[nick_leroux]

I bought my 08 LS AWD in 2019 with a blown headgasket for 750 cash, repair history since 2011. Previous owner maintained it very well, which is the only reason I bought it. Fixed it along with the brakes, passenger seat sensor, along with some other odds and ends. Tinkered with it for about 3 months, it was my second car so i was not in any rush to get it finished.

Since I wasnt crazy over chrome, I decided to make a hybrid of a blackout and the 08/09 sport models and this is what I came up with

White plastidip chrome portions and black plastidip bowties. Ebay blackout headlights which I do NOT recommend. They would never aim properly, and started to condensate 3 months after purchase. Still was better then the originals.

Same thing on the back bowtie trim. Also dipped the text, VHT tailights, LED plate lights, tinted plate covers (One good thing about ontario), aftermarket reverse camera, later repaired the wiper motor.

Also added 17" torrent wheels with 225/65 Kumho sense tires, which IMHO are really good budget friendly all seasons that performed perfectly fine with AWD...until my transfer case went as a result of a faulty driveshaft. I work in new home construction and was able to fit 2 packs of owens corning insulation in the trunk. This thing kicked ass as a work/daily driver!! Also, one exception to my dislike for chrome is the door handles, which i think looked really really good with the white.
I sold it about a month ago to a mechanic friend after it needed struts and some other odds and ends that I just didn't want to fork out for. Car was at 300,000KM's and served me 51,000 relatively trouble free km's. I decided to upgrade to something bigger, and didnt like what GM had to offer nor Ram or Toyota so....

Upgrade to a beautiful "Blue Flame" 2016 F-150XLT 5.0 long bed Sport. Equinox served me very very well. Still going to be active as i hunt down a coolant issue with my moms 07 torrent, but though i'd share a unique take on a first gen, a car next to nobody modifys.

 

[arelywood449]

It is nice, dude

 

[Silversn95]

Stepping into a pick-up with today's gas prices? At least you went with the V8 instead of the TT V6. If you are going to suffer with crappy fuel economy, might as well enjoy the sound of burning those hydrocarbons!

 

[nick_leroux]

Stepping into a pick-up with today's gas prices? At least you went with the V8 instead of the TT V6. If you are going to suffer with crappy fuel economy, might as well enjoy the sound of burning those hydrocarbons!

Exactly lmao. Honestly, it costs very little extra the the equinox did. It costs a little over double to fill, but i get at least double the mileage while being kind to the gas pedal. I only ever step on when merging on the highway or if someone tries to be a d*ck and overtake me. I paid for 8 cylinders imma use them. It says 18L per 100KM or 13MPG for the past 1000KMs and Ive put 2000/2500KMs on since I bought it.

That being said, I do remote start it every day for work, and do largely city driving. Id say 70% city 30% highway. I fill it every 2 weeks, but would fill the nox every week. I knew what I was getting into when I signed the dotted line lol. In my area, gas is about $1.50 give or take a litre, or 5/5.50 a gallon. Its not nearly as horrendous as I thought in all honesty. i didn't think that an aluminum body would make a huge difference, but compared to a similar 2011-2014 5.0, its considerably better.

But that 5.0 does sound really good, I have to give ford that much. I am an LS guy at heart tho

 

[twcom]

