Chev Blazer/GMC Acadia 3.6L ?

[buddylpal]

Wow, this thread has derailed terribly. The OP was asking for suggestions regarding two vehicles and somehow this turned into a smarty pants contest and now we have unsolicited advice from topics that the OP wasn't even inquiring about.

Have we lost the ability to stay on topic?

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted by buddylpal
Wow, this thread has derailed terribly. The OP was asking for suggestions regarding two vehicles and somehow this turned into a smarty pants contest and now we have unsolicited advice from topics that the OP wasn't even inquiring about.

Have we lost the ability to stay on topic?


I don't know what BITOG you have been logging onto, but i've never observed any ability to stay on topic here, nor is the moderator team inclined to require it of anyone which is why it keeps going on.

So what was never here, cannot be lost.

 

[userfriendly]

I've been a wage earner all my life, so nothing I have has been taken from the labor of others. We can drift off topic, you know... for research.( I have a prairie storm over head that sounds like a battery of 105s).

How many of you have heard "My parents never gave me a ____ or ____ or ____ , so if you (son or daughter) want something, you can get a job, save your money and buy it yourself".
I used to hear; "You make the most money of anyone of 16,000 employees at the railroad, yet drive the worst pos car in the parking lot?"
Well, for one, I'm a single parent and two, I spent over $30,000 on snowboarding last year. (1996)

Go back a generation. My parents paid for my brother's PHd in bio chem, and my sil's parents paid for her's. U of Sydney, AU 1976. My parents gave me the down payment for a house.
My dayghter was paying $1,800 a month for rent, so I gave her a down payment for a house. Then when I could, paid off her student loans and credit cards.

Go back another generation. My grandparents put my mother, McGill class of 50 through university.
Go back another generation. How did my grandmother get her grade 10 in piano? By saving her money for music lessons?

I could go on, but I think that most of the people reading this get the picture.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted by Ram02
Originally Posted by buddylpal
The early GM 3.6 V6 had some issues with the timing chains. They seemed to have remedied the issues on the later built LLT version but the LFX version was when GM made a lot of changes to ensure more durability and it has been a very reliable engine for GM and it's a great performer. The newest 3.6, the LGX, is really a totally new engine, it doesn't share really any parts with the previous generation 3.6 and the dimensions and part spec are different. The LGX now has three timing chains instead of four, and has a whole host of differences. From what I've seen, the LFX and newer engines are pretty bulletproof.



Thanks for that break down the GM 3.6 is getting a bad rap on here . I knew they fix the issues from early on


Then why are they still having issues?

 

[Ram02]

Originally Posted by Miller88
Originally Posted by Ram02
Originally Posted by buddylpal
The early GM 3.6 V6 had some issues with the timing chains. They seemed to have remedied the issues on the later built LLT version but the LFX version was when GM made a lot of changes to ensure more durability and it has been a very reliable engine for GM and it's a great performer. The newest 3.6, the LGX, is really a totally new engine, it doesn't share really any parts with the previous generation 3.6 and the dimensions and part spec are different. The LGX now has three timing chains instead of four, and has a whole host of differences. From what I've seen, the LFX and newer engines are pretty bulletproof.



Thanks for that break down the GM 3.6 is getting a bad rap on here . I knew they fix the issues from early on


Then why are they still having issues?



What issues they having now???? It's not the timing chains that's been resolved

 

[ryster]

Originally Posted by buddylpal
Yep I've replaced that purge valve on a few of my buddies vehicles. It's the same purge valve used on the LLT and LFX but luckily it's inexpensive and pretty darn easy to replace.


It is a small pain on the LFX in the Equinox/Terrain since it is on the back of the engine by the firewall. 30-45 minute job. You have to remove the engine cover, air intake tube from the box of the airbox to the throttle body, and the throttle body. Then it is easier to get to. On the Traverse/Acadia/Enclave the purge valve solenoid is right up front and very easy to swap out (10-15 min job).

