1.5L Ecotec Upper Oil Pan differences

[KarlV]

So I needed to help a friend who was lowering their 2021 1.5L Ecotec FWD Equinox and they had a block of wood on the jack and when they were almost all the way down, the wood slipped off the front support. The block of wood ended up smashing into the exhaust pipe, cracking it and then smashing into the flex pipe causing it to smash up against the upper oil pan. Which in turned cracked the upper oil pan and it started leaking oil. So we pulled the upper oil pan and I ordered them a new one. The new one had a couple differences with a few added protrusions. The company was willing to send out the correct one and we would send the wrong one back, but they were in too big of a hurry and those extra protrusions didn't interfere with anything so they went with it and installed it.

Once they did that, they installed a new filter, filled the engine with the required 4.2 Quarts of oil, but hardly anything on the dipstick. They proceeded to add the rest of the oil from the container for a total of 5 quarts and it still showed a little low after running it and making sure oil pressure was showing. They ended up adding a touch more, probably less than 1/2 quart more and now it reads full.

I am not sure why it would do that, unless the upper oil pan was also deeper than the original, maybe for the AWD model. Since that one calls for 5.3 quarts of oil.

I tried asking the seller and they said no difference in upper oil pan depth, but just trying to get other peoples input or thought on what would make it now take an additional quart of oil.

Thanks,
Karl

 

[RIT333]

Yes, the AWD model takes more oil, I think 1 quart more.

 

[2025 Red Equinox]

Yes, the AWD model takes more oil, I think 1 quart more.

The AWD model uses 1.1 quarts of engine oil more than the FWD model.

 

[PoManNox]

I'm glad you posted this! This confirms what the actual difference is between the LYX AWD and FWD 1.5L, which accounts for the differences in oil holding capacity. It's all in the upper oil pan design.

 

[KarlV]

Yes, I do know the AWD takes more oil than the FWD, just didn't know if was the actual upper oil pan that made the difference. Cannot really see a difference from the pictures besides those extra bump outs. Maybe I'll order another one from amazon to compare better and then return it.