2013 3.6L crank, no start troubleshooting

[rockola1971]

One morning stepson went out to start his 2013 3.6L Equinox and it cranks fine but will not start. Spark, low pressure pump come on, High pressure pump has fuel coming out of removed steel line. Will not start or even fire on starting fluid. I suspect bad cam phaser?????? Ran fine the day prior, no unusual noises or engine performance.

No known vehicle history of repairs or service since it was a utility company vehicle since new.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

What happens if you turn the key to the on position, hold the gas pedal to the floor, and then try to start it? It sounds weird, but a leaky injector could cause a no start as you described. Holding the pedal down before starting will cut fuel to the engine. You have already tried starting fluid, so that is what I would suggest next, just to see, since it was running fine the last time it was driven.

 

[sdhow]

Or...could be timing chain issues. The 3.0/3.6 V6s are notorious for this. Even if it is phasers, you might as well do the timing chains while your in there...or outta there. It's an "engine out" procedure.

Depends on the condition of the car...if it's worth fixing. That's why there's so many of these in the junkyard.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

I've never heard of a 3.6 running perfectly fine one day, without any codes or noises, and then not starting the next day due to the timing chain. I suppose it could happen. Not a fun job as you mentioned.

We have 200,000 miles on our 3.6, and I haven't replaced anything on that vehicle other than normal wear items. We occasionally have the starting issue the OP described, but the procedure I mentioned gets it going again. I usually fill the tank and add a bottle of injector cleaner after it happens, just for good measure.

 

[sdhow]

They usually don't give much notice when the timing chain guides go. Have you connected a scanner to it to see if there are any codes? When mine went, it showed bad cam position sensor(s), but that was because it had jumped time.

Yeah, at 200k, you're long overdue for a timing chain. Depends on the condition of the rest of the car...is it worth $4-5,000 for a timing set?

Mine only had 123k miles on it when they crapped out and it was sent to the junkyard. I had to take the engine out TWICE. First time, for the timing chain. After it was all back together, it still had an intermittent miss in cylinder #4. It was a faulty piston ring in #4. Ended up doing a complete rebuild. $10,000 in all.

But a new Blazer, the only thing Chevy makes now with a V6, is $50,000+. So, as the rest of the car is still like new...

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

Our 3.6 is in a Traverse, but we're also the original owners. While I maintain all of our vehicles and the equipment for our LLC, I have no intention of ever doing the timing kit on our Traverse. It's not worth the effort to be honest. The only codes ever thrown were for the rear O2 sensors, but I just deleted them from ECM. It's been a great vehicle, but it's a pig on gas, so we just use it to take dogs to the vet or get supplies. Not really worth putting money into.

 

[sdhow]

Depends on it's condition. Wait until you go to buy a new Traverse and find out they're all 4 cylinders now.

And those rear O2 sensors are usually bad catalytic converters. If those clog, you'll ruin the engine.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

No issues with the cats, except for one weld breaking at the pipe when the torque mount got sloppy. I just welded it back up and replaced the mount. My Traverse doesn't leak or burn oil, but then again, it's had Mobil 1 in it since the first oil change and every 4,000 miles thereafter.

The 2.4 in my 2012 Equinox was still going strong at 225k before I swapped it out for the 2.0 turbo. I'm not saying you don't take care of your vehicles, but I haven't experienced any of the major issues that others have with any of my GM vehicles over the years. Stock radios losing sound is my biggest complaint.

We'll probably never buy another Traverse, but I'm not surprised by the decision either. They put a four-cylinder engine in the Silverado and a V6 in a 2500 work van. My son uses one of those work vans for his HVAC company, and he cannot safely make a left turn. The 6.0 engine in his previous van was far better. It's a different animal when you load it up with a bunch of tools. I don't blame the manufacturer as much as the government that imposes ridiculous mandates because of an agenda, but I digress.

I don't think the OP is coming back. Is that pretty typical?

 

[sdhow]

He's looking for a quick, cheap fix/solution. That went away in the 1990's.

Yeah, I'm out in California, so other than the engine, mine was pristine. One female...make that lesbian...owner, who I'm sure only changed oil as the manual says, every 7,500 miles. And I'm sure had it done at the quick lube with God knows what cheap oil. She took it to the Chevy dealer and they told her it needed both cats...$7,000. That wouldn't have done shit, but she called the junkyard and went down and bought a new Toyota. I was at the junkyard when they towed it in and I bought it for $1,500 and got it started. Thought I had a good deal when I had $3k into it with a new timing chain set...but ended up having to go through the WHOLE engine to fix the intermittent miss from cylinder #4.

 

[rockola1971]

He's looking for a quick, cheap fix/solution. That went away in the 1990's.

