Cylinder Head Gasket Leak?

[1999montana]

Well,

It was bound to happen, I guess.

Have been studying this wet spot on the right front side of the engine for about 4 months now. The van has 166,000 kms on it. LIM gaskets were done twice, once at 36,000 kms and again at 82,000 under warranty.

Just replaced the water pump at 150,000 when the squealing stopped and the liquid started flowing out, more so when the engine was cold. The water pump had been failing for over a year. The noise I took to be a bad belt. Boy, did replacing the pump ever quiet the engine down!

From what I have read, it sounds like I have a leaking head gasket on number 1 cylinder. Fortunately, I think most of the leakage is to the outside. No overheating, fluctuating temperature gauge, bubbles in the coolant, or smoke as some have reported, and the coolant level hasn't changed a lot. Runs strong and idles half decent. My guess is that I have lost about 1-1/2 to 2 oz of coolant in the last four months.

The mixture of oil and coolant is all over the inner CV joint, and right front of the engine timing cover. But the amount is so slight that it never makes it to the ground, at least not yet.

So, I guess we'll keep driving it until we can afford to fix it.

[merc81]

If its really the head gasket, you want to choose your repair time, not let the engine choose it for you. . . It will die at the worst possible time for you. Also, could be harming the engine if coolant, even a little, gets in the oil.

It wants fixed. Do your part for our dying economy--use up some of that credit limit on your cards

[1999montana]

Hi John,

Thanks for encouraging me to contribute to the GDP for Canada!

I stopped by our local Canadian Tire here and picked up a 500ml bottle of coolant stop leak. I added it to the rad after draining about 500ml of coolant out.

I ran the engine for about a 1/2 hour. It smoothed out and now runs without any miss (had a slight one once in a while even after getting the plug wires right!). Ran some fuel injector cleaner through it too, and that seemed to really make a difference.

Could it be a LIM gasket and not a head gasket? Perhaps, but for now it seems to have sealed itself.

A class 'A' mechanic I know suggested that cleaning the carbon out of the cylinders (as I have done) also has a tendency to remove any foreign material, including attempts to seal a leaking gasket (head or LIM).

So, I'll hold off pulling it apart for now, but will keep a close eye on it for sure.

Bob