Remind me again why I stick to filling up at Costco. Top Tier gas at a reasonable price, and the gas in the underground tanks is constantly refreshed, sometimes daily, based on the sales volume.
These mystery vids are the best. Now I can go and start breakfast. I didn't even think about breakfast while I was watching. AND the perfect omp reading makes me rethink Equinox. Great stuff!!!!!!
E85 is mostly clear. I used to run E85 on my mustang for 5 years. How you test the ethanol content is you put it into a tube, fill water to a fill line, the rest with e85 and shake it. After it settles in 5 minutes you can gauge how much ethanol content is in the gas by how much separates and suspends at the top of the solution
About two months ago there was a gas station in my area in New Jersey that caused this same issue with a bunch of cars. The car owners sued the gas station for the repairs and they shut down for months before reopening for fuel service again. What a nightmare! I’m glad I stopped using this gas station before all that took place. Glad you finally solved it. Water can get into a fuel storage tank from rain runoff if the tank seals fail. Sounds like what you experienced here.
Back in the '80s a high school buddy of mine had a '76 Nova. Was leaving my house one evening, and it would start for a second, then die, over and over. After taking loose the fuel line and pumping some into a glass jar, we saw that it was about a quarter water. Turns out, the old man that owned the car before had solved water leaking into the trunk by drilling drain holes in the trunk floor. Right into the fuel tank.
Had a bunch of Harleys stop running outside my work one year ( I’m a motorcycle mechanic ) . Turned out they were filling up at garage down the road and unknown to anyone at that stage the tanker driver had filled up the premium petrol bowser with diesel . Took all morning to figure out the common denominator, but someone probably got their hand smacked 😂 .
I am sorry to see your troubles. I have 260K miles on my 2.4L | 2015 Chevy Equinox. I had the upper portion rebuilt (long block) rebuilt at 160K and trans rebuilt at 200K. Keeping up with Oil changes and Maintenance is the key. I will never sale it. My kids all want it.
i love BG. used them at my dealership and i had a 09 pontiac torrent GXP with the notorious 3.6L. i bought it super cheap because it needed timing chains, but the motor was also super slugged with oil. Used the BG engine flush and dude it was like a brand new motor inside!!! i was highly impressed, and will back BG products.
Glad you figured this out and it wasn't too expensive. I was tied in through the other videos, makes sense the troubleshooting steps given the engine. nice to see I am not the only one that has chased false flags while diagnosing :) have to feel like a major victory now that its done
We had the same problem with a Ford Countour. It would not run after we put ARCO gas in it. We drained all the gas out and freezed a 5 gallon can full. The next morning half of the can was ice. Try freezing the gas that you take out and see if it turns to ice.
i’m a believer in batches of bad gas ever since i went through a whole saga just like this. garbage gas was throwing misfire codes, choking idle. stopped somewhere else someday when i was finally out, and it was like a new car. i thought it was a myth until it was me. but hey! valve cleaning for better mpgs! she’s mint for another 60k!
Same man! I had a situation like this about 6 years ago. I had a 95 F350 Powerstroke that I filled up my auxillary tank in at a random fuel stop off I75 on my way down to Atlanta. Destroyed my injection system but couldn't prove it because I paid cash and really didn't remember where it was.
Happened to me before. Car went into limp mode out of the blue, got it home and let it sit for a while. Next start up - totally fine. Put some fresh gas in it and it never happened again!
My sister had a base model 2002 or 2003 Acura RSX. That car had the K20 low compression motor, 160hp, 2 liter displacement, designed to run on 87 octane. She always filled it up at that one particular Pilot gas station in Knoxville. She noticed it was a bit down on power, missing, idling slightly rougher, just didn't feel right. Took it to the mechanic when it was due for an oil change, he changed the fuel filter and told her never go to a Pilot gas station again. After that, going only to shell or BP stations the car ran like a top on regular 87. Them damn Haslam brothers, bunch of scam artists.
After the deep freeze in Texas 3 years ago, I got bad gas at a nearby 76 station. I had very similar results but at least the car ran long enough to make it onto the tow truck ramp. Kia dealer had to completely flush fuel system on my Kia Sportage Turbo SX, with only 4200 miles. 76 paid the $600 bill, thank goodness. What a nightmare!
JR! You did a video a couple of years ago. Basically pouring Berryman’s in a vacuum port on the intake. I used Gum Out but I did it on my 2007 Mazda 3. The smoke cloud was epic - bigger than a barn. My neighbor’s house completely disappeared! I decided to jump in it and drive it down the road. Big mistake. I change out the EGR also. Pulled the intake and throttle body - raw oil. But the Gum Out treatment cleaned that head and valves. It’s run like a top ever since.
The Equinox model is junk. I was just gifted one for fixing a friends Ford Escape. I have put hours of time and parts on this lemon. Uses oil like crazy, idles crazy, exhaust manifold was cracked, had 4 different check engine lights. (All resolved with different parts). Now has the dreaded P0017 code. 152K. Not sure this thing will make 200K. A true Chevawreck!
