Slight oil leak rear of engine

GREGERY

MEMBER
1997 GMC SONOMA
81,800 MILES

I have a 1997 GMC sonoma 2.2l 4 cyl 5 spd truck. I have a slight leak in the rear of the engine from the head gasket. Not too bad yet. I have priced a head gasket job and head job . It will be 768.00 or so. I was wondering if I can use a head gasket sealant to fix my problem I have found one at autozone for 35.99 it has a double money back guarantee. I also wanted to know if there would be any problems later on if I did this. Would it cause problems for the mechanic later on down the road when he takes off the head and does the repair? Thanks greg

3 Replies

DRCRANKNWRENCH

MECHANIC
3,380 POSTS

You have to be weary of the head ghasket fixes. They are a copper and sealant mix which is not good for the rest of the motor. There are temporary and permanant head gaskets fixes. The permanant ones can get expensive. The permanant ones will not last forever. I used some in my F'iance's Eclipse and a slight bumper to bumper accident shook it loose and it overheated immediatly. That is something to think about on the road. It all depends on the condition of the rest of the truck and if you want to keep it. I would go with the real deal head gasket fix as the price is not bad. Putting it off will lead to more issues.

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Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 AT 6:47 PM

GREGERY

MEMBER
7 POSTS

But will it cause me to have a clogged radiator or heater core later on? The leak is minimal and only uses about as much from the cold mark to empty on the resovor in about 300 miles.

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Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 AT 12:45 AM

DRCRANKNWRENCH

MECHANIC
3,380 POSTS

Well, it won't clog anything unless it is already so rusted it is about to clog anyway. Even though it is a small amount, it will get worse and it is not good for fuel economy and can get into the oil and make it lose its protective qualities.
Even if you don't fix the head gasket you should change the anti-freeze as it could cause further problems.

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Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 AT 12:55 AM