How to put the LHU 2.0 Turbo in your Second Gen Equinox

[Chevy Ecotec]

Disclaimer: The purpose of this thread is information and entertainment. I wasn't planning to share this project, but I've had people contact me for information about the swap. I figure I may as well share what I have learned to make it easier for people doing internet searches. I had no help from anyone. I had to figure out the entire swap on my own. I have a lot of information, pics, and video that could potentially be helpful. If the forum admin approves, I will continue to provide as much information about the swap right here. It will be a work in progress, but I'll do my best to answer any questions along the way.

This is what the LHU looks like under the hood of my 2012 Equinox:



To be continued...

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

I learned a lot from doing this swap, so hopefully the information I provide will be helpful to someone looking to do the same, for whatever reason. So why did I do this? The short answer is that the 2010+ 2.4 Ecotec used in the Equinox and other GM vehicles sucks. Everything about it sucks from the rings to the lack of power. The second-generation Equinox should have come from the factory with the LHU, exactly as GM did with the Buick Regal. The main reason why people are killing the 2.4 is that they run it low on oil. There is no low oil level sensor on the 2.4 at all. Pressure sensor only. How stupid is that? GM put one on the LHU. It is one of the sensors that can be added during this swap.

The LEA 2.4 and LHU 2.0 are very similar engines by design. Because of this, putting the LHU in place of the 2.4 isn't as difficult as it may seem; 80% of the swap bolts right up. You can use the 6T45 transmission that came with your Equinox. I used the stronger 6T50 that came with the 2013 Buick Regal Premium Turbo (NON-GS). It all bolts right up.




More to come soon:

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

OK, so lets get into it. It's usually a good idea to try and find a donor vehicle for a swap like this, but since I have already done that, I will try and document what I used from the Regal for the Equinox. At the bare minimum, aside from the LHU engine, you will also need the engine wiring harness all the way to the ECM. There are multiple sensors and solenoids that need to be added to the computer for the Equinox.



I removed the factory harness from the LHU and began dissecting each sensor, all the way to the X1 or X2 connectors. It was easier for me to put the Equinox engine harness on top of the LHU and then begin connecting everything. At this point, I could add each of the missing sensors or solenoids to the Equinox harness one by one.



There is only one knock sensor on the Equinox. The gutless turd doesn't need two of them, but the LHU does. Knock can kill this engine, so don't skimp out here. I removed the connector and wire leading all the way back to the X2 connector from the LHU and added it to the X2 connector for the Equinox. You will have to do the same with multiple sensors. I'll post a diagram showing which sensors and pins shortly.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

Here's a breakdown of what needs to be added to the Equinox harness from the LHU:



I pulled the LHU engine harness apart to expose the 12V branch and ground branch. This is where these sensors were getting power from. I did not pull the main Equinox harness apart to expose these sections. Instead, I created a new branch for the ground wire and one for the 12V to a new fused location.



The connector for the fuel injectors on the Equinox won't reach the location on the LHU engine. I ended up removing the connector from the LHU harness with a section of wires attached to it and soldering each connection to the Equinox harness.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

The o2 sensors are essentially the same, but the connectors are different, so I just used the o2 sensor for the Equinox to make things easier. You can see in the pic how the rear 02 sensor from the Equinox will actually plug into the o2 sensor for the Buick.



This is what my LHU looked like after I completed all of the wiring for the Equinox.



One more thing to note before installing the LHU is the heater core hoses and connectors. The Buick lines won't work, so just use the hoses from the Equinox.





I believe that covers everything. Now that the engine and transmission are ready to go into the Equinox, I will discuss what happens next.



To be continued:

 

[PoManNox]

Amazing work and an excellent write-up! Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

Thank you! This project brought new life to our Equinox.

I forgot to mention that the LHU in the Regal has a longer and wider serpentine belt, which also drives the power steering pump. Since the Equinox was equipped with electric power steering, I decided to use the crank pulley, belt tensioner, alternator, and AC compressor from the Equinox. You can just use all of your original brackets. I didn't even want to bother recharging the AC system, so I zip-tied it and left it there. If you're doing the engine swap only, the rear trans mount and support bracket will need to be removed. You can leave the front mount where it is. Circled are the engine and trans mounts on the body of the Equinox. They bolt right up to the LHU engine and 6T50 transmission. Once those six mount bolts are in, the engine and transmission can hang for a bit.



The factory downpipe for the LHU is large and very close to the power steering rack. I drove it like this initially, but only for testing while I was waiting for my ZZP downpipe. Their downpipe is much smaller and easier to work with. It's definitely the way to go IF you have a 2WD Equinox AND you don't feel like making or having a custom downpipe made. The downside is the rear trans mount from the Equinox won't work the way it is.