@@waltersweet4595that code is caused by the timing chains being stretched have a 2010 Cadillac SRX that given to me with the same mileage as yours this thing sat in the yard for 2 years straight the stealership even gave up on it and charged the previous owner $600 bucks for a new fuse box that wasn’t the issue these units suffer from chain stretch they will have to be replaced it typically has 3 chains my 2010 Cadillac SRX has the 3.0 GDI
I guess you've never pumped a tank full of water from a station that got flooded. Side of the road and pulling the carb apart to get the water out of it. Lesson learned, you got too deep before considering all the clues. Good on you for finding the problem.
Hi JR. 👋 I can't believe it's just the gas. Well done, guys. I'm not sure about your Gas as I'm in Ireland. Great job on getting it running. Respect. 👋👍🇨🇮
At least you didn't have to replace the engine, but that engine really needed that cleaning, because that was nasty. To bad you didn't think about the gas being bad earlier. You and Eric crack me up, glad you helped his sister out. With the walnut job, she should be good for another 100,000 miles. I have never seen gas like that, or even e85, hope she gets a gas refund lol. G-d bless.
That was a great series. There must be a fair few locals all experiencing simar issues? At least you finally solved the puzzle and she got a bit of a tune up along the way 👌
Glad I watched the whole thing... Basically to answer the Question raised about fueling up at a QuikTrip/QT. Being from Wisconsin I heard it as Kwik Trip (KT) otherwise called Kwik Star in States where QT has been operating... As the "new" Owner (bought from family, so I know its "Good" Service History, done some of it myself before buying it like 6 months ago) of a 2014 Ecotec GMC Terrain AWD... I'm concerned about the various "Problems" I'm now trying to Avoid (Fingers Crossed). Depending how I read my VIN it "might" be Flex Fuel capable... But the Manual/Fuel Cap/etc. doesn't agree. Might have to talk with my GMC Dealership. Now... Basically since a "Bad Gasoline" issue (from various Stations/Brands, affecting mostly GM Injectors from the late 90's...) in the Milwaukee,WI Regional Market over 20 years ago I've been a BIG fan of using Top Tier Detergent Gasolines since that Standard came out (although in the last few years several Retailers have "dropped" carrying the TT standard... KT being one of them). I've tried since that incident to ALWAYS use Fuel from a Station/Chain that Guarantees its Fuel. Which KT still does at least... Like with the Top Tier Standard I suppose I really should double check the current Guarantee "policy" of my frequent Brands just so I'm ready... With that previous Milwaukee Incident being so spread out and not seem to strike equally/instantly all vehicles... PLUS the repair response from Mechanics/Stations/GM all seemed to point at different issues/concerns (3 Blind Men Describe an Elephant...). Its a nice reminder to be informed and ready to consider/rule out "Bad Gas" and based on the Horror Story News Reports at the time of some people "needing" new Fuel Injectors (which GM later tested/claimed wasn't necessary if switched to "clean" fuel) and others didn't... Questioning how detailed the various Shops and/or Drivers were at addressing the issue. Since it was so wide spread, yet "Random"... There must have been some people that wanted the cheap and/or quick fix (leaving "Bad Fuel" behind to "kill" the Injectors again... Insidiously not right away and early on at least nobody was certain what Stations/Brands were "safe". CITGO (which put its "Guarantee" at the time at the discretion of individual Stations) and Mobil were often cited but again not immediate problems so a larger supply chain issue... All coming down to A LOT of Drivers got burned by this not to mention Stations/Chains, and probably a few Mechanics/Shops too when the Dust Settled...
Been there with a DI VW. The ethanol levels were stupid high in their premium gas. The gas station’s insurance paid for the tow, draining the tank, and an oil change.
You’d be surprised how many people manage to put diesel in a gasoline car. The gas stations near the dealer I used to work at the nozzles were the same size as gas and on the same bank of pumps. About once a month or so we would get a car towed in for a crank no start. I’d walk out to get the vin and mileage. Turn the key to get the mileage and see the fuel gauge pegged on full. Walk to the fuel fill, remove cap, swipe my finger and yup. Full of diesel. Not sure what got put in that equinox but glad u were able to figure it out finally.
I put diesel in a rental car in the Cayman Islands. Their pumps are black for diesel, green for gas. I knew it, thought about it on the way to the gas station, and still got it wrong when I went to fill up. Luckily I realized when I had put roughly a dollar of diesel in, and it ran fine after filling the rest of the tank up with gas. I always thought I was too smart to get that one wrong.
Awesome troubleshooting! Glad you found the problem. Plus she got a valve cleaning out of it as well. These engines are fairly fragile to a lack of maintenance but if properly maintained, they do okay. Just make sure she's pretty religious about changing her oil with a good Dexos rated full synthetic at 5k miles and it should last her the lifetime of the car.
my wifes buick encore done the same thing back over summer .... after replacing 5 sensors and many many hrs of cussing it ... we figured out bad gas got us .. finally got the tank drained and filled it up with fresh gas its ran better then it did when we bought it new !
