Here's the deal. I'm going to be swapping transmissions in my future father-in-laws 99 Pontiac Montana. That's no big deal, I've done many transmission replacements, only several on FWD though which is really no big deal. Another problem we want to tackle is the coolant drip that drips down the front of the transmission. I am assuming it's the lower intake manifold gasket set, as his oil cap is gummed up (looks like fast orange hand cleaner minus the pumice). I noticed his PCV elbow was cracked. His oil is only two weeks/300 miles old. I told him drive the vehicle as limited as possible.

He had a shop flush coolant system several years ago, and they decided to put Dex back in even though he requested the green stuff. Is the green stuff REALLY less acidic when mixed with oil, or is that just a theory? At this point, it's mostly water in his cooling system because he's tired of adding coolant constantly.

My question is... how likely is it that this could be a head gasket? We're trying to tackle everything while we have it apart in my garage for a full day.

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- Josh


1994 Bonneville SSEi - 136k mi - FWI, 180* T-stat, Fresh upper gaskets
1997 Bonneville SE - 110k mi - H4U, 3.06:1, Tinted Tails, Bridgestone Potenza G009 225/60/16s
Performance: INTENSE PCM, INTENSE 180* T-stat, Gutted air box, K&N air filter, Ported LIM, Borg Warner Wires, NGK TR-55 Plugs, Adjustable Trans Modulator.
Bells and Whistles: Flowmaster 80 crossflow muffler w/ quad tips, 2x Kicker CVR12 Subs in vented box, 1000W RMS 1-ohm American Bass Amp, Alpine MRP-F200 4-channel amp (temporary), Infinity 60.7CS 6.5" Component System (front), Blaupunkt 3-way 6x9s (rear), Pioneer DEH-P6900UB Head Unit, Hardwired Whistler Pro 58 Radar Detector, Hardwired Navigon 2100 GPS

No coolant in the oil is ever good news... But the oil will take all of the contaminants it can take... Once it gets there it can become acidic and pit or etch the bearings.. I'd say Drain the oil and remove the filter... Refill with some cheap supertech( made by penzoil ) and a supertech filter... Fill with oil and let it run a few minutes to wash all of the bearing surfaces off.. From there park it and don't drive it.. Until you get everything done that you need..