OK, it's official, the head gasket is indeed the culprit of the oil leak into the galley and in order to fix, we gotta pull the heads. You can see the oil leaking from the head. FYI, valve cover gaskets are tight as are the PCV plate and aluminium tube. Leakdown and compression data all good.

So, we are going to pull the heads, send them out to the machine shop to make sure they are flat and put things back together. That's the short version of the story, as my shop (www.rhinewest.com) is currently figuring the costs and their ideas on what else we address while it's apart.

Now, I ask the board, what are the other things I should proactively address while we are in there? Let's brainstorm for a moment.

FYI, the car has 126k on the clock, intake seals, water pipes and o-rings, galley cover, heater hoses, etc. were all done at 100k by your's truely.

Would one want to potentially replace the timing chain? Any likelihood it has stretched over the years? Chain guides? Cyclonic oil separator?

Any other ideas?

I plan on diving the car for another couple of years at least, as I have personally addressed the other typical maintenance items. Within the past three years, all the typical suspension items have been recently replaced, all steering wearable items replaced, new p/s hoses, recent clutch (OK, I didn't do that one!), shift linkage rebuilt, new tranny mounts, motor mounts, guibo, belts, hoses, radiator, t-stat, water pump, etc. etc.

Car is in fine shape, until this head gasket issue!!!

Any ideas appreciated,