@25:13 “can’t put diesel in it” …unless the gas station accidentally swapped the filler nozzle. My wife got diesel in her (not-diesel) Focus and when we went back to the station, found that the nozzles had been physically switched and you could indeed put the “diesel” nozzle in a gasoline car. They got an earful for that.
Same thing happened to my wife. My 6-year old son wanted to help her pump the gas so she accidentally let him pump diesel. The diesel spout was smaller like gas. After we discovered and fixed the problem with the car, I checked all the pumps at the station. All the diesel spouts were larger except the one we used.
Congrats on the fix! I always seem to expect/ diagnose the worst when trying to fix my cars. Love REAL mechanics: they follow their knowledge and training to diagnose problems. Start simple and go from there. Problem started AFTER fueling up. Seems so easy but it's easy to jump the gun and overthink it and expect the worst. Guess we should take a page from Karl in Slingblade: check the gas! LOL Congrats again on the fix
I've come across this problem 16 years ago my friends grandpa had a 87 vette he filled up with premium at Walmart drive the car home and that's where it never ran again he took it to 4 shops before he met me they did timing chains and tune up new distributor fuel filter head gaskets they never thought to check the fuel and even though that gas station wasn't more than 8 months old he bought a tank of almost pure water that man was so happy that I came to his house and found the problem in less than 30 min
I would still BG44K this thing and run multiple bottles of Heet through it. I'm guessing she either put E85 in it or the gas station screwed up, if there's multiple reports in your area then it's the gas station's fault. Glad you got this going without a full blown engine swap.
Call the weights and measures guys. The ones who check the pumps in your state. They can check the gas for quality. They will sample the gas at the station.
The walnut blaster you have needs extremely fine media. I had no problems with mine until I put slightly less fine shells in it, then I had constant clogging issues. As soon as I went back to the ultrafine shells, it flowed perfectly.
We had a local gas station accidentally put diesel in the gasoline holding tank. We went to a local auto parts store complaining about engine misfires and stumbling, thinking it needed new plugs/wires. They immediately asked where we lived and got gas. We told them and they told us about the diesel in the gas at that station and told us to run fuel treatment and fill the car with premium. We followed their advice and the car runs fine now.
That "fuel" looks like kerosene not gasoline!!!!!!! Wow!!! Something was disarray at the Circle K Gas station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great fix on the valves!!!!! I need to do that on my 1989 F150!!! Great troubleshooting skills on figuring out the "what the hell is in the fuel tank" !!!
I would have never thought that in 2024 a gas station would be pumping out bad gas. I’ve only run into bad gas when a car has sat for a long long time. I laughed really hard at “if you wanted me to put gas in it just say so”
@@mph5896hurricane sandy. 2012. filled up all my family's cars with gas. easily over 100 extra gallons for our generator. come to find out all of the cars had the mesh blocker to prevent siphoning. every car except my 1979 Cadillac 😆
Hi you got me well entertained that I watched the two parts of the video. Credits for you. But next time try to spray some starting fluid and it should start if fuel is the issue. Just my humble opinion.
Check a wiring diagram. At the fuel pump fuse you might be able to just pull the fuse and hook a jumper wire from the battery to the side of the fuse socket that feeds power to the pump. Works on every vehicle I've tried it on.
I'm glad the outcome turned out to be bad gasoline and not an engine. However, with all the cranking the starter went through it might be the next thing that might fail especially if this vehicle has auto stop.
Ran into his exact issue not long ago, gas was fully saturated with water to the point it settled out a little water in the bottom of the tank, the fuel was a weird white color...once water saturated the fuel would not burn, it would no longer vaporize enough to even cause a pop. Hopefully you cleaned the intake's pcv port that clogs on that chevy while off
Lol great video guys I'll be subscribing.. And I subscribe to your train of thought.. always start with the hardest thing!.. I guess that's human.. And in the olden days in the '70s and '80s when we had dirty valves or carbon knock.. we'd pull off the air cleaner rev it up and pour a little bit of automatic transmission fluid down the carburetor... cleaned everything out made them run really good... Some benefit to the olden days.. also make some smoke crazywhite.. And one time we bought an old station wagon at a car auction that was smoking white nobody wanted to touch it.. My hubby said I know where that white smoke came from.. So we bought it cheap that was one of the best cars we ever owned..
right on! Only water makes white smoke. Most of the time you blow a head gasket your exhaust turns white. All other chemicals make different shades of black or blue.
You can use any device that pulls a vacuum to remove the gas. I remember that you have an oil extractor that you used for oil changes. That will pull gas out of the tank.
@@JohnDoe-zr6bkmost cars have a fuel filter that is integral to the pump assembly itself inside the tank. There's not typically an external replaceable filter now
my friend begged me not to buy an Equinox with the 4 banger.... I found an Equinox LTZ with a V6 3.6, glad I waited and listened to my friend { friend is a mechanic after all }
It just doesn't seem like bad gas would happen but it does! Happened to my Acura one time and ran so rough but used HEET and cleaned an EGR valve and then ran perfect.
you know you become a certain higher end youtube chan when no one makes a "DEZZZ NUTSSS" comment! JR thanks for uploading, I do look forward to seeing what you have in store.
