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If you have oil leaking Into the coolant, Then the head gasket has gone bad

You can confirm this by driving down the road when your engine has cooled down, Turn the heat on low and listen for a gurgling sound, like there's air in the water somewhere. It's a clear indication that air is leaking Into your coolant from the chamber and going through your heater core. It may be why your hot air Isn't so hot anymore

It may be too small to notice with a compression test, or It could of just been a complacent mechanic that seen 1-3 cylinders good and one was off by just a hair, but it'll be alright, It may only happen once you drive down the road when the vehicle Isn't at Idle Rpm's

To change a head gasket It's fairly easy, But It's around a 10 hour job, sometimes it may even require removing the motor from the engine. here's a rough outlook that may not be specific to your type of car. but it gives you a general Idea

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable

2. Drain the cooling system (coolant)

3. Remove the Intake manifold

4. Remove the throttle body

5. Remove the PCV valve

6. Remove the air filter

7. Remove the alternator

8. Remove the spark plug wires

9. Remove the spark Plugs

10. Remove the Distributor cap ( or coil pack )

11. Remove the radiator fan

12. Remove the coolant pump

13. Relieve the fuel pressure ( pull the relay in the junction box and start the car 3 times )

14. Remove the fuel line

15. Remove the fuel injectors

16. Remove the exhaust manifolds

17. Remove the head cover

18. Remove the timing chain ( Mark chain to sprocket with a ink pen )

19. Remove the timing chain Tensioner

20. Remove the head bolts In a random order when the engine Is cold ( Failure to do so when the engine is cold may result in a warped head )

21. Remove each head bolt by 1/4 of a turn before removing ( New head bolts required on Installation )

22. Use a pry bar at the corners of the Cylinder head-to-engine block ( Do not pry between the cylinder head and the engine )

23. When Installing place the engine at Top Dead center, by aligning the notch in the crankshaft pulley with the TDC Indicator

24. When Installing - Inspect all hoses and replace all gaskets

25. When Installing - tighten head bolts in s specific sequence such as this

_{(source: gobdp.com)}

I don't mean to scare you, but since it has gotten cold the seal has contracted a bit making an opening for a passage way Into your coolant, (  It may only happen when you step on the gas  ) If you stick it out until summer the seal may expand and fill the gap... a leak such as these can cause a engine block to crack because water ( coolant ) Is getting Into the combustion where Is uses oil to dissipate the heat and lubricate the parts, water and coolant cause corrosion.

but before you go spending 1000 dollars on a mechanic or 50-300 dollars on a bunch of new gaskets, keep in mind that they also make stop leak formulas for the oil for small head gasket leaks

It's a head gasket, But make sure the heads get cleaned up from all of the carbon when It's changed, no reason for that to go undone. It gets rid of any knocking noise and makes your engine happy overall

If you have oil leaking into the coolant, then the head gasket has gone bad.

You can confirm this by driving down the road when your engine has cooled down, turn the heat on low and listen for a gurgling sound, like there's air in the water somewhere. It's a clear indication that air is leaking into your coolant from the chamber and going through your heater core. It may be why your hot air isn't so hot anymore

It may be too small to notice with a compression test, or it could of just been a complacent mechanic that seen 1-3 cylinders good and one was off by just a hair, but it'll be alright, it may only happen once you drive down the road when the vehicle isn't at idle RPMs.

Changing a head gasket is fairly easy, but it's around a 10 hour job, sometimes it may even require removing the motor from the engine. Here's a rough outlook that may not be specific to your type of car, but it gives you a general idea:

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable

2. Drain the cooling system (coolant)

3. Remove the Intake manifold

4. Remove the throttle body

5. Remove the PCV valve

6. Remove the air filter

7. Remove the alternator

8. Remove the spark plug wires

9. Remove the spark Plugs

10. Remove the Distributor cap ( or coil pack )

11. Remove the radiator fan

12. Remove the coolant pump

13. Relieve the fuel pressure ( pull the relay in the junction box and start the car 3 times )

14. Remove the fuel line

15. Remove the fuel injectors

16. Remove the exhaust manifolds

17. Remove the head cover

18. Remove the timing chain ( Mark chain to sprocket with a ink pen )

19. Remove the timing chain Tensioner

20. Remove the head bolts In a random order when the engine Is cold ( Failure to do so when the engine is cold may result in a warped head )

21. Remove each head bolt by 1/4 of a turn before removing ( New head bolts required on Installation )

22. Use a pry bar at the corners of the Cylinder head-to-engine block ( Do not pry between the cylinder head and the engine )

23. When Installing place the engine at Top Dead center, by aligning the notch in the crankshaft pulley with the TDC Indicator

24. When Installing - Inspect all hoses and replace all gaskets

25. When Installing - tighten head bolts in s specific sequence such as this

_{(source: gobdp.com)}

_{(source: gobdp.com)}

I don't mean to scare you, but since it has gotten cold the seal has contracted a bit making an opening for a passage way into your coolant, (it may only happen when you step on the gas) If you stick it out until summer the seal may expand and fill the gap... a leak such as these can cause a engine block to crack because water (coolant) is getting into the combustion where it uses oil to dissipate the heat and lubricate the parts, water and coolant cause corrosion.

But before you go spending 1000 dollars on a mechanic or 50-300 dollars on a bunch of new gaskets, keep in mind that they also make stop leak formulas for the oil for small head gasket leaks.

It's a head gasket, but make sure the heads get cleaned up from all of the carbon when it's changed, no reason for that to go undone. It gets rid of any knocking noise and makes your engine happy overall.

_{(source: gobdp.com)}

If you have oil is leaking Into the coolant, Then the head gasket has gone bad

If you have oil leaking Into the coolant, Then the head gasket has gone bad