05 Equinox Overheat

Hello all,

Brand new to the forum, and could use some help advice. My daughter has an 05 Equinox and while driving noticed that the car was not as responsive, shuttered and lurched, and she noticed the engine temp gauge was going to the red. She pulled over and turned it off. When I got there, I noticed that there was coolant all over the drivers side, in the wheel well and around the bottom of the vehicle only on that side. I looked at every hose I could find and nothing, no damage, no hoses with a hole, nothing. I looked in the reservoir tank and it was about half full, I opened it and it drained completely, but no leaks under the car. Was wondering if I am missing something here. the hose's, thermostat area and the radiator itself seemed fine, but could not find a culprit. Anyone here have an idea of what I should be looking at next?

I know this has been sitting here for a while but my 06 has / had the same issue. The coolant on the driver side was from the overflow tube since the tank surged full. You will need to bleed the air out of the coolant before proceeding further.

On the front LH side of the engine you will see the water pump pulley, there a 7mm bolt that can be loosened to open the bleed valve, you can start the engine with the coolant tank cap off. Turn the heater on all the way and on high. You will be able to hear air escaping and simply keep the coolant tank filled half way until the air stops and coolant starts to come out. Tighten the screw most of the way and rev the engine a few times until the bubbles quit appearing from around the bleed valve. Then you can tighten the valve and proceed.

The next thing to check is to turn on the AC and see if one of the electric fans in the engine bay turns on. It should. Turn the AC off and see if the fans come on when the engine is warm. If you notice abnormalities check the two 25A fuses in the engine bay for the fan low and fan high. If these are good check your relays. There are relays for fan low, fan high, and then a third to switch between high and low (this one isn't in the fuse box).

Besides that check the normal coolant in oil and if you continue to loose coolant there is a chance that the lower intake manifold gasket could be to blame. This is a notorious and common problem with GM V6 and V8 engines regardless of size.

Great advice from LostVoid, and based on the location I would agree...I would add to BE CAREFUL with the bleeder valve because it is soft brass (at least on my 06) and should not be cranked tight, and it can also strip very easily.

Another thought, just from my experience: I had an old ford that featured some molded rubber/plastic cooling lines. I was losing coolant and couldn't find the culprit until I bumped a seemingly perfect, sturdy plastic y connection. Basically, the thing had broken, but was still half attached and holding shape pretty well, so it only leaked under high pressure and looked perfectly fine all other times. Or if I nudged it, it came spewing out pretty darn well! So be sure to **physically check all hoses and connections, not just visually check!