Definitely one of the nastiest I've ever seen. Terrible.
I've got the car on jack stands at the moment, but I'll get her back on the ground and shuffled over to a spot where I can really hit that cooling system with some water. Hopefully flush out some of the crud.
The oil pan had some coolant mixed in with the oil; could any of that cross contamination have happened right here? Where this water pump/timing cover meet? Any chance I'll find something that's rusted behind those separator plates that would have allowed coolant to find an oil jacket?
Or should I just assume the worst: cracked block/head?
I was aiming to attempt the new water pump and gaskets just to verify any potential options before going straight to an engine removal..... You think I'm on the right track?
