Hey all,

I thought my '95 SC400 had blown a head gasket, or at least had a leaky one.

There was oil and coolant leaking out at a fairly alarming rate.

I noticed the bolts holding the valve covers in place were loose so I tightened them (probably not to spec).

Now... no oil leakage and not a drop of coolant lost and the engine idles like new.

Anyone else encountered this???

 

Moved to engine section.

 

if it was your valve covers leaking, it would explain the oil leaking out and the erratic idle, but does not account for the missing coolant. Double check the two places where it would be obvious that you have a blown headgasket.

1: do an oil change and check to see if the oil is milky
2: Drain the coolant from the radiator to see if there is oil floating on the coolant

If those are normal, you probably dont have a blown headgasket. If you can see the oil leaking out see if you can trace where its from. Remember the headgasket is between the block and the head while the valve covers simply sit on top of the head. A compression test would probably be a good idea to confirm it is not a blown head gasket.


on a side note, if it was just the valve covers loose, pick up a new gasket and replace the valve cover gasket since it will continue to leak otherwise.

Good luck with it. it sounds like you have a very time consuming project on your hands