HG should be about $700-800. TB job is usually $400-600. Note, if you buy a used engine, you will need to do TB & WP job on it, so no savings there. There is some synergy between TB and HG jobs, but I wouldn't count on a lot of discount.

good luck

 

AGH!

Well..

The coolant is definately leaking through the heater core. I turned the heat on the other day and it filmed up all the windows and my coolant level dropped dramatically. and now iv begun realizing the correlation between the heat being on and the coolant level dropping.

so maybe the head gasket is fine. the oil is still leaking but thats probably just the distributer seal or some seal around there. maybe this oil leak also account for condensation in the engine? oil goes out. air comes in. the escaping oil has to be replaced with something in a closed system. at least thats my theory. I'm most likely wrong but if its the heater core and not the head gasket then id be very pleased. summer is around the corner so i dont need the heater core anyways.

Im also wondering if the previous owner knew something was up because the glovebox pin was removed so that someone could get to behind it.

 

Accessing heater core is a big job requiring dashboard removal.

You might check to make sure that heater hoses are not leaking coolant into the interior by the heater core nipples. Probably not, but you want to rule that out before tearing into the interior. You will need to remove the heater hoses at some point in any case.

White oil is probably a HG failure, so two big repairs are likely.

good luck

 

Well my reservoir is empty after an hour of driving. the window fogs up like crazy and only the A/C seems to get rid of the fog. there is a funky smell whenever the fan is on.

If it's a head gasket failure... I'v lost around over half of a gallon of coolant. im pretty sure thats more than enough to completely cover the dipstick with milky oil but it doesnt. when i redip the dipstick the oil looks perfectly fine. (the picture was the first pull from the engine before cleaning and redipping.) I'm really doubting its the head gasket because there just is not enough evidence to support that 3-4 quarts of coolant could be hiding in the oil. the hole coolant loss has to be just a major leak somewhere else in the system. I dont feel like i have to worry at the moment just keep topping off the coolant. Also if it were a HG leak between oil and coolant passages then why is the coolant brilliantly green with absolutely no traces of oil. everything im seeing now seems to show evidence of something else. it seems to lose the most coolant when the engine is hot though. do i still have to consider a cracked head?

And once again, Should i run some coolant system sealant through or will that make things worse?

Thanks for everyones input, this is really starting to drive me crazy.

 

Heater core leak might respond to cooling system sealant, if the hole is not too large. Particles must become jammed in the hole and form a seal. When these products work, they can sometimes produce a miracle, but many times they won't work due to nature of the leak.

You could try pinching off the heater hoses w/ vise grips to prevent any coolant circulating in the heater core (will not harm anything). If this stops your coolant loss, then you know HG is OK.

good luck

 

I have both lines pinched off right now. I will see what happens tomorrow and hopefully it stops leaking. does the heater still circulate even with the temp guage turned all the way to cold?

 

Heater core cannot circulate w/ hoses pinched off

good luck

 

i meant, if left as is. will coolant bypass the inlet valve? i have the heat turned all the way down and i could see the heater valve turn with the turning of the dial. i would think the dial turned to the full cold side would close the valve. but does it still have a slight opening to facilitate a slow flow through the core? i ask because i still had some slight fogging with the heater turned completely off.

I'm off now for my morning commute so i will report later today how my coolant level is doing with the pinched off heater core.

 

I would have thought the valve would stop the flow, there may be a small amount of flow past the valve, either leakage or normal. I would pinch off both hoses tightly to be sure.

good luck

 

today was around 80 out and i drove the car pretty rough and got that fluid flowing! and i got home and there doesnt appear to be any decrease in the overflow. I had only the line with the valve pinched off which should be the inlet according to the cooling system diagram in the service manual.

so far so good. I will leave it as it is pinched off until i get home friday and check again and if the level is the same then i think it will be safe to say i found my problem.