Equinox coolant leak
Thread Starter
CF Beginner
Joined: Mar 2019
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Equinox coolant leak
My wife has a 2008 LS Equinox with an external coolant leak. I pressure tested the system and it held psi, however I spotted an active leak on the driver’s side of the engine block. Pictures are attached- I’m leaning towards external head gasket leak. Upon start up there is white smoke from the tail pipe, however it goes away after 30 seconds. No evidence of coolant in the oil. Any ideas?
CF Active Member
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 179
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From: Wisconsin
3.4L is notorious for head gasket failures. I had about 150k miles on my wife's 07 Equinox when ours failed completely. Had a shop make the repair and it cost about $3000.00 to do the work. I had waited so long that the heads required welding to fix some small cracks and then needed to be machined. I would not add a chemical block sealer because you will only delay the eventual repair unless you intend to sell the vehicle. Also, completely flush out the Dex-Cool and refill with regular green antifreeze like Prestone. Dex-Cool is corrosive and hard on gaskets over time.
CF Monarch
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 4,605
Likes: 269
From: USA
3.4L is notorious for head gasket failures. I had about 150k miles on my wife's 07 Equinox when ours failed completely. Had a shop make the repair and it cost about $3000.00 to do the work. I had waited so long that the heads required welding to fix some small cracks and then needed to be machined. I would not add a chemical block sealer because you will only delay the eventual repair unless you intend to sell the vehicle. Also, completely flush out the Dex-Cool and refill with regular green antifreeze like Prestone. Dex-Cool is corrosive and hard on gaskets over time.
Super Moderator
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 6,207
Likes: 689
The new HOAT based dexcool formulas are pretty good. They will last a long time, but if you don't want problems then you have to stick to the fluid change interval. All manufacturers are going the HOAT route now.
