coolant leak
IIRC that red bolt penitrates the water jacket, maybe just pull it and add proper sealer to the bolt?
i pulled that one bolt out, and when it came out, i could hear it gurgling
that tells me it was sealed (at least with zero pressure in it)
i slapped some sealant on and put it back in
all other bolts seemed pretty tight
What is "digging that deep" mean that's a 20 minute job to get that timing cover off
even when i have to drain and remove the radiator
pull the water pump
pull the balancer
and drop half the oil pan
shoot, if you put it like that, it doesnt sound like a lot of work
but, like you said, im not much of a mechanic, and im honestly more worried about getting it back together and sealed up, then i am about getting it tore apart