modern day cars/engines are built to be difficult to repair to get you to have the car serviced at the dealership. That makes for repeat business for the dealership.
I have a 2019 GMC Terrain Denali 2.0 turbo. I change with Costco synthetic oil every 5k miles and 60k miles in drives like the day I bought it new. AWD on it’s really quick off the line. This Eq was purchased used and probably wasn’t taken care of with regular maintenance by the previous owner. Just traded in my 2014 Buick Lacrosse with the 3.6 120k miles no problems again every 5k Costco Synth for a Bolt Euv which I’m really liking. No more gas no maintenance and it’s very zippy around town. One pedal driving is awesome and 9” screen all in under $20k with tax credit and trade.
I believe it books out 5 hours to r&r the valve cover, crazy!
Did you check crank/cam timing? If it somehow skipped at the crank you will hate yourself for putting it all back together and having to pull it apart again.
The Wizard says the Equinox is a car to avoid.
They are blowing rear main seals like crazy
Okay…so I’m hooked now, I’ll be back for the next episode of ‘What’s Wrong with the 2019 Equinox’. I currently own a 2020 LS FWD, and I can’t wait for this kind of fun! 🤩
I feel for ya brother. I'm working on a 2011 right now with a 3.0.
When the crank position sensor goes bad, the ignition system and ECM don't get pulses to know the engine is spinning (by starter), so the ignition system and fuel system just stop working like the engine is not spinning. Therefore no codes. At least that is how the crank position sensor works on my 2005 LeSabre with the 3800 in it. Probably one of the last passenger car engines to be able to run half a million miles without internal destruction.
My GMH 03 (Australian) with a 3.8 L v6 only has 80k miles with two faults I fixed myself, so the coil pack module failed and the stereo amp failed and caused a battery draw.
I see 400k+ Toyota 4cyl and 6cyl fairly often
@@mitchhedberg4415 yeah, I did say last few ... Toyota has some engines that go way up there as well
Surprised GM isn't using plastic cam shafts and lifters yet!
WORKIN' on it !!! 🤣🤣🤣
Don’t tempt them. GM is in competition with themselves to see how useless and crappy they can build their vehicles
They would they made it past warranty
Remember when you had an engine that had no coolant. No computers. No electronics, No oil filter? And the valve covers came off with a flick of a screwdriver? VW remembers
36 hp. No heat. No air-conditioning.
VW only remembers those until the 60's, ever since then VW have been almost as bad as GM🤣
No need to remember, just go to a museum.
You burn some paper in the passenger foot well for heat and nobody needs air conditioning.@@kevinbarry71
They are still running around my town. They stopped selling them new in 2003.@@DirceuCorsetti
The thing that’s bugging me in the first video there was no RPM showing when you were cranking it, which tells me crank position sensor is faulting/ temperamental 🤷🏼♂️
Crank position / cam position or correlation of them.
@@mmllmmll22 my thoughts exactly pal
There's a lot of guessing going on with no real diagnosing. Scoping the timing and comparing to known good signals would have verified the reluctor position with no disassembly.
I had a freshly built LS dyno broken in with all new sensors. Onec installed, If I could get it started it would run like crap. No codes. I refused to believe it was a sensor due to them being all new oem and no codes. While chasing grounds my buddy was holding the scan tool and was like dude you have no rpm while cranking. Sure enough swapped the crank sensor and i fired right up and ran great.
So true. Lots more initial diagnostics should have been done before tearing into it@@jimr549
To Eric's sister on behalf of GM and their engineers i apologize for this turd of a motor ... and we're gonna make it right... when hell freezes over.
And thats too soon for gm lol
I wonder why they went bankrupt
This is exactly why I love the mid-1990s Saturn S series, so easy to work on, I have one of those but I also have a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu with the same engine, 187K miles and I've had zero issues, it's been a very good car and it has a CVT that is still working flawlessly
Keep it going !! I love your channel no matter what direction you wanna go with it !!!