ZZP catted downpipe vs factory.



Coming up next: Rear trans mount and FWD vs AWD.

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

The rear trans mount is a bit tricky. The Equinox exhaust was meant to run closer to the passenger side of the vehicle, with a catalytic converter mounted under the exhaust manifold pointing down. The downpipe for the turbo on the LHU won't clear the Equinox rear trans mount bracket. The ZZP downpipe doesn't clear it either.



It might be possible to use the AWD rear trans mount bracket on the FWD transmission with some bushings to make up the difference in width of the transfer case. I didn't have a mount bracket for the AWD at the time of this swap to try it out. To do this on the AWD 2.4 Equinox, it looks like a custom downpipe will be needed from the turbo, down and around the location of the original cat, and then relocate a catalytic converter to underneath the vehicle and extend the wiring for the O2 sensors. This would eliminate the need to modify the rear trans mount.



I tried the rear mount for the Buick, one for a Cobalt SS, as well as a few other GM vehicles. I couldn't find one that worked. This is where watching MacGyver and growing up in the 80s paid off. I used the rear trans mount bracket for the Buick, flipped the rear trans mount for the Equinox to under the subframe instead of above it. I was able to use all 3 holes in the subframe for the trans mount. I only needed 3 spacer bushings between the mount and the subframe, and the rest was cake.









Up next: Intercooling for the second gen Equinox.

 

[2015 Equinox Experiment01]

The rear trans mount is a bit tricky. The Equinox exhaust was meant to run closer to the passenger side of the vehicle, with a catalytic converter mounted under the exhaust manifold pointing down. The downpipe for the turbo on the LHU won't clear the Equinox rear trans mount bracket. The ZZP downpipe doesn't clear it either.
View attachment 3498
View attachment 3500

It might be possible to use the AWD rear trans mount bracket on the FWD transmission with some bushings to make up the difference in width of the transfer case. I didn't have a mount bracket for the AWD at the time of this swap to try it out. To do this on the AWD 2.4 Equinox, it looks like a custom downpipe will be needed from the turbo, down and around the location of the original cat, and then relocate a catalytic converter to underneath the vehicle and extend the wiring for the O2 sensors. This would eliminate the need to modify the rear trans mount.

View attachment 3501

I tried the rear mount for the Buick, one for a Cobalt SS, as well as a few other GM vehicles. I couldn't find one that worked. This is where watching MacGyver and growing up in the 80s paid off. I used the rear trans mount bracket for the Buick, flipped the rear trans mount for the Equinox to under the subframe instead of above it. I was able to use all 3 holes in the subframe for the trans mount. I only needed 3 spacer bushings between the mount and the subframe, and the rest was cake.

View attachment 3502

View attachment 3503

View attachment 3505

View attachment 3506

Up next: Intercooling for the second gen Equinox.

Hi, Thanks for sharing all your hard work/research/photos on this very large project. I may consider doing this if things go south on my 2015 Equinox. Again, thank you!! Bob

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

Hi, Bob! You're welcome. I hope the information will be helpful for anyone considering the swap.

So, looking at this picture and figuring out what you will need. Forget about all the intercooler piping; none of it will work on the Equinox. Take note of the MAF housing connected to the air filter box and its location, and compare it to that of the Equinox. One could potentially use the stock airbox for the Equinox along with the ZZP LNF Cobalt Upgraded Intake Tube.





I used the MAF Housing Assembly that was originally attached to the air filter box of the Buick and connected it to the ZZP LNF Cobalt Upgraded Intake Tube. From there, it was easy to make sure the engine was pulling air from outside the engine bay.



I mocked up the intercooler from the Buick just to see what the plumbing could look like. There's a lot of room to work with on this vehicle.



There's not a lot of room going in this side by the radiator.



Not a lot of room here either, but it can be done.



To be continued...

 

[Chevy Ecotec]

There are many ways that one can install an intercooler on this Equinox. I took the path that required the least amount of fittings. Why introduce more areas for potential leaks? I wasn't sure how well this intercooler would perform, but it does a good job where I placed it.





I had to modify the stock lower intercooler pipe from the Regal as a temporary solution. It kept blowing off under high boost, so I MacGyvered it with some solder in the groove. I put a little GM gasket maker around the area before clamping it, and no leaks after a year so far...LOL. This is something I'd like to change before turning it up to make more power.







Here's a different view of the engine and something I forgot to mention: I used the upper and lower radiator hoses from the LHU. For the upper hose, I cut it at the circled area and used a coupling so that I could twist the hose and connect it to the radiator on the Equinox.



We're almost finished. Coming soon: The ECM and TCM.