EXACTLY, So It's NOT The Engine I Agree With YOU, I Live here in Houston, Texas AND These Vehicles Alone With The Chevy Malibu AND The Impala is All you See SO The Ones With The 1.5 Turbo Engine Can't be Failing That Much IF Everybody is Driving THEM !!!!!!!, And I'm NOW A Fan, I Just Subscribed !
When it showed 210 on compression I said that's a fuel issue. I was thinking fuel pump but That wasn't it. Now I would recommend having them keep an eye on that. "IF" it was pumping water and as long as it was sitting in it it may have started a little bit of corrosion inside the pump.
I was a lube tech at a Ford dealership and one of the mechanics took apart a Ford Sable that was an Oregon State fleet car and could not figure out what was wrong and discovered the same thing. The last person to put gas in it put E85 in it. He drained the tank and put Unleaded fuel in it and it started up and ran perfect.
They sell kits for checking gas. It is a graduated cylinder that you put gas in up to the gas line then add water up to the water line, shake well, then let sit. The water mixes with the alcohol in the gas. After it sets the water/alcohol will setle to the bottom. Then you read the %scale to determine the % of alcohol.
I’m stunned at how good that walnut blasting worked and just how quick it was!
Cheers Pat 🇦🇺
Right? It works incredibly well. Probably had 10lbs of it on the floor when we were done though 😂
@@WatchJRGo 😂😂😂
Remind me again why I stick to filling up at Costco. Top Tier gas at a reasonable price, and the gas in the underground tanks is constantly refreshed, sometimes daily, based on the sales volume.
Best price too
These mystery vids are the best. Now I can go and start breakfast. I didn't even think about breakfast while I was watching. AND the perfect omp reading makes me rethink Equinox. Great stuff!!!!!!
She's getting something better back. That walnut blast should help a ton.
E85 is mostly clear. I used to run E85 on my mustang for 5 years. How you test the ethanol content is you put it into a tube, fill water to a fill line, the rest with e85 and shake it. After it settles in 5 minutes you can gauge how much ethanol content is in the gas by how much separates and suspends at the top of the solution
About two months ago there was a gas station in my area in New Jersey that caused this same issue with a bunch of cars. The car owners sued the gas station for the repairs and they shut down for months before reopening for fuel service again. What a nightmare! I’m glad I stopped using this gas station before all that took place. Glad you finally solved it. Water can get into a fuel storage tank from rain runoff if the tank seals fail. Sounds like what you experienced here.
Was that the CONOCO station on Admiral Blvd in Camden, N.J.?
Back in the '80s a high school buddy of mine had a '76 Nova. Was leaving my house one evening, and it would start for a second, then die, over and over. After taking loose the fuel line and pumping some into a glass jar, we saw that it was about a quarter water. Turns out, the old man that owned the car before had solved water leaking into the trunk by drilling drain holes in the trunk floor. Right into the fuel tank.
Had a bunch of Harleys stop running outside my work one year ( I’m a motorcycle mechanic ) . Turned out they were filling up at garage down the road and unknown to anyone at that stage the tanker driver had filled up the premium petrol bowser with diesel . Took all morning to figure out the common denominator, but someone probably got their hand smacked 😂 .
she is going to be so happy to have her car fixed .you guys are the best thanks
I am sorry to see your troubles.
I have 260K miles on my 2.4L | 2015 Chevy Equinox.
I had the upper portion rebuilt (long block) rebuilt at 160K and trans rebuilt at 200K.
Keeping up with Oil changes and Maintenance is the key.
I will never sale it. My kids all want it.
I can honestly say I learned a lot watching the series on this car.
i love BG. used them at my dealership and i had a 09 pontiac torrent GXP with the notorious 3.6L. i bought it super cheap because it needed timing chains, but the motor was also super slugged with oil. Used the BG engine flush and dude it was like a brand new motor inside!!! i was highly impressed, and will back BG products.
Absolutely 💯
Glad you figured this out and it wasn't too expensive. I was tied in through the other videos, makes sense the troubleshooting steps given the engine. nice to see I am not the only one that has chased false flags while diagnosing :) have to feel like a major victory now that its done
We had the same problem with a Ford Countour. It would not run after we put ARCO gas in it. We drained all the gas out and freezed a 5 gallon can full. The next morning half of the can was ice. Try freezing the gas that you take out and see if it turns to ice.
And Eric's sister even gave you the clue / hint.
Good job figuring it out and doing a solid for the family.
That should have been the FIRST thing to look for. Cause = Effect.
i’m a believer in batches of bad gas ever since i went through a whole saga just like this. garbage gas was throwing misfire codes, choking idle. stopped somewhere else someday when i was finally out, and it was like a new car.
i thought it was a myth until it was me.
but hey! valve cleaning for better mpgs! she’s mint for another 60k!
Same man! I had a situation like this about 6 years ago. I had a 95 F350 Powerstroke that I filled up my auxillary tank in at a random fuel stop off I75 on my way down to Atlanta. Destroyed my injection system but couldn't prove it because I paid cash and really didn't remember where it was.
