Considering purchase--does this oil spell trouble??

[JT40]

Hello,

I am considering buying a 1996 Mazda 323 in Europe. The car has done about 93,000 miles (150,000 km). Its timing belt was changed about 23,000 miles ago. The exhaust shows only a minor amount of smoke on starting--it lasts half a second or so and is very, very minimal. The car runs well and has great acceleration.

The only thing that is of concern to me is that there seems to be some oil on the outside of the motor near the head gasket. The oil itself seems to be matted with dirt/dust etc., but is still fluid enough to come off on ones fingers when touched. A picture of the engine is attached to this post and the matter of concern is circled in red.

I would really like to get some feedback from people with experience with these cars/engines. Could you take a look at the picture and see what you think?

Many thanks,

JT

 

[grey1]

you have a cross-eyed camera, or the Euros use one engine per tire...what?



I wouldn't be too concerned about oil stains, One picture is pointing at distibuter oil seal. That's 20 minutes and a 2 dollar part.

If the price is right go for it

 

[grey1]

distibuter oil seal. That's 20 minutes and a 2 dollar part.

wipe it down good and see if the oil comes again... if it does then fix it.

make sure the correct amount of oil is in the crankcase, too much is too much.

probably not worth worring about.