Head or valve cover gasket or water pump 94 SL1
 

I need advice before I move forward on a repair. I have a 1994 SL1 1.9L Automatic SOHC

Our water pump has been cracked for a long time before it was in need of immediate replacement. We have a leak in our valve cover gasket for just as long. A mechanic said we needed a new head gasket. Before the water pump, there would always be oil in the coolant. But I noticed after over a year of a new water pump, there was no trace of fresh oil on the coolant.

Oil would flow down the engine onto everything below including the water pump. One of my questions is this: Can the crack in the water pump be the reason for oil in the coolant because it could suck oil in that leaks from the valve cover down the outside of the engine?

Or can the coolant have been from a bad head gasket that has eventually got clogged up with gunk which stopped the oil from entering the coolant?

Note: There is no trace of coolant in the oil thank God.

Now my other question is this: if it was from a bad head gasket that got plugged from sludge, can replacing the valve cover gasket cause the head gasket to fail again from an increase in oil pressure?

I have no place to replace the head gasket and I am not going to spend the estimated $600 or $800 to replace it with a low quality gasket that the mechanic quoted us. I can replace the valve cover gasket as soon as I get a response to my questions.

If there's no water in your oil, then don't worry about the head gasket. Does it look like a milkshake inside the radiator? If so, I'd be concerned with a blown head gasket. Stand behind the car with it running and smell the exhaust. Does it have a sweet smell to it and white smoke coming out? If so, you have a blown head gasket or a cracked head. If neither symptom is present, then I'd go ahead and just replace the valve cover gasket and keep on motoring. Check those things out and then get to work. Replacing a head gasket isn't that difficult as long as you take your time and pay attention to what you're doing. The key to success is making sure everything is clean and torquing everything to spec. I don't know if the Saturns use torque to yield head bolts, but if they do, you'd need a new set if you have to replace the head gasket. NEVER reuse tty head bolts. I don't care what anyone else may tell you. It's just not worth the risk.

Oil would not seep INTO the cooling system through a crack/leak in the water pump. The internals of the cooling system are at about 14 ? psi with no leaks. So the coolant would be pushing outwards through the leaky area at all times due to the pressure difference.

So then what could that mean for my Saturn? Before the water pump replacement there was always a small amount of oil in the recovery tank for the coolant. But now there is none at all. Can it still be a bad head gasket and the sludge is what is sealing the leaks?

There is no white smoke, there is no sweet smell in the exhaust. The smell is not normal but that is a different topic. There is no oil in the recover tank and we have no radiator cap on my Saturn. There is no coolant in The oil in my Saturn either.

Well, it's possible that a TINY amount might of oil MIGHT get wicked in between the seal and the block, I suppose....otherwise DUNNO.

I don't know either. I seriously doubt that old oil and grease will prevent things from leaking.

maybe the oil was leaking from the water pump bearing.....;)

I have come to realize that I experience the one in a million problems that no one else has ever had. There are other off topic stories of the most unusual issues I've come across with stuff.

As for this, it appears the only way to get the answer is to remove the engine head and check then replace the gasket. Then while I'm in there I can do a little cleaning.

I still would like more possible answers should there be any.

dunno what you mean. The bad pump is gone, a new one was installed, and I would hope they used a new gasket

The main question here is that because oil got in to the coolant, can a new valve cover gasket cause the bad head gasket to fail critically and harm the engine?

The answer to that question is an emphatic NO! The only way I can think of a valve cover gasket having an effect would be if someone used a LOT of gasket sealer and it got into the valve train and then into the engine oil passages. I didn't use any type of sealer on the last valve cover I replaced and had no leakage at all. That was on my old Grand Caravan. Of course, I'm one for following torque specs too and not over tightening things. The engineers have the torque specs for a reason.

the increase in static oil pressure inside the valve cover (leaking vs sealed) would not be enough to affect the head gasket unless someone messed with the head bolts, so no. The valve cover simply constrains the oil to where it needs to stay. Is there a pressure increase as a result of fixing a leaking seal? Sure. Enough to stress out a head gasket. Quite doubtful IMHO.

My engine has overheated so badly multiple times. There's been oil in the coolant so that's what the mystery is. The fact there's no serious leak is amazing!

i would suggest you do a coolant system leak test to see if it holds pressure. You can usually rent one from your local auto parts store.

I agree with scoffman. I think I paid a $150 deposit on the pressure tester at Autozone last year, but you get that money back when you return it. You don't return it? You bought it.

does the aux cooling fan behind the radiator ever come on? My guess is no.
Per your other thread where we are discussing the ects, your ects has likely failed and if so the aux fan will never turn on and you will indeed overheat.

That's my guess anyway. try the ects and connector.

It does not and has not been able to full pressure for years. I still need to replace the original heater hoses, and the 2 year old lower radiator hose is leaking from the oil soaking it.

As for the cooling fan, it always comes on at the right time. It never reaches the red zone because the fan starts and the needle drops to cool. The only time the gauge has went to red, was when it went off the charts from no coolant in the system. The fan that day stayed on even after the key was removed because the engine was so hot.

So yes, the fan activates normally when it's supposed to, and it always has. When I am driving I keep checking all the gauges and when I see the car is running hot I listen for the fan and then before red it turns on and the temp goes down to a safe zone.

Thinking outside the box maybe, I realized that we do not have full coolant pressure, so a test is just a waste of time because I already know it can't hold full pressure. Now because the oil was in the coolant when the system couldn't maintain full normal coolant pressure, can the lack of full or maybe lack of all pressure in the cooling system allow oil to be introduced through any spot with a open part, such as the thermostat, lower radiator hose, or water pump? (like a crack or anything related)