Gasket deterioration

[SkurdalenFox]

I found a nice little puddle of coolant on the garage floor under my car, so I poked around and found the source. The gasket between the timing cover and block has disintegrated. AFAIK, it’s the original. Does this just happen, or is it symptomatic of a problem?

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k30/skurdalen/P1010077.jpg

[QWKSNKE]

I would think it is quite normal depending on mileage