I called him and he seems shocked. He said to let him know what the mechanic says and we will work something out. So he doesnt seem to be putting me on.

I do expect it is the head gasket now since I have been reading a lot today about where the water routes in the engine.

Thanks a lot guys for the info and if anyone else has more to chime in I am all ears "eyes"

Brian

I had time to do some closer inspection today. Does anyone have a picture of the head from the front without the power steering pump mounted on? The water is not coming from the seal between the head and the block. I can get my finger back behind the pump, but I cannot see. Is there a freeze plug behind that pump? I am thinking I have a rusted freeze plug not a busted head gasket. Does anyone know if there is a freeze plug back there? I think my fix might be a tiny fix.

thanks,
Brian

Betcha it's coming from the timing cover. That's my bid.

Very few tiny or cheap fixes on these. And if you try something weird, you'll pays lots more later. Beware of shortcuts.

Brian, if you can, post a picture. As they say, it is worth 1,000 words. Post directly to this site or use a photo site to link in (such as photobucket.com which is free).

I had a crazy busy week so I had a mechanic friend look at it for me this morning. He just called and told me it is definitely a freeze plug in the head right behind the mounting plate for the power steering pump. He was on his way to pick it up and install it.

The part at NAPA cost me $3.67


On a side note, he said the intake gaskets and the head gaskets had definitely been changed by the PO. Guess the guy I bought it from was being on the level.

Brian

That is great to hear. Let us know the total.

He just called me with the final total.

What he did:
Home Visit to do repair
Went to pick up Freeze Plug
Replace Freeze Plug
Diagnosed why dash, tail lights, and turn signals were not working.
Replaced a relay for turn signals and 1 bulb
Found a defective tail light socket which blew the fuse
Replaced fuses and removed defective tail light socket
Replaced 2 blown bulbs around vehicle's exterior

What he charged:
$100.00

:)

Nice.

Nice is right. The only person that comes to my house to work on my car is me. I would have paid $100 to stand around drinking Mt. Dew while someone does all of that.