I have a 2004 with 35,000 miles on it that has been a weekend car for all but 2 years since I purchased it in 2006. Outside of an accident in 2008 (which was not the car’s fault), it has been trouble free for the entire time,

i was planning on doing an oil change soon, and noticed something on the left side of the engine that concerned me. It looks like rust of some kind, but I’m not savvy enough to know if this is something to be worried about or not. It’s the area I’ve circled in blue in the photo, and I can take some additional photos of it would help.

I’ll also note that the car has been driving as smoothly as ever, and the engine continues to feel strong & revs freely.

Should I be worried or not? What might be causing this?

Thanks in advance for your help (and I also posted this in the under the hood forum, as I wasn’t sure the best place to post).

 

No worries.
Read about some of the things you can do for this car on this site that will help out. For example, get a Billman TCT and pop it in now so you will never worry about it again.
Have fun!

 

You have rust there? Wow, car is basically totaled now.








/s

 

I’m betting it’s heat cycle condensation. There is a water line just below that spot you could check for leaks. I don’t see any visual signs of spatter or stealing, so it’s not likely to be the result of a leak. Leaks are typically more messy than what I’m seeing in you pic. Also, coolant leaks reflect the color of the antifreeze. Is your antifreeze green? If so, you’d see that color in the seams and gaps near the leak.
I’d wire brush the rust off and inspect after the next few drives. Or, maybe sand it off with a skinny folded over bit of 220 sandpaper, that would be less likely to scratch the surrounding area.

 

Go out and look at yours.

-- Chuck

 

Mine are zero mile fresh