Hey, y'all. So I picked up a 2006 equinox about 4 years ago and have put on an additional 40K miles to the unassuming 152K it had then- I did my due diligence and ran SeaFoam through it on the first oil change, used some LucasOil StopLeak on every third or so oil change and have been consistently losing about a quart to 2 quarts of oil every 4-6 months (lots of highway, this is my primary commuter). After it sat for 7 months while I was at sea (last deployment; I'm retired from the Navy now; my wife drove it on occasion but the mileage didn't go up by much in that 7 months) now every time I go to tank up I need to constantly re-squeeze the fuel nozzle because it seems to be getting backpressure enough to stop the automatic fill (the little kickstand under the lever you can put down to keep the fuel flowing until it gets to 15 gallons which is where I usually get the 'low fuel idiot' light) I'm concerned that my vapor canister may be clogged with debris/saturated fuel caused the activated charcoal to expand (heard about that happening on Click&Clack once). Any guesses? and anything you'd recommend changing at 200K miles because that maintenance is coming up too!
2006 Equinox issues
- Thread starter mpsawchuk
- Start date
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So do you have an issue with having to fill the oil up from time to time or a fuel issue? You said it sat for 7 months, have you changed out the fuel filter lately? Did you get the old changed out when you got back?
Yes, Shaggy, I changed the oil and filter after I got back (October) this past weekend I changed it again with some engine flush stuff and added LucasOil StopLeak this time (haven't been consistent, thinking it's going to be a regular thing now though). My question is more about the annoying slow fueling. I have not changed the fuel filter. Probably should. Have you ever had to replace the activated charcoal? Could that be the problem I'm having?
The other thing I'm asking more for the benefit of many is the 200,000 mile maintenance list. When I bought it I did plugs and wires. (shocks, struts, front springs, a couple wheel bearings, and all 4 brakes). Thinking i should do the serpentine belt and belt tensioner. (belt is indicative of normal wear, AutoZone recommended the tensioner and for $26 on RockAuto it's worth the peace of mind in my mind. Considering having a mechanic look over the engine and trans. Trans fluid was changed at 160K miles so maybe not quite time (60K is still the recommended maintenance interval for trans fluid, right?)
the saga continues!
Well, I think I'm officially a weekend wrench �� turner! I ended up paying the mechanic to fix the fan fault and replace the stuck valve that was giving evaporative emission codes. They also used a chemical flush to clean out all the carbon that had collected which they a also recommend as part of 200,000 maintenance. This weekend my 5 year old assisted in replacing the serpentine belt ($168 for labor at the mechanic) the most daunting part of this task was jacking up the engine (because growing up I had heard a horror story about the jack going through the oil pan- and since I don't h gave a professional floor jack I used the factory scissor jack) the serpentine belt was one of the easiest I've ever changed- once the air box and motor mount are out of the way! I did have to lift the motor a little higher to get the breaker bar on the tensioner but that was about the most tedium involved. There was a great YouTube video https://youtu.be/XnBJYhJDAHs of the change being performed on a 2005 that helped alot!
Well, I think I'm officially a weekend wrench �� turner! I ended up paying the mechanic to fix the fan fault and replace the stuck valve that was giving evaporative emission codes. They also used a chemical flush to clean out all the carbon that had collected which they a also recommend as part of 200,000 maintenance. This weekend my 5 year old assisted in replacing the serpentine belt ($168 for labor at the mechanic) the most daunting part of this task was jacking up the engine (because growing up I had heard a horror story about the jack going through the oil pan- and since I don't h gave a professional floor jack I used the factory scissor jack) the serpentine belt was one of the easiest I've ever changed- once the air box and motor mount are out of the way! I did have to lift the motor a little higher to get the breaker bar on the tensioner but that was about the most tedium involved. There was a great YouTube video https://youtu.be/XnBJYhJDAHs of the change being performed on a 2005 that helped alot!
