Hello,

I am thinking of buying a 97 Saturn SL2 with 145K miles on it. I looked at it today, and it seems to be in very good condition. I have some experience with this model, it would be my third SL2 from that era. I like these cars a lot because they've been very reliable and easy to work on. I got about 260,000 miles out of the last one.

Anyway, all my automotive repair skills are self-taught, so, I am not totally confident in my own judgment. Below is a picture of the oil cap. I am not sure if that's coolant or some sort of other moisture build-up.

I tend to think it's not too much to worry about, since, I believe I've seen the same frothy build up on other cars. Also, the coolant reservoir and dipstick seemed free from contamination.

Two other things to note, the car had its radiator replaced within the last year, and it has been sitting for about three months.

What worries me is that I wonder if the guy selling the car is withholding information. Did the radiator get replaced because it was over heating, and because of that the head gasket is now damaged? I let it idle for a fair amount of time, the temp gauge was normal, and there wasn't any visible exhaust... What do you guys think? For a thousand bucks...

 

Not sure what part of the country you are in, but I agree - it looks like moisture of some type. That coupled with the fact the car has been sitting up for the last three months. I'd wipe it off, and arrange to drive it for a couple of days, then look again ....

 

Thanks for the reply, I am not sure if I'll get a chance to drive it for a few days though, it's a Craigslist car... If it were me selling I'd have a hard time with a request like that from a stranger...

I am in Wisconsin by the way, was your comment about my location in regard to weather? Possibly the price?

Its generally been pretty cold here for the last month or two, mostly between 0 and 25F, the last few days have been warmer, above freezing anyway.

 

take it to an autozone or similar and have them check for codes -- its free

 

It just looks like normal condensation to me from short trip driving. If you let it run for a while and didn't smell anything from the inside or standing behind it, I think you'll be okay. Ask if you can drive it for a couple of hours and take it on about a 100 mile round trip. First, wipe that crap off the cap, though. After you return, check and see if there's more on it. If so, walk away unless you can get it for a lower price. If that crap shows back up, I'd be wary of it having a leaking head gasket.