Hubby and I just bought a 2018 1LT and I'm now VERY glad that it does not have the turbo. We went on the recommendation of a friend who put 185k on her 2018 (She was doing a Phd in nursing in 2 states over and drove back and forth.) She never had one problem out of hers but used full synthetic oil...hers also wasn't the turbo. I'll gladly take less power to not have the troubles.
EquiNot!😂
The Equinot is back 😂
This job made you lose your hair after the oil change! 😂
It sure did 😂
Id replace that PCV valve thats on the bottom side of that valve cover while you have it off. It also has a very small hole in it that gets plugged when the oil isn't changed on time. Yet another bright idea by GM
thanks for the update. That's nuts. Sounds like a new engine is the way to go.
I have owned a 2012 Cruze, a 2015 Sonic, both with 1.4T gen1. Currently have a 2018 Cruze with a gen2 1.4T, the same engine family as this Equinox. I have 135k miles on my 2018, all trouble-free.
The biggest issues I've seen with these engines, are people not changing the oil frequently enough, or using the wrong oil. Since 2017, all GM cars require a full synthetic oil, now dexos gen3. Dealership oil change price is a deal vs anywhere else when this is considered. Guarantee most people are not putting full synthetic oil in at their local oil change place.
I'd suspect compression issues, rings coked up with crud. It's a turbo engine, it needs full synthetic oil.
With new engines, you must change the oil frequently!
man GM gone down hill when in it comes to engine quality. Remember the legendary 3.8? Bulletproof engines! especially when they supercharged them too! I wish these engines were back in production
Still driving one of the supercharged ones. :-)
I also have a 2019 one of these. I like my 24 year old Bonneville more though.
I'm either getting rid of the equinox, or if I decide to keep it, gutting the electronics to make it a "dumb" car and engine swapping at some point. I hate modern cars so much.
I have an 02 and an02 LeSabre and both run well with the 3800 v6
I have two Pontiac Grand Prix's. 2007 has 170,000 miles & runs like brand new. have a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. Still gets 28 mpg & runs like new.
Somewhere in a boardroom ten years ago: "Well, we could do it THIS way and it will cause 40% of our engines to die prematurely, but we'll save two dollars making every vehicle!"
Direct injection engines tend to dirty up the oil like a diesel so its just hard to tell unless there is a sticker for the last maintenance
A lot of short run intervals would definitely explain the slight milkiness of the oil. It doesn’t look like it was maintained well in its previous life either.
I suspect that with a lot of engines. :( (mostly just sitting!)
Here in Brazil these engines are terrible, it has a timing rubber belt inside the engine, when that goes bad it mess the timing really bad, idk if in the US they use the same engine, but it's something to look after, good luck for you my friend =D
This engine has a steel timing chain. I think your referring to the ford eco bomb
@@johnmitchell8925 here in Brazil, GM, Fiat and Jeep had the stupid idea of putting rubber belt inside the engine, it would not last 60k KM (around 40k miles), Ford is also doing this in Brazil, it's awful =/
What are the odds of neglected oil changes with the inside of the valve cover looking like it does?
You should of done a compression check 1st. I advised that in the 1st video. No need to pull the valve cover 1st. I have heard of the cam mechanism slipping on the cam & creating timing issues. The engine sounds like it's out of time to me.
Now I think I know why so many of those cars have been showing up on second and third tier used car dealerships in our area. Nobody wanted to pay for the labor part of the repair bills.
I notice that with low-end dealers also. You'll seeEquinoxes, Dodge Nitros, Malibus, Ford Escapes, Jeep Compasses, etc. At these types of dealers you you will not see anything Japanese.
@@scottk.8494 Oh you'll see Nissans, cause they are junk as well. But yeah hardly ever Honda or Toyota products cause they can't snag them cheap enough at auctions to make $$$ on them. Also A LOT of these places have old rental cars, which are mostly junk Korean(anything small GM/Hyundia/Kia), Ford, or Fiats(masquerading as MOPARS)
@@scottk.8494I'm pretty sure it would be a close "race" between any of the vehicles you mentioned for number of units seen on the lots of lower end used car dealerships around here. And until you mentioned it, I had not thought much about the very, very few Japanese cars and trucks I've seen on those same lots. Now if we start talking cars produced in South Korea that would be an entirely different matter with some of those cars looking almost brand new inside and out and having relatively low mileage showing. Despite outward appearances and lowish mileage, I would not trust my hard-earned retirement money on any of them.