Happened to me before. Car went into limp mode out of the blue, got it home and let it sit for a while. Next start up - totally fine. Put some fresh gas in it and it never happened again!
My sister had a base model 2002 or 2003 Acura RSX. That car had the K20 low compression motor, 160hp, 2 liter displacement, designed to run on 87 octane. She always filled it up at that one particular Pilot gas station in Knoxville. She noticed it was a bit down on power, missing, idling slightly rougher, just didn't feel right. Took it to the mechanic when it was due for an oil change, he changed the fuel filter and told her never go to a Pilot gas station again. After that, going only to shell or BP stations the car ran like a top on regular 87. Them damn Haslam brothers, bunch of scam artists.
Love it! Great to see a team with that much ability miss a simple problem. At least now you have the most dependable Equinox in the USA!!
the fuel check is what the pros check fast because IT SAVES SO MUCH TIME
At least his sister got clean valves and a thorough check of the engine out of all this. She should be happy.
Great work guys, that Chevy looks easy to work on. Sister will be happy. Big up!
Im guessing she feels a huge sense of relief! Awesome!
Crazy. Great saga, I actually enjoyed watching it unfold.
My 2019 Equinox runs on regular but premium is recommended. Sound weird but DEF fluid is clear. Can cause similar problems. Worth looking into.
she probably picked up the "cheapest" handle/button at the pump because HEY IT'S THE CHEAPEST! and filled it with DEF lol
One things for sure, the engine can take a licking and keeps on ticking. 😊
Def contamination is obvious due to it's smell and highly corrosive nature. It will cause things to rust in minutes with high quantities
After the deep freeze in Texas 3 years ago, I got bad gas at a nearby 76 station. I had very similar results but at least the car ran long enough to make it onto the tow truck ramp. Kia dealer had to completely flush fuel system on my Kia Sportage Turbo SX, with only 4200 miles. 76 paid the $600 bill, thank goodness. What a nightmare!
Amazing you got a company to take responsibility for their mistake.
JR! You did a video a couple of years ago. Basically pouring Berryman’s in a vacuum port on the intake. I used Gum Out but I did it on my 2007 Mazda 3. The smoke cloud was epic - bigger than a barn. My neighbor’s house completely disappeared! I decided to jump in it and drive it down the road. Big mistake. I change out the EGR also. Pulled the intake and throttle body - raw oil. But the Gum Out treatment cleaned that head and valves. It’s run like a top ever since.
after telling us fixing junk is killing your soul you continue to fix junk. feels like a metaphor for life.
The Equinox model is junk. I was just gifted one for fixing a friends Ford Escape. I have put hours of time and parts on this lemon. Uses oil like crazy, idles crazy, exhaust manifold was cracked, had 4 different check engine lights. (All resolved with different parts). Now has the dreaded P0017 code. 152K. Not sure this thing will make 200K. A true Chevawreck!
@@waltersweet4595that code is caused by the timing chains being stretched have a 2010 Cadillac SRX that given to me with the same mileage as yours this thing sat in the yard for 2 years straight the stealership even gave up on it and charged the previous owner $600 bucks for a new fuse box that wasn’t the issue these units suffer from chain stretch they will have to be replaced it typically has 3 chains my 2010 Cadillac SRX has the 3.0
GDI
I guess you've never pumped a tank full of water from a station that got flooded. Side of the road and pulling the carb apart to get the water out of it. Lesson learned, you got too deep before considering all the clues.
Good on you for finding the problem.
It ain't got no gas in it!
Spent a lot of time for a simple fix on this one, but it left better than it came in! Really needed that walnut blast too.
"It's a terrible idea but you know it'll work".
absolute gold quote right there. :D
Hi JR. 👋 I can't believe it's just the gas. Well done, guys. I'm not sure about your Gas as I'm in Ireland. Great job on getting it running. Respect. 👋👍🇨🇮
At least you didn't have to replace the engine, but that engine really needed that cleaning, because that was nasty. To bad you didn't think about the gas being bad earlier. You and Eric crack me up, glad you helped his sister out. With the walnut job, she should be good for another 100,000 miles. I have never seen gas like that, or even e85, hope she gets a gas refund lol. G-d bless.
That was a great series. There must be a fair few locals all experiencing simar issues? At least you finally solved the puzzle and she got a bit of a tune up along the way 👌
Glad I watched the whole thing... Basically to answer the Question raised about fueling up at a QuikTrip/QT. Being from Wisconsin I heard it as Kwik Trip (KT) otherwise called Kwik Star in States where QT has been operating...
As the "new" Owner (bought from family, so I know its "Good" Service History, done some of it myself before buying it like 6 months ago) of a 2014 Ecotec GMC Terrain AWD... I'm concerned about the various "Problems" I'm now trying to Avoid (Fingers Crossed). Depending how I read my VIN it "might" be Flex Fuel capable... But the Manual/Fuel Cap/etc. doesn't agree. Might have to talk with my GMC Dealership.
