what would cause head gasket seepage in l995 MB 6 cyl, 40,000
miles.all dealer serviced.? only repair: water pump replacement 2002.
owner 78 year old widow.

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Request for Question Clarification by revbrenda1st-ga on 25 Mar 2003 16:21 PST

Hi dot,

Let me ask a few questions, please. By MB, do you mean a Mercedes
Benz? Also, has this vehicle been used for relatively short-distance
trips? The mileage is quite low considering the age of the vehicle.
Did the vehicle overheat before you had the water pump replaced --
i.e. is that WHY your mechanic suggested the the water pump should be
replaced? The reason I'm asking is that usually before a head gasket
blows, the vehicle may experience an over-heating problem.

Looking forward to your response,
revbrenda1st

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Clarification of Question by dot78-ga on 26 Mar 2003 14:22 PST

11/29/01:low coolant light on. advise, customer is waiting. diag
pressure tesrt cooling system. replace water pump and drive belt and
fill with new coolant. 2/04/02: no a/c . not cooling advise.tested and
ainspected with black light, could not find any leaks.if it gets low
agian the dye should showit up. if not it may have an evap leak. diag
time only. 8/26/02 low coolant light on. not running hot. 2 people
told customer no coolant in engine. [attendant, gas station, and jiffy
lube attendant] this was on sunday. mercedes said low coolant sensor
shorted[ll/29/01]and car did have coolant and customer had been
misinformed. [i rechecked attendants and they had used a hydrometor].
so i dont know who is telling me the truth. i have checked my computer
and found out that coolant could get into the engine and cause this
head gasket seepage. but i am interested in mercedes 6 cyl engines
have had this problem, and would stand responsible for this problem.
40,000 miles is correct. 78 year old widow. goes to church, grocery
shopping and plays cards once a week, and mercedes has taken care of
all servicing, and i use only premium gas. i am trying to find help in
proving to the service manager that they should be responsible. thank
you for any help you can give me.

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Request for Question Clarification by revbrenda1st-ga on 26 Mar 2003 18:21 PST

After the repairs you've had, are you still experiencing an
overheating problem or is a 'low coolant' light still coming on?

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Clarification of Question by dot78-ga on 27 Mar 2003 15:33 PST

i have submitted clarification

Cylinder heads can work 'loose' over time.
The first thing I would check is that the cylinder head is properly
torqued (i.e. the bolts have the correct tension.)

Since it's a late model car, I assume it has an alloy head? If there's
been any instances of overheating (perhaps when the water pump
failed?) head warping can occur.

What's am MB? :-)

august  2002 was thre last time coolant light came on, but on march
11. i found a great amount of what looked like water under the front
of my car. i proceeded home. it was chilly and i turned on the heater.
the most terrible fumes came out. i had to turn off the heater and
open the window. three days later it was warm, and i turned on the a/c
- and no air. almost a repeat of what happened last year. the car is
being checked as of now. i told them i dont want the a/c repaired
until they find out why the coolant registers low so often, and why my
a/c doesnt work. what happened to the freon. i am looking for a
conmnection between the low coolant light going on and the head gasket
seepage. i believe they are connected, but i dont know how. i dtill
dont know if the spots on my driveway are from freon or coolant. i
hope mercedes will let me know

august  2002 was thre last time coolant light came on, but on march
11. i found a great amount of what looked like water under the front
of my car. i proceeded home. it was chilly and i turned on the heater.
the most terrible fumes came out. i had to turn off the heater and
open the window. three days later it was warm, and i turned on the a/c
- and no air. almost a repeat of what happened last year. the car is
being checked as of now. i told them i dont want the a/c repaired
until they find out why the coolant registers low so often, and why my
a/c doesnt work. what happened to the freon. i am looking for a
conmnection between the low coolant light going on and the head gasket
seepage. i believe they are connected, but i dont know how. i still
dont know if the spots on my driveway are from freon or coolant. i
hope mercedes will let me know. to westie-ga, MB is mercedes benz