Great video JR! Keep em coming...🎉
Going from that to my old chevy 400 makes me think we are going backwards sometimes
How's the house remodel going?
I can hear when it cranks, low compression. Most likely broken piston ring lands, We do plenty of these at the dealer.
i recently leased one of these . There is no way i would have a car longer than the warranty today,although i did get a free engine put in my Kia at 109k miles ,you cant beat that .
The water/oil mix in the intake could just be moisture from the engine not getting up to temp for long enough to evaporate the moisture that forms naturally from temperature changes. This is a common issue in older 2.0 VW engines, The engines would get this nasty yellow thick sludge under the oil cap and PCV system because the engine doesn't get hot enough to burn the moisture out and thus creates this oily watery mixture, VW tried to remedy this with a PCV heater which didn't work.
Our 2012 Equinox base 4 cylinder ran fine until they replaced a leaky water pump. We were told by some people that the pump is connected to the timing chain somehow. Chevy said it's not. But it runs different from before the replacement.
Water pump is ran off the balance shaft chain on the 2.4
If it’s whining or making a weird noise from the chain side of the engine they did not reset the tensioner
@dreadfulsimplicity6944 there is a weird noise when you're accelerating and the remote start is always toss up whether the car stays running. The car is presently getting another water pump because the aftermarket one is leaking now. It's under warranty and I paid extra for a factory pump. They said they are having trouble with the timing.
@@dreadfulsimplicity6944some tensioners are not resetable and have to be replaced with the water pump?
Like others have said here likely the balance chain tensioner was not reset because the replacement pump was done using the holding tool and the chain moved just enough to let the tensioner extend to max. It is resettable but the timing cover is coming off for sure. Honestly had it been done on first replacement only adds like another 20 minutes plus new timing cover gasket to the job.
BTW the delco replacement pumps are not very good. Have done two on GMC terrains (one 2011, one 2013) and the aftermarket pumps by Napa are much better and have better warranties. Also used water/glycol resistant RTV along with the pump gasket...close to 100K since the replacement on the 2013 and still going strong. Sold the 2011 as a flip but it was also running fine with no leaks.
This craziness that they dropped in to replace the old 2.4 seems to be even worse! Aside from the turbo and its additional "stuff", why would they put the DI stuff on top? On the old engine it is behind the Intake manifold in the front...valve cover gasket is a 20 minute job. Methinks planned obsolescence was designed into this motor.
My in laws owned one of these and mentioned that they would sell it before 60k miles. Crazy that there’s a known mileage failure with these and people still buy them.
You tore all that sheit apart for nothing. ahahaa HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I don’t understand why people buy these when you can buy a CRV or RAV4. Even an older CRV or RAV4 is better than this GM garbage
Yet people keep buying them for some reason and it's not a good one
They buy them because they’re cheap. They think they’re getting a lot of value for their money. But they’re buying shite.
I gotta agree. Sorry to say I have had Chevy and Ford trucks and SuVs and I am now finally 100% Toyota. Just a better vehicle.
@@morstyrannis1951 the car is trashed before 100k miles and 5 years. And every gen of the equinox had some major problems…..they should discontinue this garbage
Einsteins Best Quote "Stupidity has no Limitations."
@ 9 mins you got a haircut mid video but kept the same sweatshirt on?! 😂
I am so glad I have the 2.0l turbo on my 2018
In hindsight, would you have done the compression and leak down check before any disassembly? Could you have put a scope on it and checked valve, ignition and injector pulse timing before any disassembly?
Fuel, spark, compression, timing
Almost 400k subs, thanks for the content jr
Definitely cranks like it's got a compression issue, I'm guessing it has probably jumped teeth on the timing chain, you didn't mention anything about verifying the cam/crank timing?
