Head gasket question
 

hi! I have a 2001 sl1 with 216000 miles. I have a small stream of coolant running down the front of the block. no coolant in the oil yet so i think its an external leak only. i like the car but havent decided if i want to tackle fixing it myself or sell it and buy a 99 sc2 with 148000 miles. my question is which engine is better the sohc or the dohc. thanks for any ideas anyone might have to offer.

Personally while I would prefer the DOHC engine on a 13 year old car with that kind of mileage it is pretty much a crap shoot and I would base my decision on condition, cosmetics and price.
Before I would even contemplated getting rid of the one I have, I would have to decide would it even be worth the time and money to fix it.

And before I even thought about spending the money for one 2 years older, what kind of condition is it in.

Right now for me, if I were to consider buying another S series Saturn it would strictly be can I afford it, is it in terrific condition and what if anything might be wrong with it.

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I like the single overhead cam engine, but that's just personal choice. I'm not looking for a car to race, I want economy and easy to work on. One less cam equals one less thing to go wrong in my simple world. It's up to you to decide what to do, but if money allows and the 99 is in real good shape, I'd snap it up if it were me. Then I'd take my time and repair the other car and either sell it or keep it as a backup.

Have you checked the water pump? Also check all hoses, including the heater hoses and the hard line that goes from the back of the engine to the front. There is also a small coolant passage in the throttle body.