I got my motor couple months ago and today I noticed a small leak right on the corner on the drivers front. it so small it doesnt even drip. I can watch it and it blows a little bubble every mimute or so. you can see where it was leaking but all it is is dampness never drips off the edge of the block or nothing. could the head gasket repair bottle stuff work. I thought maybe since it was sitting in a yard it would help it recondit?ion the seal. what do you guys think? there isn't any contamination either thanks guys.

Is it a coolant leak? I've had good luck with the stop leak for coolant, but never for head gasket. I've heard others though that say it helped. I would just keep an eye on it for now & see if you are losing coolant & how much. Also, if you start overheating then I'd take some action.

its leaking at the head but its very small and its coolant.

Replace head gasket... or you might regret it later. The 2.2 is known for this crap.

well I hate to put more money into a car that ain't worth it. I have 2600 in a car that isn't worth more than 1700. really just kinda pisses me off . 2.2 is a decent motor except for head should I just visually inspect head and replace gasket or have it checked and machined. I was hoping a bottle of miracle potion would work since its so small

Anything that you "pour" into your car that fixes a seal or headgasket sounds like a bad idea no matter what. Take a straight-edge and make sure the head is flat. If it is, then clean up the mating surface and replace the headgasket AND the head bolts. Have to replace both. Also make sure you torque everything back down to spec that you remove.

well once the engine warnms up it don't leak. it such a minor leak to. I hate to pull out for such a minor leak.

Well, used cars are always a gamble. If you have towing coverage, I would just keep driving it as long as its not overheating. If it does, just pull it over & call the tow truck. FYI, that straight edge test doesn't always work. I would spend the money & at least get it resurfaced. Check around. I found a small machine shop that will do it for $40. I did the valves myself "old school" by hand lapping. Do a good visual inspection between the valves & between the cylinders. You won't catch all the cracks this way, but that's where most of them occur.
I think I used a product called alumaseal before for coolant leak. Its just a small tube of powder type stuff. Or if you are really hard up, try some black pepper since most people have that laying around. (I don't).
You sound like me in that I won't rip it apart until it needs it. FYI, I have re-used head bolts before & put the blue (med strength) lock tite on them, but use your best judgment on that. If they look really crappy, better to go with a new set.
I'm sure not everyone will agree with me on this, but that's OK. Just my 2 cents & I won't be offended at all. Good luck with it.

Mine did the same thing and i ran it like that for a while but ended up needing a head gasket

I appreciate the nice genuine comment. ive been getting alot of crap. I put a bottle of k& w.head stop leak and it seems to have stopped it imediatly. it was only.leaking when the engine was cold . warmed it up the little air bubble and seepage stopped . it never even leaked enough that it spilled over the ledge of the block. also by seepage it was just damp it leaked so little you couldnt even tell it by looking at the overflow.

when my head gasket went out it was the typical oil and coolant mix, mine was leaking exaust into the water jacket and pushing it out the coolant bottle...it would get super hot within like a minute and a couple days befor it went out it was running rough (stalling at stop signs, and sluggish) but imma be honest from wat i saw on my actual gasket..ur guna have to replace it to truely fix the problem so just keep that in mind

WASNT* the typical oil and coolant

dakota sutherland wrote:I appreciate the nice genuine comment. ive been getting alot of crap. I put a bottle of k& w.head stop leak and it seems to have stopped it imediatly. it was only.leaking when the engine was cold . warmed it up the little air bubble and seepage stopped . it never even leaked enough that it spilled over the ledge of the block. also by seepage it was just damp it leaked so little you couldnt even tell it by looking at the overflow.

The ONLY reason people are giving you a hard time is because your not listening and insisting on running a sealer through your coolant/oil passages. Instead of bitching about spending more money on a car that gets you back and forth, just either do it right... or sell it. Instead of paying the 17 dollars for the head gasket and the 25 dollars on the head bolts.YOU have decided to chance it on replacing both these parts... the 10 dollars on the "magical potion" and maybe even 100 bucks on a radiator. Sounds smart to me. You can only justify your decision on being lazy and/or ignorant. I will end my rant in letting you know I have ONLY been trying to help you out in the long run. If you want to throw a fit because you think I am being an a-hole... then go right ahead.

look the head set is 55 head bolts are 25 and having the head checked is 50. I dont have the money that simple. and screw it as far as im concerned if it screws ill go buy a toyota or something ive beeno a good loyal gm customer but they know there head gasket sucks and they dont care. not only that ive never done a head gasket and dont have anyone to help guide me I dont want to screw it up. I know you guys are just trying to save me trouble but I just aint got it right now.

well im just guna be honest, but i didnt have any expeirience when i did mine...its pretty staright forward..take everything attached to the head off get all the bolts out and wat ever u need to pull the head off..have it sent off (i paid 30 to have it checked and 30 to have it shaved ..it wasnt warped i just did it to be safe) and when u get it back i personally replaced as many gaskets as i could and then put it back together ..its really not to hard just alot of tight squeezes...and take ur time..but its ur car man..u do what you want or have too..were just tryin to help u prevent being stuck somewhere or in a odd situation..luckily mine blew half a mile from my house but it took me 45 min to get home cuz i didnt have anyway to tow it so id drive it til it got hot then stop for 15 then repeat

lol hey what ever gets you home. mine I dont wana even call it blown leaked only fore the first 2mins car was started and when I say leaked I mean I could spit and make more of a wet spot than this. spitting, would be about 5times what it leaked each time. that's not a joke either. it was so slight idk how I saw it. I drove it almost 300 miles today and in the process drained the stop leak stuff and it is still good . I just vb used stop leak wasnt even stuff with shavings of stuff in it

Yea i was just saying mine had been doin that since i got it and i drove it over a yr b4 it finally gave up but its not a good sign, mine was doin it in the exact same spot

hmmmmm I figure I'll cross my fingers and hope it lasts awhile if it starts back up I'll fix it all. what causes head gasket issues is it the heads or just the gaskets any idea?

my gasket had a small notch in it in that particular spot that just barely let anything leak but it was just enough to mess it up, and yea i drove the living crap outta my car b4 the gasket blew so..i wouldnt worry bout it til it happends..but u could go ahead and buy the head set or head bolts (if u run into some extra cash) and all the supplies that way when the gasket blows u could start work immediatly

did yours stop leaking once the engine warmed up . what do I need just head bolts and gasket or is there more? how long did it take you to do it

idk i didnt pay it mush attention til it got terrible...and i bought head set,head bolts,new thermostat,coolant, and had the head checked and shaved.and coolant bottle from the junk yard cuz mine was cracking from the pressure and heat...its a good idea to flush ur coolant system when u got everything apart..mine had old orange dexcool crap from the previous owner mixing it..

cool I was looking at the head gasket set its 55 bucks I didnt think I needed all those seals lol. I appreciate your help. if it lasts a month ill new able.to do it . I've never done one but it don't look to hard.

yea you wont need them all but i used like 5 or 6 just replacing what i could find..lol but if u get ready to do it let me kno im sure u might run into some of the same troublesso just ask me if ya wanna kno

I will do. I may do it as soon as I can so I can get in my car and trust it again. I dont like driving it and worrying .

i know the feeling, my car runs like a champ now..runs ALOT cooler and started gettin great gas mileage..as of now i can go 80 mi and use exactly a 8th or a tank i kno because i drive 40 mi one way to school..lol idk wat the equals out in gas milage