[burbandy]

I am in the market for a used suburban between 96-99. I found a 99 today at a used car lot that had a good body, good interior, and when I raised the hood the engine sounded good with about 163K miles on it. Both my father and brother was with me to negotiate the price ect. My brother ask about a guarantee and the owner said his cars was so good that a guarantee was not needed lol and with that said I suggested to go and get my mechanic to tail along for the test drive. As soon and I got back with my mechanic he commented on water coming out of the tail pipe---it was at least a full cup or more on the ground. My mechanic said that that was a sign of having bad head gaskets and in the summer months the truck would burn a lot of water and run hot along with a lot of other mechanic stuff I didn't understand---in the end he said don't waste your money. The man selling the truck argued that all trucks leaked water from the tail pipe especially in the winter months when it is cold---some other guys that worked at the dealership argued the same thing. I decided to believe my own mechanic.

My question to all of you suburban owners is if it is true that your trucks leak water from the tail pipe? I could still go back and get the truck if I find this to be true but I can't afford to throw away 5500 dollars only to have to replace parts in the engine or the whole engine in the near future.

If you know anything about this please respond

 

[unplugged]

Simple tests you can perform

Some water from the tailpipe is common. A normal byproduct of the internal combustion process is water vapor. Water will also condense in the muffler as it cools after running. One simple test is to remove the radiator cap before starting the engine. (don't do this when the engine is hot) Look to see if the coolant level is low. A low level may indicate that there is coolant loss. Top off the radiator with water or coolant and start the engine, and let it warm up. You will see the water circulating. If you see the coolant bubbling, that is a sign of a leak in the cooling system. Your 'mechanic' can do a simple cooling system pressure test to check for leaks or a dye test to check for the prescience of combustion gas contaminating the coolant. You can read about these and other tests of the cooling system at familycar.com P.S. You can usually tell when a used car salesman is lying. It is when his lips are moving!:biggrin:

 

[burbandy]

Thanks for all the cool info unplugged

 

[L0sts0ul]

I agree with what ^ he said

 

[cafs]

Like Unplugged was saying water vapor is common. In this part of the country , with winter temps , its the norm.

I would be concerned if the outside temp was over 70 and it was still coming out 10 minutes after you started the vehicle or if it looked like a fog machine when you ran it