1996 Saturn SL2 headgasket going out?
 

Hello all!

I recently got an 1996 Saturn SL2 from a friend I was trying to help out. I only paid 300 for it and can get around that at the junkyard. It runs fine but seems to be leaking coolant from somewhere... there is a little puddle under the car if its parked for a while and Id say almost all the coolant leaks out if its parked for more than a few days. I really dont know much about auto repair, I can change the oil and that's about it. I was originally planning on making this my commuter vehicle for my 40 mile a day commute to keep the miles off my other vehicle and not drive it in the winter. I am seeing this milky substance in the coolant overflow, picture included. I read somewhere that this could be the head gasket failing causing the milky brown substance, or possibly the leak could be a bad water pump. It has 260,xxx miles on it. Trying to figure out if I should put any money into it or spend a couple grand on a different winter car.

If you've got the milky substance in the overflow jug, then odd are EXCELLENT that you've got a blown head gasket. Since you seem to be mechanically challenged, I'd suggest you shop around and see who will replace it for you at what you'd consider a fair price. Up to you what is reasonable, but if you can get it fixed and have a grand or less tied up in it, it would be well worth it, in my opinion. I just spent a grand on a 94 SC2 and it runs like a champ. I just have minor cosmetic issues with it and am currently working on it so my kids will have a car to go back and forth to work if they land jobs.

That very well could be a head gasket leak. How does the oil look if it looks milky then I would say it is the head gasket.

I own a 94 that was purchased in 1996. It has about 110K on the clock and while it is showing it's age and the plastic parts have taken a beating that does not make me happy, it is a driver and a good one and I recently spent about a grand getting the car re-upholstered. Next is a repaint and some new gaskets for the moon roof or sun roof, never did figure out what the exact name of that thing is. In today's age, a grand on a driver is a bonus.

I don't think you have a head gasket leak. People jump on that way too often without doing the cheap stuff first. The first thing I would do is find the external leak. Put a piece of paper towel under the water pump and see if it gets wet.

Next, check the end cap gaskets on the radiator. It would not be uncommon for those to be failing at about the age of your vehicle. A head gasket does not normally result in an external seepage of coolant. Usually you see an oily film on top of the coolant in the overflow tank, white smoke out the exhaust and a milky/foamy color and texture to the oil on the dipstick and under the oil fill cap. You will also see bubbles coming up in the coolant overflow tank with the cap off and the engine running, especially with the engine still cold.

I also suspect that you need a new overflow cap, but that cannot be determined until the leak is found.

BTW, my water pump started leaking at around 256k miles.

Check all your hoses for swelling or soft spots, including the hose that goes to the intake manifold. You can put paper towels under any suspect part to see if it gets wet there. Don't overlook teh drain port on the bottom of the radiator either, I had mine go bad and start leaking, but that happened right after I did a coolant change. They seem to be reuseable only one or two times.

Those are good suggestions from keith!

Keith is right to suggest checking the simple things first. It may be unnecessary to jump into a full head gasket replacement without first looking at a few other parts.

Honestly, I think you may have two problems here. The first is the obvious external leak, the one leaving the puddle on the ground. Keith's paper towel check is a good starting point here, once you find the leak, it can be repaired. Hoses and gaskets are simple repairs as long as you remember to drain your coolant first (or have a shop do this for you). Even replacing a water pump isn't usually too bad. However, there's still the issue of the milky, foamy residue. Paul is right here saying to check the oil, but that foam is a pretty clear indicator of oil and antifreeze mixing, which usually happens if a gasket has broken, or if there's a crack somewhere.

I forgot something. If you have an automatic transmission, check it immediately for any milky looking gunk in it. A leak at the AT coils in the radiator could be the source of everything going on and if not addressed very soon, it could result in serious damage to the transmission.