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by userfriendly
I've been a wage earner all my life, so nothing I have has been taken from the labor of others. We can drift off topic, you know... for research.( I have a prairie storm over head that sounds like a battery of 105s).

How many of you have heard "My parents never gave me a ____ or ____ or ____ , so if you (son or daughter) want something, you can get a job, save your money and buy it yourself".
I used to hear; "You make the most money of anyone of 16,000 employees at the railroad, yet drive the worst pos car in the parking lot?"
Well, for one, I'm a single parent and two, I spent over $30,000 on snowboarding last year. (1996)

Go back a generation. My parents paid for my brother's PHd in bio chem, and my sil's parents paid for her's. U of Sydney, AU 1976. My parents gave me the down payment for a house.
My dayghter was paying $1,800 a month for rent, so I gave her a down payment for a house. Then when I could, paid off her student loans and credit cards.

Go back another generation. My grandparents put my mother, McGill class of 50 through university.
Go back another generation. How did my grandmother get her grade 10 in piano? By saving her money for music lessons?

I could go on, but I think that most of the people reading this get the picture.

Crazy money! Glad you and yours did well. Some of us are pretty much self made, and view things differently, of course, as we all do coming from different backgrounds.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted by userfriendly

The Escape will hit 83,000 kms tomorrow, which is 51+ k miles. My daughter asked why the exhaust smells like gasoline. I told her because the engine can't breathe with a cat and 2 mufflers,
and that the oil when I drain it smells like gas too. The transmission shifts about 4,000 times in 50 miles, even in sport mode.


Not sure what the warranty is in Canada but in the US there is a 5/60k powertain warranty and depending on the actual purchase date you may squeak by. If the transmission is truly "shifting 4000 times in 50 miles" I'd get it looked at. The rest of it is par for the course for a GDI engine. Doesn't seem to affect most of them much outside of Honda.

 

[4WD]

Had to look up that AT-4 ... that's what I'm talking about from my anti chrome point of view ... Looks more off road than the Chevy does IMO ... Yet interior is nice ...

 

[userfriendly]

One dealership will do a free grill swap on all Denali models for the same reason. Love the truck, hate all the chrome. Are we still stuck in the 50s? When did engine badge and all those decals show up, in the 60s?
I know it's a 4X4 without the sticker. Some people take a hair dryer and dental floss to their vehicles the minute they get it home, while the 0W20 is draining for something substantial.

I agree, the GMC is better looking than the Chev offering. The front end of the Chev HDs look like a 1958 school bus. Stupid is as stupid does.

Isn't the 2016 and newer 3.6 a different engine than the 2015s and older?

The Escape doesn't shift 4,000 times a day, it just seems like it. Always looking for the tallest gear for fuel economy. To pass on a 2 lane highway it has to down shift 3x, then get the turbo spinning against a restrictive exhaust system.
Changing anything on a non-keeper ruins the resale.Dealerships don't want vehicles that have been monkey'd with.

 

[4WD]

New 3.6L

https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gm-engines/lfx/

 

[Ws6]

I looked up the Cadillac XT5 using the new engine, and it really looks like a step down from a good turbocharged 4 cylinder like Mazda, Honda, and others are using, both in economy and performance, and likely durability given the poor track record.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by Ws6
I looked up the Cadillac XT5 using the new engine, and it really looks like a step down from a good turbocharged 4 cylinder like Mazda, Honda, and others are using, both in economy and performance, and likely durability given the poor track record.


I'll take displacement and extra cylinders over a cheesy tiny turbo any day of the week. There's no way you're going to convince me that a NA V6 is going to be less reliable than some tiny turbo engine.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by Ws6
I looked up the Cadillac XT5 using the new engine, and it really looks like a step down from a good turbocharged 4 cylinder like Mazda, Honda, and others are using, both in economy and performance, and likely durability given the poor track record.


I'll take displacement and extra cylinders over a cheesy tiny turbo any day of the week. There's no way you're going to convince me that a NA V6 is going to be less reliable than some tiny turbo engine.