Yeah, I'm out in California, so other than the engine, mine was pristine. One female...make that lesbian...owner, who I'm sure only changed oil as the manual says, every 7,500 miles. And I'm sure had it done at the quick lube with God knows what cheap oil. She took it to the Chevy dealer and they told her it needed both cats...$7,000. That wouldn't have done shit, but she called the junkyard and went down and bought a new Toyota. I was at the junkyard when they towed it in and I bought it for $1,500 and got it started. Thought I had a good deal when I had $3k into it with a new timing chain set...but ended up having to go through the WHOLE engine to fix the intermittent miss from cylinder #4.

Ill help the kid put a new timing set in the engine if it goes that far so you are wrong. "Cheap FIX"? Heck Im still troubleshooting the thing. Hard to fix something when you dont know yet whats wrong with it.

 

[rockola1971]

Ill have to get back to you on that one.

What happens if you turn the key to the on position, hold the gas pedal to the floor, and then try to start it? It sounds weird, but a leaky injector could cause a no start as you described. Holding the pedal down before starting will cut fuel to the engine. You have already tried starting fluid, so that is what I would suggest next, just to see, since it was running fine the last time it was driven.

Ill have to get back to you on that one. Stepson lives 10 miles from me and ive been putting out my own dumpster fires. A lady pulled in front of me a couple weeks ago and that instance of metal friction totaled my Tahoe and sent her to the hospital. She will likely rethink about ever doing that again to someone.

Side note I picked up a 2015 Equinox 2.4L AWD last night woth 4 month old tires and drove it home. It has a cracked exhaust manifold so that should prove fun to yank off and remove all the broken studs and frozen exhaust flange bolts.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

Ill have to get back to you on that one.

Ill have to get back to you on that one. Stepson lives 10 miles from me and ive been putting out my own dumpster fires. A lady pulled in front of me a couple weeks ago and that instance of metal friction totaled my Tahoe and sent her to the hospital. She will likely rethink about ever doing that again to someone.

Side note I picked up a 2015 Equinox 2.4L AWD last night woth 4 month old tires and drove it home. It has a cracked exhaust manifold so that should prove fun to yank off and remove all the broken studs and frozen exhaust flange bolts.

Welcome back. Busy is my middle name, so I totally understand. Not many people know about the fuel cutoff procedure to get these going again, so I just wanted to share. I hope it works because the timing chains on these things... well... let's just say that instead of buying a second-generation Equinox with the 3.6, I decided to yank out that 2.4 in my 2012 and replace it with the 2.0 turbo from a Buick Regal. I won't have to pull the engine to replace timing components or pistons, for that matter.

Sucks about your Tahoe. Good luck with your 2015.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

He's looking for a quick, cheap fix/solution. That went away in the 1990's.

Yeah, I'm out in California, so other than the engine, mine was pristine. One female...make that lesbian...owner, who I'm sure only changed oil as the manual says, every 7,500 miles. And I'm sure had it done at the quick lube with God knows what cheap oil. She took it to the Chevy dealer and they told her it needed both cats...$7,000. That wouldn't have done shit, but she called the junkyard and went down and bought a new Toyota. I was at the junkyard when they towed it in and I bought it for $1,500 and got it started. Thought I had a good deal when I had $3k into it with a new timing chain set...but ended up having to go through the WHOLE engine to fix the intermittent miss from cylinder #4.

Right on! I grew up in the San Diego area. We bought our Traverse from a Chevy dealer in North County. It still looks like a California car on the outside, but not so much on the inside after three kids and somewhere near 12 dogs.

Do you still have your 3.6?

 

[sdhow]

Yes, it's actually a 2010, so it's a 3.0. Runs like new, but the timing problem dumped raw fuel into the cats and ruined them. Got a new OEM front one off of eBay, but still looking for the rear one. They are still available at the dealer...for $2,000 each.

No kids and use pet carriers, so my leather interior is still like new!

 

[rockola1971]

Yes, it's actually a 2010, so it's a 3.0. Runs like new, but the timing problem dumped raw fuel into the cats and ruined them. Got a new OEM front one off of eBay, but still looking for the rear one. They are still available at the dealer...for $2,000 each.

No kids and use pet carriers, so my leather interior is still like new!

Have you tried carparts.com?

 

[sdhow]

No. In California, the only one approved by CARB is the OE catalyst. Aftermarket can't even ship to a California address.

 

[rockola1971]

No. In California, the only one approved by CARB is the OE catalyst. Aftermarket can't even ship to a California address.

Carparts.com is a database for salvage yards across the U.S. that shows inventory, price and contact info in real time. You will likely find Commie Cars in CA salvage yards. Drop a used one in her.

 

[sdhow]

In California, salvage yards are not allowed to resell used catalysts.