Q: Water seeping from engine, possible head gasket.

asked by on January 27, 2018

Hello! I'm interested in purchasing this truck. Runs great, shifts smooth, no smoke or smells. I noticed when I had shut the engine off, it Begins to drip water (slight green tint, colorless on cloth) coming from right below the head gasket. There is excess "sludge" around the head gasket but the drip seems to be to the right of the oil filter. No milky oil under radiator or oil cap/dip sticks, no smoke and no over heating. Looks like fairly new hoses also. Check engine light is on, it threw a P0432 code due to the catalytic converter, which I noticed also drips along the clamps holding the cat in place. Related issues? Separate issues? Any ideas? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

My car has 146000 miles.
My car has a manual transmission.

It is not recommended to buy any vehicle that has the check engine light on, unless you have negotiated a substantial discount to cover the risk. In reviewing the NHTSA database for this particular model, there are a well above average number of recalls and consumer complaints and consequently this is not considered to be one of the "better" vehicles. The particular trouble code you have cited could be due to a failed catalytic converter but converters do not fail simply due to age and so the underlying cause of the failure would have to be determined and repaired, otherwise the new converter will just fail. If there is a coolant leak from the engine block/cylinder head, that will likely require a significant repair and, again, warrants a substantial discount to cover the cost of parts and labor to effect a repair. Ordinarily, once the engine is hot, you will not see liquid water from the converter connections as the converter is typically operating around 1,000 degrees F, much to high for liquid water to appear. In this circumstance, though, the converter may not be functioning and so you are just seeing condensed water vapor from the exhaust. It sounds like this vehicle will need some repairs and you should proceed very cautiously. In addition, you should review Consumer Reports, and other databases (such as NHTSA) and possibly consider alternative models. Once you do select a vehicle, to protect yourself in the transaction, you can request a pre-purchase vehicle inspection. That inspection, carried out by a certified Mechanic, dispatched to your location, will give you the exact data that you need to make a fully informed, intelligent decision and minimize your risk in buying a used car. If you look at the just cited link for YourMechanic’s inspection service, you will see a long list of the vehicle systems that must be inspected as well as details of YourMechanic’s inspection methodology. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.

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