Inari

I first posted this under "general tech" questions but didn't get much of an answer. What determines how much visible condensation comes out of a vehicle's tail pipe on a wet or cold day? My 2006 Chevy Uplander emits a lot of visible condensation 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?

. 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

kevinkpk

If it's white smoke, then it's an issue, otherwise it's condensation.