The crank is most likely a few teeth advanced, and/or the cams are out of time with each other, perhaps all of the above👍
I agree. Sounds off when cranking the engine. I would absolutely visually verify cam / crank timing before reassembling that engine
@@stevenewsam6698 Yep for sure, a lot of work to go back in there again, something's not quite right.
Hopefully JR did verify it but just forgot to mention in the video.
And...then there's still the mystery of the forbidden coolant milkshake to investigate🤣
I saw a video where the reluctor came apart. The guy spun the engine by hand, and as the reluctor was rotating, you could see the sensor part of the reluctor shift as the reluctor rotated.
Was that watch wes work?
@zacharywhite8230 If I remember correctly, it was South Main Auto. I don't remember what car make it was, but I figure the cam reluctors are probably all about the same design.
It was south main auto. It was the Buick equivalent to this equinox.
@@ryanragan8899 finally my memory didn't fail me.
We have the same 2019 equinox with the 1.5l. The intercooler on these engines gets condensation build up, mixed with oil, and in the winter months the water freezes.
Remove the bumper and pull the intercooler to clean it out, i bet it's full of sludge like what you saw, run hot water through until it comes out clean and put it back together, unfortunately its a bad design.
I know you guys looked at the timing marks, but if the guides are shot, but it hasn't jumped teeth yet, it may still be the problem.
The ecotec engines are prone to moisture buid up, so the milky oil is common as a wet dry wet dry rotations washing the junk off the walls of the block.
I wouldn't ever go near an Equinox or a Trax. Eric is a nice brother! and..YEP, instant haircut at the 9 min mark!
I bought a 1978 Toyota Celica 5 speed manual. The engine, transmission, brakes, suspension and steering were very good. The body tended to rust out and the interior had the most plastic of any car I’ve seen, including the seats. It was a very reliable car for the money and I’m sorry that I traded it in on a 1988 Subaru GL 4WD wagon. This was the most under powered and lifeless car we have ever owned. Hard to work on with that boxer engine and very thin panels. Should have bought a Camry station wagon instead😥😥😥
Our 2020 Chevy Equinox just failed on us. There was a smell of burned rubber. Then there was a dashboard message: "Reduced Engine Power." After that, the engine light came on. We had it digitally scanned at a nearby Auto Zone which informed us there was a failed turbocharger. We drove home and haven't driven it in two days because the dealership was closed for the weekend. We are at 50,000 mileage. I did find a class action lawsuit online as Chevy knew about this defect since 2019 and should have ceased selling this defective engine. Normal turbochargers may fail after 150,000-200,000 miles.
how does it go from running to not running if it wear? Shouldn't there be some time of not running well first? Maybe back to the basics to check the spark and spray in some starting fluid. I bet you were on the right track with computer/sensor issues.
Another example of GM being Toyota's best salesman.
Change the head gasket in case has a small crack
What about checking the imobilizer if she had an aftermarket key phob that accidentally got erased you may just need to relearn the key to get it to work
I had a similar discover on a fe390 useing coolant no visible leaks. Cracked lifter valley. With operating temps at 210 coolant boils off will not show up on dip stick
A lot of car lots buy these from rental car companies and advertise them as one owner vehicle's. You really need to do your home work when buying a used car and get all the maintenance records
I was just looking at listings for them.. lots and lots of sales listing and the one thing I noticed on more than a few of them they are marked as "private/personal use" but have a rental agency by name listed as a contact.
Pretty much most of the other listings were marked as "corporate/fleet" use vehicle.
Please do part 3
I have a neighbor who has one of these, should I warn them? Anything they can do to prevent the failure?
Consistent oil & filter changes with full synthetic oil & quality filter every 5000 miles or sooner. Check oil level in between oil changes. Drain & fill the transmission every 30,000 miles. Never let it overheat.
Whaaaat!? A Chebby bag o rocks with engine problems? Balderdash!! 😂 Got a buddy whose wife had one of these rolling cat boxes. It died a horrible death.
