I knew the car had some oil leaks in the past, but daaayum!

Looks like the cam cover gaskets and oil pan gasket have been leaking for a while. What's strange is that I went through less than a quart of oil every 6 months. A leaky power steering hose added to the mess on the driver's side when it dripped onto the alternator and sprayed all over the place. That hose was replaced a year ago, but the mess remained....

Anyway...let's consider these the "before" pictures.

 

If your not already, youll be darn happy you pulled the motor even though the reasons arent for the best.
It will be so nice to have it all cleaned up and "tight" again

 

You call that dirty??? You can still see silver on the oil pan and starter. That's not dirty.

Tony's right, you're going to be very happy with the results. I almost envy your situation. The 'almost' being the wallet related part.

 

Youd better dip that engine in liquid wrench before you start removing bolts.

 

Dave-

Looks like you're (supercharger) diving right in. You are so good about taking pictures. Not me. Pulled one of the rear struts/shocks/whatever last night. So you and I are on about the same timeline. Damn my *** gets cold sitting on that concrete floor! I've got my old digital camera that I think I'll start keeping outside with me for pics. Keep it up.

edit: I'm now going to add a subliminal message (supercharger) each time I respond to one of your threads. MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

Isn't that power steering fluid highly inflammable? Always thought if it leaked onto the alternator then you got sparks and game over ........

 

Apparently not. My alternator was SOAKED in the stuff, along with everything else on that side of the engine bay. Soaked and combined with every piece of grime imagineable. It turned into a tar-like substance over time.

 

I think a supercharger (3 kids) is out of the question (student loans) for the foreseeable future (mortgage) or until I (tuition) hit the lottery.

 

Somwhat understandable. People, enjoy rearing children against realizing greater emotional requirements. So, understand, personal emotions require change and require growing ever richer.

 

I'm with Matt ... especially after our SF weekend, that engine is nice and clean

 

Call me naive, but where would I find this magic potion?

 

I second that.

 

Got me 2 cans of PB Blaster already. I love that stuff.

 

Any good auto parts store. Here's a twelver

 

Liquid Wrench is nothing compared to Kroil or PB Blaster.