We have yet to find the source of the mysterious oil leak dripping down onto our exhaust pipe and garage floor and now a copius discharge of coolant has also appeared. It seems to be coming from the front of the engine as there is a puddle in the back of the pulley on the front of the water pump. Could all this be caused by a bad head gasket? It goes to the dealer regardless beacuse I don't have the time now to fix it myself but I was wondering what I might be up against...

And the lady in Florida I just bought it from ASSURED me there were no fluid leaks...HA HA on me.

thanks

Ben

I'm going to guess that they are related.

A leaky camshaft seal will take the water pump-to-head seal with it in short order.

Plus if the flame trap is clogged, you're going to get oil coming from every possible place that it can, most usually the seals. Clean the flame trap if you haven't already. Almost every old lady car has a dirty flame trap unless it was dealer serviced on the intervals given in the manual.

You're probably going to end up with a new timing belt, water pump, and front (cam and main, maybe intermediate shaft) seals. Not that expensive, and certainly nowhere NEAR the expense to get a head gasket replaced.

i agree with the flame trap replacement, i have a 79 242 dl that was basically pouring out oil everytime i drove it. my first thought was that the oil pan gasket went bad so i replaced that. of course that may have been part of the problem, but as i looked under the car i could see the oil dripping down the side of the front crankshaft cover. if you are a do it yourselfer, replacing the seals isnt really too difficult as long as you have the correct tools. and dont just replace the seals. it is essential that you replace or clean out the flame trap because the pressure will just build up and blow the seals again. and it is very inexpensive if you do it yourself. good luck - john

Just guessing but probably not related problems. The coolant in the pulley is probably a bad water pump- seals gone bad. Luck is on your side when you catch this failure in your garage rather than on the highway 40 miles from home in an overheated condtion.

I haven't been following your oil leak if you posted about it. You probably have been advised concerning the possibility of a clogged flame trap creating pressure in the crankcase and forcing oil out past engine seals.

It is quite possible that the previous owner experienced no fluid leaks or didn't notice them because she parked outside. The quantity of oil expelled from the engine is many times directly proportional to engine speed. Maybe she drove slowly as well.

Randy