MonkeyPop

Thanks for informative responses. Had a long discussion with the service manager, who said that at 160,000 miles, it was "wise" to replace the head gaskets, and that the Cat surely needed replacing as it is nearly impossible to replace the O2 sensors as they just break off in the Cat and ruin it. I asked him if they would replace the gaskets with the "new, leak-proof" gaskets, and he gave me a rather condescending reply that gaskets are never leak-proof. So I asked him if they would replace the faulty factory installed gaskets that prompted the "coolant conditioner" campaign with the newer, improved version. He admitted that yes, there was a newer gasket that the factory now specs. Anyway, told him I'd think about it, and took the car to a friend who runs an independant German car shop. We put the OB on his smog machine, and the Cat is working fine. Put the car on the rack, looked at the O2 sensors, said he could replace them in 5 minutes. He thinks one of them might be "lazy", but as car is still running fine, just leave it as is for now. Looked at the driver's side head, shows evidence of a tiny ongoing leak, which sometimes collects in the trough formed by the cross member, and dribbles onto the exhaust occasionally. He recomended I just add some more sealant/conditioner to the cooling system, and keep an eye on the temp gauge (as both my wife and I were trained to do by our fathers as part of standard driving procedure). Thanks again for the input!

Hi all, new to your very nice forum. Wife and I bought our 2000 OBW new. Pretty sure it's the SOHC. From the getgo, I noticed that coolant level would go down between oil changes. Dealer said (and I'll paraphrase), "well, it's not normal, but it's not unusual". Car has never had overheating issues, green puddles, gunk in the oil or coolant, loss of power, loss of fuel economy, rough running, or fuel mixture probs. A few green drips now and then is about it. Scheduled maint. performed pretty regularly, and "magic coolant conditioner" added within week of receipt of letter. Fast forward to 162,000 miles. "Check Engine" light came on, took it to local dealer. He says it needs a new catalytic converter, and the head gasket is leaking: estimates about $2,700 to repair. Yikes! Questions I haven't been able to find answers to: Does the external leak with the SOHC get progressively worse and/or is it indicitave of imminent failure (i.e. leaking into cyls or dumping coolant entirely or cracking block)? Or is it more of an enviromental concern, enticing curious kittens to lick up the occasional drops and having to add 8 ozs of coolant every 5,000 mi? Does the on board computer thingy actually monitor the catalyzing performance of the converter, or does it measure exhaust temperature at different points in the exhaust path? Or has my Cat (Cats?) just reached the end of its expected life, and the service guy is making an educated guess as to why the check Engine Light is on? Also, do the heads need to be removed to "Inspect" the valve clearance? Any advice or thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks!