Chrysler Repair: 1998 Plymouth Breeze: leaks oil, cylinder head bolts, head gasket

Question
Hi Roland:
My son recently purchased a 1998 Plymouth Breeze from a local mechanic,
and he told us that the head gasket was defective when the auto was
manufactured (not thick enough, and consequently Chrysler has made them
thicker).  The car runs, looks great, but it leaks (externally) a quart of oil
every 100+ miles.  He said the only way to fix this is to replace the head
gasket (my son doesn't have $1000 to do so).  So, he purchased the car
anyway.  My question, is there a cheaper way of fixing this problem.
Thanks, Ron

Answer
Hi Ron,
Are you certain that it is leaking from the seam between the block and the cylinder head? It is more likely to be leaking coolant if the head gasket were the source of the leak. So I would suggest wiping off the engine as much as practical and try to verify the exact location of the leak.
If indeed it is leaking, it may be the case that you could correct the leak by slightly loosening the cylinder head bolts (the amount of the last step in the tightening sequence) and then re-torque the bolts in the usual manner to the specified final torque setting. It is possible that the leak is due to an uneven torqueing of the head bolts and this would correct that.
So verify the leak and let me know which engine is in the car, and also if it is the V-6 whether it is leaking from the 2,4,6 cylinder side (front) or the 1,3,5 cylinder side (rear). If it is a 4 cylinder engine tell me which size.
Roland