Now... Basically since a "Bad Gasoline" issue (from various Stations/Brands, affecting mostly GM Injectors from the late 90's...) in the Milwaukee,WI Regional Market over 20 years ago I've been a BIG fan of using Top Tier Detergent Gasolines since that Standard came out (although in the last few years several Retailers have "dropped" carrying the TT standard... KT being one of them).
I've tried since that incident to ALWAYS use Fuel from a Station/Chain that Guarantees its Fuel. Which KT still does at least... Like with the Top Tier Standard I suppose I really should double check the current Guarantee "policy" of my frequent Brands just so I'm ready...
With that previous Milwaukee Incident being so spread out and not seem to strike equally/instantly all vehicles... PLUS the repair response from Mechanics/Stations/GM all seemed to point at different issues/concerns (3 Blind Men Describe an Elephant...).
Its a nice reminder to be informed and ready to consider/rule out "Bad Gas" and based on the Horror Story News Reports at the time of some people "needing" new Fuel Injectors (which GM later tested/claimed wasn't necessary if switched to "clean" fuel) and others didn't...
Questioning how detailed the various Shops and/or Drivers were at addressing the issue. Since it was so wide spread, yet "Random"... There must have been some people that wanted the cheap and/or quick fix (leaving "Bad Fuel" behind to "kill" the Injectors again... Insidiously not right away and early on at least nobody was certain what Stations/Brands were "safe". CITGO (which put its "Guarantee" at the time at the discretion of individual Stations) and Mobil were often cited but again not immediate problems so a larger supply chain issue...
All coming down to A LOT of Drivers got burned by this not to mention Stations/Chains, and probably a few Mechanics/Shops too when the Dust Settled...
The diagnosis was awesome to watch. Congrats and Good Job. 🙂
I get I lot of tips and ideas from your trouble shooting, great video, thanks guys!
Been there with a DI VW. The ethanol levels were stupid high in their premium gas. The gas station’s insurance paid for the tow, draining the tank, and an oil change.
I enjoyed the Equinox saga. I suspect most of us who work on our cars have a simular experence we could share at least once in our lifetime.
You’d be surprised how many people manage to put diesel in a gasoline car. The gas stations near the dealer I used to work at the nozzles were the same size as gas and on the same bank of pumps. About once a month or so we would get a car towed in for a crank no start. I’d walk out to get the vin and mileage. Turn the key to get the mileage and see the fuel gauge pegged on full. Walk to the fuel fill, remove cap, swipe my finger and yup. Full of diesel.
Not sure what got put in that equinox but glad u were able to figure it out finally.
I put diesel in a rental car in the Cayman Islands. Their pumps are black for diesel, green for gas. I knew it, thought about it on the way to the gas station, and still got it wrong when I went to fill up. Luckily I realized when I had put roughly a dollar of diesel in, and it ran fine after filling the rest of the tank up with gas. I always thought I was too smart to get that one wrong.
Awesome troubleshooting! Glad you found the problem. Plus she got a valve cleaning out of it as well. These engines are fairly fragile to a lack of maintenance but if properly maintained, they do okay. Just make sure she's pretty religious about changing her oil with a good Dexos rated full synthetic at 5k miles and it should last her the lifetime of the car.
my wifes buick encore done the same thing back over summer .... after replacing 5 sensors and many many hrs of cussing it ... we figured out bad gas got us .. finally got the tank drained and filled it up with fresh gas its ran better then it did when we bought it new !
She said it quit after she got gas. The FBI would call that a clue
🤣🥳
Tbf my son's car lost power right after getting gas. Turns out it was just the accelerator pedal position sensor 🤷♂️
Not today's FBI.
GENIUS --- WOULD YOU TAKE YOUR CAR TO THIS CHOP SHOP.
Loved that you did a longer episode!!!!!!!! Good job finding that bad gas
@25:13 “can’t put diesel in it”
…unless the gas station accidentally swapped the filler nozzle. My wife got diesel in her (not-diesel) Focus and when we went back to the station, found that the nozzles had been physically switched and you could indeed put the “diesel” nozzle in a gasoline car. They got an earful for that.
That’s crazy!!! Never seen a diesel pump with the small nozzle before, glad you yelled at them 🤯
Same thing happened to my wife. My 6-year old son wanted to help her pump the gas so she accidentally let him pump diesel. The diesel spout was smaller like gas. After we discovered and fixed the problem with the car, I checked all the pumps at the station. All the diesel spouts were larger except the one we used.
