Piston Slap: This Group Must Somehow Form a Family!

Josh writes:

Around fall of last year, my girlfriend and I learned we were going to have a baby. I already have two girls and she has three boys. With the existing brood, we were already traveling places in convoy as her Nissan Maxima and my Honda Accord Coupe V6 could not fit everyone together. We threw our money together to get a third vehicle that could carry the entire family and our future baby.

After much research on my end and exploring all other alternatives, we concluded that we wanted a good ol’ Chevy Suburban. It has plenty of room for all of us, can be had relatively cheap, it’s simple enough to troubleshoot and work on, yet will be pretty handy for future home improvement projects.

Low and behold, after scouring CraigsList and checking out various Suburbans and even an Excursion, we finally pulled the trigger on a ’99 Suburban 1500 2WD model. It was, by far, the cleanest Suburban I stumbled across within our rather modest budget, not to mention the most pampered by a country mile.

After paying the princely sum of $3,100 in crisp $100 bills (which was, frankly, about $100 more than I wanted to spend, but the maintenance log and overall cleanliness really sold me on it), I brought home a very clean ‘Burban.

There are a few small issues:

1. The air conditioning system has a leak.
2. The driver’s side rear door lock doesn’t move. (Actuator, perhaps?)
3. The passenger rear door window had a mind of its own last time I pushed the switch, which did not occur during the test drive.

My question to you: Should I make those repairs or should I just “wing it”? My girlfriend and I were discussing just adding refrigerant to the system at the beginning of each summer and fixing everything the way it should be. We’ve came to the conclusion that we’re somewhat torn by that question. Further complicating this question is that the Suburban is only driven about once a week and we do plan on keeping it around for a long time.

Your advice is appreciated. Thanks again, my friend.

Sajeev answers:

I’m diggin’ the Brady Bunch vibe you’ve got goin’ on. An older Suburban with an extensive service history is a great choice. I fondly remember jumping into the third row of a friend’s big blue ‘Burb back in the 1980s. So kudos to you, good sir!

• Definitely fix the power lock issue, that makes loading/unloading your precious cargo much easier. And since this beast is so cherry, you’ll happily do it.
• The finicky power window issue sounds like a dirty or failed switch, perhaps this video (wrong year, I know) will inspire a free fix? If the switch on the rear door works correctly, maybe the driver’s switch pack needs a good clean-up after all those miles on the road.
• Pay for an A/C diagnosis before making a decision. Considering the bizarre weather across North America in the last few years, I’d repair it properly. Hell, I’d change the compressor (if it’s original) no matter what! But perhaps that’s the Houston in me, or perhaps I question the sanity of cramming that many people in a single vehicle on a sunny day with no air conditioning.

Congrats on the new rig, I am sure you’ll love it for years to come.

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.