Tow Pig/Winter Beast - 2006 Cadillac Escalade FS in SW Ohio.

Selling a 2006 Cadillac Escalade AWD.  I recently bought this from a fellow GRMer to see if it would be a good fit for an epic road trip I'm planning for next year.  Took it on an approximately 2000 mile road trip last week from OH to FL and back, and while I liked it, I don't think it fits with what I want.  Asking $3500.  Located in southwest Ohio just east of Cincinnati.

• 275K miles
• 6.0 345 HP LQ9
• AWD
• Standard Wheelbase
• I have third row seats for it, they are just not installed right now.

The good:

• Its a western truck, so it underneath is incredibly clean.  I've included underbody pictures below.
• It had a bad vibration when I bought it, so I ended up replacing the wheels/tires on it with some used OEM 18" Escalade wheels, and a brand new set of Michelin Primacy LTX tires.  Cost about $1000.
• New Idler arm assembly and valve cover gaskets
• Engine runs great, and drivetrain seems in good shape.

Significant issues:

• Still leaks oil after replacing the valve cover gaskets, and some of it gets to the exhaust.  Sitting still too long you'll be able to smell it burning off.  In my road trip, I had to add between 1/2-3/4 of a quart.
• I ended up adding a little over a quart of coolant to the reservoir on the trip.  The water pump is pretty new, so it could still be purging air from the system, or it could just be a matter of the angle I was parking at.  Oil and coolant both look clean, so it appears they aren't mixing.  On the negative side, it could be a sign of coolant getting into the combustion chamber or an internal leak somewhere.  This is the most worrying part of the truck to me, as I can't seem to find an external leak.  Coolant temp stayed under the 210 degree mark on the gauge the entire trip.
• Check engine light is on, supposedly for an evap code of some sort.
• SRS light is on.  I don't know why.

Minor issues:

• Still has a bit of a vibration a little over 40 MPH, and again from about 69-71 MPH.  I am guessing front end issue, but don't know.
• Front A/C works but rear A/C lines are capped off.
• Has a Kenwood touchscreen stereo that works fine, but the steering wheel controls do not seem to work with it.
• A few rock chips on the windshield, none right in front of the driver, though.
• And a ton of other little things, it's a 19 year old GM product with 275K miles.  

And a quick shot from my return trip from FL:

This is probably mostly of interest to fellow rust belters.  I'm guessing it'll require some regular attention, but at least bolts aren't likely to snap off or require a torch to remove.  I would prefer to sell it outright and cut some of my losses, but may consider some horse trading if it means I can also replace my Mazda5 with the new trade.  Would mostly be interested in a 2nd gen Highlander, but could be interested in other midsize/compact CUVs/SUVs or sedans/wagons, especially if they have a Toyota/Lexus badge.  I'm looking for smaller, boring, comfortable, and reliable, with the ability to tow 3500-5000 pounds a plus.  

Does an ‘06 sienna xle with ~205k miles pique your trade interest?

In reply to cghstang_chris :

That’s with the 3.3 still, right?  Probably would want to pass on it, but feel free to send details.  I probably wouldn’t mind a minivan, but modern ones are about as big as the Escalade, so I’m not sure eastsideWife would want to drive it.   
 

Oh yeah, if there is a trade I’m interested in that is higher value, I don’t have a problem adding money to the deal. 

In reply to eastsideTim :

Sent you an email Tim.

Finally got it on a lift.  We cleaned up underneath, then ran the engine and looked for leaks and other issues.  Here's what we found:

• The main remaining oil leak appears to be the rear main seal.
• The radiator is leaking, but it appears to be happening only when the engine is hot and running, which would explain why coolant loss was so slow.  I'm guessing the higher pressure and temperatures combine to make it leak.  Still, something that should be dealt with before it gets much worse.  On the good side, I'm assuming this means head gaskets are fine.
• We were able to scan for SRS codes - it is a front sensor.  Probably not so coincidentally, there's an SRS sensor that appears to have been in the path of the leaking coolant.  I'm guessing that is the problem.

eastsideTim said:

Finally got it on a lift.  We cleaned up underneath, then ran the engine and looked for leaks and other issues.  Here's what we found:

• The main remaining oil leak appears to be the rear main seal.
• The radiator is leaking, but it appears to be happening only when the engine is hot and running, which would explain why coolant loss was so slow.  I'm guessing the higher pressure and temperatures combine to make it leak.  Still, something that should be dealt with before it gets much worse.  On the good side, I'm assuming this means head gaskets are fine.
• We were able to scan for SRS codes - it is a front sensor.  Probably not so coincidentally, there's an SRS sensor that appears to have been in the path of the leaking coolant.  I'm guessing that is the problem.

Dumbest question ever: what kind of mpg's is this thing getting? 

Also, how weak are those awd parts.

In reply to yupididit :

Not sure about how strong the AWD parts are.  Absolute best MPG I got was 17, but that was pretty much all highway miles in the south.  I was getting closer to 15 on the Appalachian part of the trip.  I have been driving it around town a bit, but not enough to notice mileage here.

In reply to eastsideTim :

I sent you a message last night. 

yupididit said:

In reply to eastsideTim :

I sent you a message last night. 

Sent a reply!

In reply to yupididit :

I think the 4L65e will be an issue before the AWD BW4481 transfer case. I have a spare of both in Dayton.

Bump, throw me an offer if you are interested!  In a week or so, I think I'll start repairing issues and keeping it, at least through winter.