[dyingbreed]

Hello all,
Need some expert opinions here! I believe I have an internal leak causing the coolant to mix with the oil. The engine is a Pontiac 400, which is fitted into my 1978 T/A. Here is a little history and the details of my problem:

I purchased this car during August of 2000 and drove it for about 2 years (1000 miles) without any problems. Then one day the engine over-heated (faulty thermostat). I replaced the T-stat and everything seemed fine, except for the fact that I was loosing coolant. However, it was not mixing with the oil. No leaks were found in the radiator, hoses, water pump, etc.. I now had suspicions that I may have blown a head gasket caused by my engine overheating. Then one day when checking the oil, I found the infamous "chocolate milkshake" on the oil dipstick.

A reputable garage, near my home, wanted about $1000-$1200 to check the engine and replace both head gaskets. But a buddy of mine said he would do it for less. My buddy races a Pontiac and has decent knowledge of engines. He has a Pontiac 400 in his firebird and does most of the work on this engine himself. For this reason, I decided to have him repair my engine.

He did a compression and a leak down tests on my engine and determined it had indeed blown a head gasket. He disassembled the top half of the engine and sent the heads out to be checked for cracks and milled. During this time he also found some additional areas of concern. To make a long story short, he ended up replacing the cam, lifters, pushrods, radiator, belts and hoses. This was in addition to re-installing the heads, using new Butler head gaskets and an oil change. The total bill for all parts and repairs, including machine work for the heads, came to about $1400

He returned my car and everything seemed to work fine. I drove the car for about 100 miles and noticed I was again loosing coolant. During the next 100 miles, I added approximately 2 gallons of coolant, but did not notice anything unusual in the oil. Finally, I pulled a valve cover and noticed a thick white-gray substance inside the top of the covers. I started the engine and discovered the oil didn’t look quite right coming into the valvetrain.

I called my buddy (the one who previously repaired the engine) and he said to bring it back to his shop. Upon arrival, he took off the valve covers and saw the same thick white-gray buildup around the valve train. However, he assured me this was most likely only condensation. He did some tests on the engine, changed the oil and said everything seemed fine (he also charged me another $75).

I then drove my car around for a week or so (approximately 100 miles) and noticed that it was again loosing coolant. By now, I was too afraid to drive my car and only started it once a month and let it idle for about 20 minutes. During that time (approximately 100 miles and about 2 hours of idling) if have added about 2 gallons of water/coolant.

Today I pulled the valve covers and have included pictures of what I found. I checked the oil when the engine was cold and noticed it has a greenish tint to it. The oil had also risen about an inch past the “full” mark.

Just for my own piece of mind, can any of you please confirm that these pictures indicate coolant would be mixing with the oil and the problem is not just CONDENSATION!
(I think I already know the answer)

My next question is can a person with average mechanical skills (we’re talking about me here) replace a set of head gaskets on a Pontiac engine? If I decide to do this, I’ll most likely start another post and some of you can walk me through this.

Thanks in advance for any replies and I apologize this got so lengthy!
db