I bought my 08 LS AWD in 2019 with a blown headgasket for 750 cash, repair history since 2011. Previous owner maintained it very well, which is the only reason I bought it. Fixed it along with the brakes, passenger seat sensor, along with some other odds and ends. Tinkered with it for about 3 months, it was my second car so i was not in any rush to get it finished.
View attachment 19059
Since I wasnt crazy over chrome, I decided to make a hybrid of a blackout and the 08/09 sport models and this is what I came up with
View attachment 19060
White plastidip chrome portions and black plastidip bowties. Ebay blackout headlights which I do NOT recommend. They would never aim properly, and started to condensate 3 months after purchase. Still was better then the originals.
View attachment 19061
Same thing on the back bowtie trim. Also dipped the text, VHT tailights, LED plate lights, tinted plate covers (One good thing about ontario), aftermarket reverse camera, later repaired the wiper motor.
View attachment 19062
Also added 17" torrent wheels with 225/65 Kumho sense tires, which IMHO are really good budget friendly all seasons that performed perfectly fine with AWD...until my transfer case went as a result of a faulty driveshaft. I work in new home construction and was able to fit 2 packs of owens corning insulation in the trunk. This thing kicked ass as a work/daily driver!! Also, one exception to my dislike for chrome is the door handles, which i think looked really really good with the white.
I sold it about a month ago to a mechanic friend after it needed struts and some other odds and ends that I just didn't want to fork out for. Car was at 300,000KM's and served me 51,000 relatively trouble free km's. I decided to upgrade to something bigger, and didnt like what GM had to offer nor Ram or Toyota so....
View attachment 19063
View attachment 19064
Upgrade to a beautiful "Blue Flame" 2016 F-150XLT 5.0 long bed Sport. Equinox served me very very well. Still going to be active as i hunt down a coolant issue with my moms 07 torrent, but though i'd share a unique take on a first gen, a car next to nobody modifys.

What was the drive shaft issue that led to the transfer case failure. I would like to hang on to my 2007 Torrent for ever.
Do you know if the individual you sold your Equinox repaired the transfercase issue.

 

[nick_leroux]

What was the drive shaft issue that led to the transfer case failure. I would like to hang on to my 2007 Torrent for ever.
Do you know if the individual you sold your Equinox repaired the transfercase issue.

Hi, totally missed the notification for this until I checked a bit ago.

Thats totally us with my moms 07 torrent. Just did the intake and head gaskets at 186/187000Kms or so and some other odds and ends and has served us incredibly well for almost 12 years and counting now! Now my equinox, that was a different story. Just a beater/work car.

the driveshaft was replaced at about 230,000KMs with a world auto parts unit, retail MSRP of about 900 at the time. I didn't really think too much about it at the time since I know that they go after about 100,000KMs worst case scenario. Every time either I or my mechanic changed my oil, i would make a note of inspecting it and the hanger/centre bearing for wear and play.

About a year ago, i started to hear a bit of a metallic/clanking sound, almost like a bad heat shield, which didn't surprise me due to the age and the condition of the car. the thing was pretty rusty, but i know that when i bought it and didn't expect to own it much longer then I did. It also whined a bit, sounded like a bad pulley or bearing in the serpentine belt system. I had replaced the tensioner, and I though that it was coming from the alternator. I replaced the alternator and the whining went away, but I believe that it ended up being either an idler pulley or the water pump.

I drove the car for a few more weeks like that until one day, the car acted like the trans was slipping, and there was a prominent clanking sound, almost sounded like a broken driveshaft hitting the exhaust, but the RPMs didn't reflect it and the CEL didn't illuminate. I got it towed to my mechanic and had it looked at a few days later where they diagnose the transfer case to be bad. I then had it towed to another shop that also operates a salvage yard. Overall, they charged me just shy of $700 to replace the transfer case, and then they found that there was excessive play in the centre bearing, they tried to sell me a driveshaft out of a salvage vehicle, but I declined and told them to just leave my old one in the car.

I did go to a local reputable drivetrain/custom drivetrain fab shop, asked them for some advice and tried to see if they had anything that could be replaced on it to avoid buying a whole new driveshaft, but they told me that it was near impossible to find anything and that aside from the hanger bearing, they are designed to be replaced as a unit when they inevitably fail. my advice would be to service the diff and transfer case fluids as per GM specified intervals and have your hanger bearings inspected during each and every service and replaced it right away if it has even the slightest amount of play. Mine went about a month after my mechanic had changed my oil and inspected it and didn't notice any play. It went pretty quickly, in a matter of 1500KMs or so. Granted, it was a stupidly marked up aftermarket piece of junk. HIGHLY encourage you use OE parts if available. Hope this helps!!