I've seen plenty of small nozzle diesel pumps. Apparently you never pumped diesel in your life
Congrats on the fix! I always seem to expect/ diagnose the worst when trying to fix my cars. Love REAL mechanics: they follow their knowledge and training to diagnose problems. Start simple and go from there. Problem started AFTER fueling up. Seems so easy but it's easy to jump the gun and overthink it and expect the worst. Guess we should take a page from Karl in Slingblade: check the gas! LOL Congrats again on the fix
good to try alternative blasting media on this one - good to see a tough case fix once in a while - simple ain't easy
I've come across this problem 16 years ago my friends grandpa had a 87 vette he filled up with premium at Walmart drive the car home and that's where it never ran again he took it to 4 shops before he met me they did timing chains and tune up new distributor fuel filter head gaskets they never thought to check the fuel and even though that gas station wasn't more than 8 months old he bought a tank of almost pure water that man was so happy that I came to his house and found the problem in less than 30 min
I would still BG44K this thing and run multiple bottles of Heet through it. I'm guessing she either put E85 in it or the gas station screwed up, if there's multiple reports in your area then it's the gas station's fault. Glad you got this going without a full blown engine swap.
But I so appreciate lessons I've learned from you guys
THANK YOU ❤❤❤
Call the weights and measures guys. The ones who check the pumps in your state. They can check the gas for quality. They will sample the gas at the station.
Learned a bunch and laughed my butt off - nice job guys!
The walnut blaster you have needs extremely fine media. I had no problems with mine until I put slightly less fine shells in it, then I had constant clogging issues. As soon as I went back to the ultrafine shells, it flowed perfectly.
I’d call that gas station, they owe you lol.
We’re not sure where she filled it up, but yeah, QT would pay for it all day. 💯
@@WatchJRGoif Eric is your brother would that not make his sister your sister?
crazy how the gas was that bad, i would be asking for my money back to.
@@WatchJRGo did she pay cash, or could it be traced by a credit card transaction?
@@jamestyndall529 Pretty sure Eric is his brother-in-law married to his sister?
I was not expecting this outcome either! Holy crap! Glad you got it going anyways. Great story and video n
We had a local gas station accidentally put diesel in the gasoline holding tank. We went to a local auto parts store complaining about engine misfires and stumbling, thinking it needed new plugs/wires. They immediately asked where we lived and got gas. We told them and they told us about the diesel in the gas at that station and told us to run fuel treatment and fill the car with premium. We followed their advice and the car runs fine now.
I did ask previously if it had been mis-fuelled. Glad it's fixed.
one of the BEST finale's ever
That cleaned those valves right up 😲🤘🏽🔥
I really enjoyed seeing you figure this out!
That "fuel" looks like kerosene not gasoline!!!!!!! Wow!!! Something was disarray at the Circle K Gas station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great fix on the valves!!!!! I need to do that on my 1989 F150!!! Great troubleshooting skills on figuring out the "what the hell is in the fuel tank" !!!
I wonder if you read the 91 octane requirement in the owners manual for the equinox with the 2L turbo. That requires premium, the 1.5T regular gas.
91 won't hurt either engine anyway, just the wallet. :)
Recommended not required
When teaching motorcycle lessons I always tell the riders to try fill your tank at the same gas station wherever possible. This is why.
Harbor Freight has a $14 pump you run with a drill that runs 750gph
Easy way to drain a tank
Back in the 80’s my dad would drive across town to avoid “bad gas”. Just normally seems like it’s not an issue anymore.
90 % of the time it is usually the simplest thing….at least for me. I am always over thinking problems only to find the 1 loose wire…😜🤔😄👍👍
So glad my 2018 focus ST has the intake manifold on the front of the engine. I’ve clean the intake valves and it’s super simple to do.
Here in Europe, E85 is Crystal clear (compatible with the LC9 of my Chevy Avalanche 😀)
Possibly your best video ever
Today's special at JR's Garage: free walnut blasting with fuel system purge
Whoa I wonder if dry ice would work to clean valves 🤔❄️🤘🏽
Which engine was equipped the 1.5L or the 2.0L? I'm guessing 2.0L since it called for premium.
I would have never thought that in 2024 a gas station would be pumping out bad gas. I’ve only run into bad gas when a car has sat for a long long time. I laughed really hard at “if you wanted me to put gas in it just say so”
Great video. Do not forget about sticking a hose in the tank and syphoning the old school method. Saves the fuel pump.
There is a block off in there so you cant ram a hose down the filler tube anymore and syphon fuel.
Yeah usually the anti-rollover ball and anti-siphoned prevents that now. On capless tanks like these they upped all the spring pressures 😬
@@mph5896hurricane sandy. 2012. filled up all my family's cars with gas. easily over 100 extra gallons for our generator. come to find out all of the cars had the mesh blocker to prevent siphoning. every car except my 1979 Cadillac 😆
Oh wow? Did not know that. That sucks. I was wondering why no one was trying that. Come think of it, last time I did that was in the 80s. 🙁 @@mph5896
I was wondering why that wasn’t tried. 👍 I had no idea. @@WatchJRGo
Hi you got me well entertained that I watched the two parts of the video. Credits for you. But next time try to spray some starting fluid and it should start if fuel is the issue. Just my humble opinion.
John love your content always something new and different and you get the job down better Than most lazy youtuber
Great Video!!
Love this Content!!
I know his Sister, is going to be so Happy 😄
@davidgore I hope she doesn’t read the comments lol
Check a wiring diagram. At the fuel pump fuse you might be able to just pull the fuse and hook a jumper wire from the battery to the side of the fuse socket that feeds power to the pump. Works on every vehicle I've tried it on.