All I care about is performance and proven track record. There is no emotional component there. I've owned 7 liter V8 from GM. 3.7 liter V6 from Nissan. Now 2.5L turbo from Mazda. All of them worked just fine.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by Ws6
I looked up the Cadillac XT5 using the new engine, and it really looks like a step down from a good turbocharged 4 cylinder like Mazda, Honda, and others are using, both in economy and performance, and likely durability given the poor track record.


I'll take displacement and extra cylinders over a cheesy tiny turbo any day of the week. There's no way you're going to convince me that a NA V6 is going to be less reliable than some tiny turbo engine.


I remember people saying the same thing about tiny V8's, and then tiny V6's, and now tiny I4 turbo engines. In every single instance they have initially been correct, but as soon this becomes dated and the industry moves on and things are fine---and better.

GM's constant issues with their 3.6 vs. Acura and Mazda's half decade of boring success with turbo 4's is a perfect example of this happening.


But GM doesn't have constant issues with their 3.6.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by Ws6
I looked up the Cadillac XT5 using the new engine, and it really looks like a step down from a good turbocharged 4 cylinder like Mazda, Honda, and others are using, both in economy and performance, and likely durability given the poor track record.


I'll take displacement and extra cylinders over a cheesy tiny turbo any day of the week. There's no way you're going to convince me that a NA V6 is going to be less reliable than some tiny turbo engine.


I remember people saying the same thing about tiny V8's, and then tiny V6's, and now tiny I4 turbo engines. In every single instance they have initially been correct, but as soon this becomes dated and the industry moves on and things are fine---and better.

GM's constant issues with their 3.6 vs. Acura and Mazda's half decade of boring success with turbo 4's is a perfect example of this happening.


But GM doesn't have constant issues with their 3.6.


...and Mazda and Honda/Acura don't have constant issues with their 2.0 and 2.5L turbo engines. Which also perform better in comparable vehicles. Hence my original post.

 

[userfriendly]

Thanks for the link 4WD.
Which engine did the ATS-V twin turbo Cadillac have, the 2017 and newer? My math calculates that it is about 5 cubic inches larger than the previous generation 3.6L @ 222 vs 217. (3649cc)
The spec sheet said it was a "clean sheet of paper" engine with little in common with the previous generation 3.6L.

The power train warranty in Canada is 160,000 kms, or 100,000 miles. For a few bucks a month, I can get bumper to bumper extended warranty, and not have to worry about reliability.
I looked at the Chev Traverse and Buick Enclave. No,I don't think so. Buicks are for old people. The Cadillac XT-5 is OK, but another $10k just for the bling factor.

 

[TacoFergie]

Do you guys really think GM would change their ways with the 3.6L? The new 5.3L v8's are still having lifter issues, although now they are bending push rods (sometimes within 20k miles) instead of shelling out the roller or cam. What I'm getting at is that all the past GM issues are just pushed off. I don't trust that GM actually changed much. In the link posted by 4WD I saw absolutely nothing referenced to any of the oiling issues, timing chain issues (caused by the poor oil system issues), poor electrical connection issues (granted thats in the fuse box and not engine internals) which leads to leaning out of a bank which then leads to burning out the cat on the specific bank. Not to mention the crazy amount of HVAC issues, creaks, rattles and suspension components that just plain old don't last. Granted some of that is due to the owner. I have worked on plenty of Acadias/Traverse/Enclave and many other GM products to know how bad they are.

I grew up in a GM family, moved on to working on cars and since then (over 15 years ago) I have been a Toyota, Subaru and Ford guy. There is a reason my whole family only LEASES GM vehicles, because they don't trust them to last more than 3 years....granted they won't admit that since we have family that works for GM so they feel that they have have to support them. But I'm the black sheep of the family, I am the only one that owns a vehicle older than a few years old. Call it what you will, but I will likely not own a GM product for quite a long time till they have proven to change their crappy ways of their past.

 

[super20dan]

truth

 

[4WD]

Actually it mentions all kind of changes including the new chain design … but since you signed up here with an agenda it would not matter …