I lost all faith in GM back when I bought a used 1980 Olds Cutlass. It was a piece of junk but it had been poorly maintained by the previous owner and been in an accident. I’m not defending GM but I feel that poor maintenance is a factor in how the vehicle holds up. Would I buy it again, no.
I suspect a lot of new engines fail easily, if neglected.
My 2015 equinox has 243,000 miles on it! I’ve only replaced the battery and brakes! It does use oil and a lot of it!
Coolant? trans fluid? brake fluid?
Great stuff!!!!! Thanks. Now I can go make breakfast.
I just made my 3rd payment on mine and it's in the shop.
These engines were why I quit working for GM. In 2017, I rebuilt or replaced 5 Malibu 1.5 engines for broken pistons before their second oil change in a period of two months. They had a recall to retune the fuel system to fix the issue, it didn’t work. That engine had 160 horsepower. So clearly, putting that same engine in a 500 lb. Heavier SUV and upping the power to 180 will be just fine. 🙄
I wonder if it developed a small misfire at some point and the previous owner just kept driving it and now the cats are just plugged? Should be able to just remove the upstream O2 sensor and that will give enough pressure relief on the exhaust for it to at least start? My wife has a 2009 traverse and it had the exact same issue and I thought the engine was hosed because it was literally a crank no start just like this with no check engine lights and I thought there was no way the cats were plugged because it was such low mileage, but sure enough the cats were both completely plugged and it was enough to cause the crank no start issue, even though it acted like it was going to catch here and there, it never started until I pulled the upstream O2 sensor and then it was able to run. Did the cat job and it was back on the road running perfectly 🤞
This fooken guy went to go get a haircut and then back to work on this car NOW I am a fan
Air, fuel, and compression checks... Before u tear it apart... Where did you get your mechanical experience from
And of course... An ignition source
Clearly that was a long tedious job,JR had to get a haircut midway through it!
These cars require mother's milk as an oil additive
and I thought my old 2013 with a 2.4L was a POS....
Looks like the 2015s still had those, so they got spanked by Honda N/A 2.4L I4s! I wished they at least included the 2.5 that the Malibu of the same year, had.
Woah! Haircut mid video.
You should use the Z06 motor in the Equinox.
@@pkt1213Yeah I noticed that and no barber in sight. Probably great clips work if I was guessing though.
The camera was pretty close in one scene and I remarked to myself how much more gray he has than when I started watching his channel. Then remembered we are the same age and have a lot more gray. Next scene, BAM, no more gray.
The outro is like 5 days later 😂
first video watched after a while. can confirm, these suck. love this stuff 😂
My boss bought one of these new and had two engine replacements before they finally bought it back as a lemon.
Lots of very small oil holes that feed, oil to lots of vital parts on these cars including one at the vacuum pump and they clog if the oil isn't change properly Thats why buying one of these used is a big gamble
It would set a cam correlation code if it was out of time, probably a bad o2 causing the ecm to take fuel out of it
Boy, I thought the 2017 and Older Equinoxes and Terrains that have the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engines were Bad. The 2018 and Newer ones that have the 1.5 Turbo are Even Worse, maybe Worse than Ford's 1.5 liter Ecoboost engine.
My wives car had a no start issue on a 2003 buick v6 and it wound up being a bad wire in the top wire harness not giving the correct signal to the MAP sensor.
Had a first gen Equinox brand new, never a problem....bring back the V6👍
With the Chinese made V6!
GM used to make the best vehicals on American roads, a VERY long time ago.
Timing chain stretch is the worst on these newer GM's
Cams can be out of time, jump timing, stretch belt or chain.
Is this not covered by the extended powertrain warranty since this is a 2019
This makes the Honda 1.5T look like the most reliable engine
Wouldn't be surprised. It seems that especially less than 1.3L is asking for too much, usually!
You keep saying it’s a new car… but it was bought used. I bet that never had an oil change in its life and it was probably ran hard.