Inari

What determines how much visible condensation comes out of a vehicle's tail pipe on a wet or cold day? My 2006 Chevy Uplander lets out a lot of visible water during adverse weather.. I use it mainly for business, and on average drive less than 5,000 km a year. Some of my daily trips to clients are less than 1 km one way, and sometimes I might make a few stops on the way home, although the engine reaches the full operating temperature most of the time. Today I drove about six km to a dental appointment and six km back, in cold,heavy rain. (That's about a 7.5 mile round trip.) Huge clouds came out when I came to the first stop lights, and when I arrived home, condensation was still coming out of the pipe, although not as heavily.

I'm paranoid about this because my two previous vehicles had faulty head gaskets, and I'm worried that my latest ride might have this too. When I had my 1995 dodge van it let out a lot of steam from the first time I had it in cold/wet weather, seven years ago, although there were no signs of the head gasket leak until 12 months ago. I'd also like to know how long it takes, in time and mileage, for a head gasket to start leaking before any actual overheating takes place.

I'd also like to know if the temperature gauge needles on chevy vehicles stay in the same place, once the engine reaches operating temperature, or do they fluctuate?

Yes, I have been watching the coolant levels, although I can't always check because my parking spot at home is on a slant. Also, the neighbourhood backyard mechanic is not available right now to check the spark plugs or answer my questions for me. My new ride has a three month warranty on it and if there is a problem I'd like to get it fixed before it runs out January 10th.

Thanks for indulging me,
Inari

tech2

water is a by-product of combustion so water will be in the exhaust system. they make weep holes the mufflers to allow moisture to drain.

for the most part the coolant should stay around 90-100*C when highway driving with no loads.

Inari

Thanks for your comments. I forgot about the hole. Will have to check that. Anybody else have anything to add?

Inari

I took it for a long ride delivering X-mas presents and then I parked it and checked the exhaust. It was completely clear, dry, and no water in the tail pipe. I think because of all the small trips, the moisture never got full expelled from the exhaust system. Also, my parking spot is on a slant, and I'd back into it up the hill, so that the muffler was higher than the front of the exhaust pipe, and the excess water couldn't drain out of the hole.

And yes, the needle on the heat gauge does travel around a bit.

Thanks, Inari