I'm glad the outcome turned out to be bad gasoline and not an engine. However, with all the cranking the starter went through it might be the next thing that might fail especially if this vehicle has auto stop.
Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge.
Big props for showing the real life of a knuckle buster.
Ran into his exact issue not long ago, gas was fully saturated with water to the point it settled out a little water in the bottom of the tank, the fuel was a weird white color...once water saturated the fuel would not burn, it would no longer vaporize enough to even cause a pop. Hopefully you cleaned the intake's pcv port that clogs on that chevy while off
Lol great video guys I'll be subscribing.. And I subscribe to your train of thought.. always start with the hardest thing!.. I guess that's human.. And in the olden days in the '70s and '80s when we had dirty valves or carbon knock.. we'd pull off the air cleaner rev it up and pour a little bit of automatic transmission fluid down the carburetor... cleaned everything out made them run really good... Some benefit to the olden days.. also make some smoke crazywhite.. And one time we bought an old station wagon at a car auction that was smoking white nobody wanted to touch it.. My hubby said I know where that white smoke came from.. So we bought it cheap that was one of the best cars we ever owned..
Fuel turning white means there is water in it.
right on! Only water makes white smoke. Most of the time you blow a head gasket your exhaust turns white. All other chemicals make different shades of black or blue.
You can use any device that pulls a vacuum to remove the gas. I remember that you have an oil extractor that you used for oil changes. That will pull gas out of the tank.
Don't most modern gas tanks have some kind of anti-siphon feature to make it difficult? Or at least slow you down?
Can't you just unplug the fuel filter and let it empty itself?
@@JohnDoe-zr6bk There is no fuel filter on these cars other than the sock at the intake for the in-tank fuel pump.
There is a fuel pump in the tank to pump the gas out. You just have to figure out how to power it
@@JohnDoe-zr6bkmost cars have a fuel filter that is integral to the pump assembly itself inside the tank. There's not typically an external replaceable filter now
One more video upcoming in this series - Replacing the starter on the Chevy Equinox.
What a bummer bad fuel, with all that carbon build up would it be a good idea to put a catch can in?
That whole time I thought Eric was putting together a harbor freight oil drain in the background 😂
my friend begged me not to buy an Equinox with the 4 banger.... I found an Equinox LTZ with a V6 3.6, glad I waited and listened to my friend { friend is a mechanic after all }
Did you change out the camshaft sensor? Another guy made a makeshift pcv valve on the oil cap and now it doesn't burn oil anymore
It just doesn't seem like bad gas would happen but it does! Happened to my Acura one time and ran so rough but used HEET and cleaned an EGR valve and then ran perfect.
We are in the same situation right now with an equinox. The shop quoted $4900 to flush system replace fuel pumps and injectors!
you know you become a certain higher end youtube chan when no one makes a "DEZZZ NUTSSS" comment! JR thanks for uploading, I do look forward to seeing what you have in store.
There's 2 things if it doesn't run after a fill up...
1) Bad fuel pump
2) Bad gas
I had the same issue, but it was the timing chain guides eventually. 2006 nissan maxima with almost 230,000 miles. Gtg now.
Did you guys jack your Jawas for 8min. at the end of the program wow epic !!😂 lol 😆
EXACTLY, So It's NOT The Engine I Agree With YOU, I Live here in Houston, Texas AND These Vehicles Alone With The Chevy Malibu AND The Impala is All you See SO The Ones With The 1.5 Turbo Engine Can't be Failing That Much IF Everybody is Driving THEM !!!!!!!, And I'm NOW A Fan, I Just Subscribed !
When it showed 210 on compression I said that's a fuel issue. I was thinking fuel pump but That wasn't it. Now I would recommend having them keep an eye on that. "IF" it was pumping water and as long as it was sitting in it it may have started a little bit of corrosion inside the pump.
When I lived in Derby we had all kinds of fuel contami action problems. At that time I worked in service at a Ford dealership. That was back in 1978.
Shout out Eric's Pella hat. I'm with them in Alberta Canada. Good troubleshooting guys. I'm sure sister will be ecstatic..
I think he just had dinner with the rep. All the windows in this shop are Pella 🍻
@WatchJRGo Awesome. Cheers. All the best to you guys!!
That is pretty funny. From the most savvy Macgyver car youtuber on the internet.
I was a lube tech at a Ford dealership and one of the mechanics took apart a Ford Sable that was an Oregon State fleet car and could not figure out what was wrong and discovered the same thing. The last person to put gas in it put E85 in it. He drained the tank and put Unleaded fuel in it and it started up and ran perfect.
They sell kits for checking gas. It is a graduated cylinder that you put gas in up to the gas line then add water up to the water line, shake well, then let sit. The water mixes with the alcohol in the gas. After it sets the water/alcohol will setle to the bottom. Then you read the %scale to determine the % of alcohol.
1.5 turbo LYX 87 octane 2.0 turbo LTG 93 octane. Straight form the owners manual page 25 and 26.