Let me give you my short experience of owning a 2010 Equinox LTZ...
First, my car was purchased at a dismantler as a "totaled" vehicle. When I looked at the CARFAX, it showed a one-owner car with no accidents. This was factual. The car was sold to the wrecker because the dealer estimated over $9,000 in repairs. They tried to give her $3,500 "trade-in" on an overly inflated 2024 model, so they could fix and flip her car out on their used lot...for like $9-10k. she told them she didn't want another GM product and had the dismantler haul it off for $800.
That's where I came in. I saw the car and they told me it was a "crank but no start" vehicle. The infamous 3.0L, VVT GDI V6. I ran the codes and they came back P0340 and P0365, which are cam position sensor DTCs. Not knowing any better and thinking it was just some bad sensors, I bought the car for $1,500, changed the sensors in their yard and drove the car home a couple of miles...although it had no power and kept going into limp mode. But now that the dismantler had "touched" it, it has a salvaged title.
I continued to change things out...the cam solenoids, the spark plugs, the coils, cleaned the throttle body and all the intake sensors, the PCV, etc. Now, amongst a bunch of pending codes, I got the dreaded P0018 and P0019 codes for out of sync cam and crankshaft. Yep...timing chains. So, I know this machinist who also does performance engine builds...particularly Hemis and Coyotes...and since Ford invented the VVTs, I knew he was very capable of doing timing chains and phasers. And he agreed to do it.
He agrees it's likely timing chain issues, but due to what this failure can cause, recommends checking for blocked/burned out catalysts and doing a leakdown test to check for bent valves. Sure enough, one of the Bank 1 cylinders appears to have bent valves, but the both catalytic converters appear fine. False P0420 DTC codes...soon to find out why. Out comes the engine. First thing he notices is the Bank 2 timing chain has come off the sprocket...but all of the Bank 2 cylinders pass leakdown. Rear cylinder head is removed and NONE of the valves are bent...dumb luck! Valves must have all been closed when the chain came off the sprocket. The one cylinder (#3) on Bank 1 that failed leakdown also had no bent valves...it was just soooo carboned up, the intake valve seats had rings around then and would not seal properly. Said I needed a valve job in addition to the timing chains, sprockets, etc., I had knew needed replacing...$4,000 total. Only about $700 (parts and labor) more than the $3,300 I had budgeted.
Done. Still only into the car for $5,500 and it basically has a new motor.
Back to the "stealership". I had found the original owner's iPhone number stored in the car's bluetooth directory and reached out to her. Got the skinny on why she scrapped the car...the dealer's excessive repair estimate. I knew the dealer; it was one of the repair shops listed on the CARFAX. So I go see the service tech under the premise that I might be interested in having them perform the repairs they said were required.
First thing he brings up is the P0420 code for catalytic converter inefficiency. They had told her she needed all new catalysts (3) and 4 new oxygen sensors. As this is California...and cats can only be replaced with CARB-certified, OEM units, so this was over $5,000. I stopped him right there and asked what if the the timing chains were F'ed up and dumping raw fuel in to the oxygen sensors? Couldn't THIS cause an errant DTC...be a symptom for the DTC and not the cause? This little keyboard puncher proceeded to tell me I didn't know anything about current technology engines and their mechanics were factory trained and knew better. I said I knew enough to know when someone was trying to sodomize me and he could kiss my a$$
. I wasn't going to be the guy they started throwing expensive parts and labor at, just to say, "Whoops...that wasn't it...Next!!!"
First, my car was purchased at a dismantler as a "totaled" vehicle. When I looked at the CARFAX, it showed a one-owner car with no accidents. This was factual. The car was sold to the wrecker because the dealer estimated over $9,000 in repairs. They tried to give her $3,500 "trade-in" on an overly inflated 2024 model, so they could fix and flip her car out on their used lot...for like $9-10k. she told them she didn't want another GM product and had the dismantler haul it off for $800.
That's where I came in. I saw the car and they told me it was a "crank but no start" vehicle. The infamous 3.0L, VVT GDI V6. I ran the codes and they came back P0340 and P0365, which are cam position sensor DTCs. Not knowing any better and thinking it was just some bad sensors, I bought the car for $1,500, changed the sensors in their yard and drove the car home a couple of miles...although it had no power and kept going into limp mode. But now that the dismantler had "touched" it, it has a salvaged title.
I continued to change things out...the cam solenoids, the spark plugs, the coils, cleaned the throttle body and all the intake sensors, the PCV, etc. Now, amongst a bunch of pending codes, I got the dreaded P0018 and P0019 codes for out of sync cam and crankshaft. Yep...timing chains. So, I know this machinist who also does performance engine builds...particularly Hemis and Coyotes...and since Ford invented the VVTs, I knew he was very capable of doing timing chains and phasers. And he agreed to do it.
He agrees it's likely timing chain issues, but due to what this failure can cause, recommends checking for blocked/burned out catalysts and doing a leakdown test to check for bent valves. Sure enough, one of the Bank 1 cylinders appears to have bent valves, but the both catalytic converters appear fine. False P0420 DTC codes...soon to find out why. Out comes the engine. First thing he notices is the Bank 2 timing chain has come off the sprocket...but all of the Bank 2 cylinders pass leakdown. Rear cylinder head is removed and NONE of the valves are bent...dumb luck! Valves must have all been closed when the chain came off the sprocket. The one cylinder (#3) on Bank 1 that failed leakdown also had no bent valves...it was just soooo carboned up, the intake valve seats had rings around then and would not seal properly. Said I needed a valve job in addition to the timing chains, sprockets, etc., I had knew needed replacing...$4,000 total. Only about $700 (parts and labor) more than the $3,300 I had budgeted.
Done. Still only into the car for $5,500 and it basically has a new motor.
Back to the "stealership". I had found the original owner's iPhone number stored in the car's bluetooth directory and reached out to her. Got the skinny on why she scrapped the car...the dealer's excessive repair estimate. I knew the dealer; it was one of the repair shops listed on the CARFAX. So I go see the service tech under the premise that I might be interested in having them perform the repairs they said were required.
First thing he brings up is the P0420 code for catalytic converter inefficiency. They had told her she needed all new catalysts (3) and 4 new oxygen sensors. As this is California...and cats can only be replaced with CARB-certified, OEM units, so this was over $5,000. I stopped him right there and asked what if the the timing chains were F'ed up and dumping raw fuel in to the oxygen sensors? Couldn't THIS cause an errant DTC...be a symptom for the DTC and not the cause? This little keyboard puncher proceeded to tell me I didn't know anything about current technology engines and their mechanics were factory trained and knew better. I said I knew enough to know when someone was trying to sodomize me and he could kiss my a$$
. I wasn't going to be the guy they started throwing expensive parts and labor at, just to say, "Whoops...that wasn't it...Next!!!"
and no code has come back...
