Chevy Equinox ?
 

My 1st 4x4 was a 79 GMC Jimmy with a manual Tranny, old school locking hubs and a carbuerator. It had a small V-8 and great on gas. I've had my 96 S-10 Blazer LT for a little over a year and I may need to replace it.

I've been goin through the local Craigs Lists and found Tahoe, Yukons and two wheel drive Blazers in my price range. Some even with Leather interior (I've grown accustomed to). Then there's a newer AWD - Chevy Equinox

I got some questions for fans of these GM trucks:
1. Is the gas milage poor on the V-8s?
2. Do the 2nd Gen 2wd Blazers generally have the same G-80 rear end I learned to like in my 4WD?
3a. Milage has to be good with the 4 cylinder Chevy Equinox (unless the AWD creates drag)
3b. Over the years I've heard many things about AWD. Some brands seem to have frequent problems but I can't remember which

Any Feedback is appreciated

My buddy's girlfriend had an equinox with 80k on it, and had nothing but problems. All the wheelbearings went bad one by one. And not slowly, just sudden, almost catastophic hub failure. and they went into aluminum spindles so the steel hub fuses together with it and it's a huge pain to change...not all the doors would open, not all the windows would work, and was always throwing another code for one thing or another....One person's experience can be different than anothers...but that's my story.

A lot of the 2nd gen 2wds come with g80s.- basically same rear end but narrower. Also, 98+ will have disc brakes rear

And the 350s in the Tahoes aren't great on gas. But they are a nice truck.

I am looking at a 2010 here in South FL with 98k. The pix are awesome. Maintenance all kept up and many upgrades & mods - 17" Wheels from Spain, LED lighting and a bunch of other stuff too. The only issue (says the seller) is that the passenger windows go up very slow but always go up

I found the chevy forum for "Equinox" and I am reading posts about various "Quirks" now. I've always gotten good info here so I am still on board.

My 96 Blazer was the first trick I had to Jack up to get under. I understand the Equinox's are even lower

I used to have an equinox. Great little sub... all the bells and whistles... 4wd worked great... only issue I had was filling up I couldn' go fast or the handle would click off like it was full... other then that all stock and had a blast in mud. And gas was great too... I think I was about 600 highway km

Thank you DonL

Most of the complaints I have read about so far have been petty quirks like that. I am still unclear how it is front wheel drive until one wheel slips and then the rear engages. Doesn't sound like a G80 rear to me

Here is listed the condition:
Upgrades/Mods:
• Old Man EMU dampers and springs
• Braid Dakar Rally wheels 17" - made in Spain to my specs and powder coated (some minor chipping on 2 wheels)
• Toyo Open County R/T 285/70/17
• Desert Services Roof Rack - Imported directly from Germany, modified with LED lights port and starboard, with a fore light bar. All lights controlled via rf wireless remote
• Desert Service G Raid Rear Ladder - Rear LED light
• Desert Service G Raid front molded floor mats
• G-wagonaccessories All Steel rear bumper, tow hitch and tow wiring kit
• Modified rear wheel carrier to accommodate new wheel/tire combo
• Fender flares are plasti dipped - not sure I like the look, I think it needs a proper black front bumper to round it out...easy to peal the plasti dip off
• Driver side rear seat removed for more storage
• Running boards removed and muffler tips trimmed to match

Service / Repairs:
• Scheduled oil changes and filters as prescribed by MB
• Cranks sensor @ 60k
• Brake Pedal Sensor around 65K
• Accelerator Pedal Sensor around 62K
• Brakes front and rear around 90K
• Complete 98K service around 96K - plugs, all fluids, including trans filter replacement, new idler pulley and tensioner w/ pulley
• Passenger seat controller replaced to fix parasitic draw
• All locking diff fluids flushed and operating as designed

Issues / Blemishes:
• Power steering reservoir feed hose weeps a little
• Lots of grease on passenger ball, likely requires a new CV boot
• Headliner is a quitter
• Small dent on rear door
• Glove box handle missing - the outer handle cover, you can still open it and functions as designed
• Mufflers rattle - insides are
• Passenger window rolls up slow....but always makes it!

The only one that really concerns me is " Lots of grease on passenger ball, likely requires a new CV boot"..

This almost always leads to a new CV axle and or CV joint depending on which boot and how bad it is...

Besides that, sounds like a good deal..

I was wondering about that too and what a mechanic shop would charge for the job.

I am totally not understanding how it runs on front wheel drive until one wheel starts slipping. Sounds like some kinda posi in the front. What kind or rear diff can be automatically kicked on. I don't think a straight axle would do that.

I'm driving a rental GMC Terrain that I think is the equivalent to the equinox It has 30,000 KM on it so its a year or so old and the main problem I have with it is when I step on the gas it says "who me?"...even my Astro van has better pickup.

Have you tried the 4WD yet? Sometimes little 4 cyls make up for a lack of HP with some good low end torque.