Blown head gasket

If those "mechanic-in-a-can" chemicals really worked, there would be no need for engine specialists. I'm sure there must be some cases where they solved a problem, otherwise they wouldn't be able to market them, but they are rarely a permanent solution. Head gasket material is a lot stronger than anything that can be poured out of a can. Once the gasket is corroded, the pressure from the cylinder will push through the leak, and it will blow out any chemical that tries to settle there. The rest of the gasket is just as old, and is likely to corrode through soon too in another place. The best repair is to do it right, and do it just once.

I have a third alternative. Consider looking for a nearby community college with an Automotive program. We were always looking for live work, and a couple of dozen people in our area would sit on a broken car until it fit what we were teaching because they knew the value of the learning experience.

The advantage is we charged ten dollars per hour for the number of hours the job was supposed to take, and we got parts at real good discounts, then marked them up ten percent to form a "breakage" fund in case we damaged something. This job can be expected to cost around $300.00 to $600.00.

The disadvantage is the job can take a few weeks. My students were only in class four hours per day, and some of that was spent in the classroom. Also, engine work is only done while teaching the Engine Repair class, and that might only be once per year. You'll have to wait to have the work done.

You'll also want the students to verify your diagnosis. You described two conflicting symptoms. Oil is going into the coolant reservoir, but the level is going down. Your engine could use some type of oil cooler that transfers heat from the oil to the coolant, and that could be corroded and allowing the two fluids to mix. If that is the case, the most harm can be done by waiting to make the repair. Antifreeze in the oil will dissolve the soft outer layer of the engine bearings, and that will cause those bearings to become torn up and destroyed. The resulting repair will cost more than for a head gasket.

Just to give my expert experience on this car and your problem. The head is cracked it's a common issue on those single cam s model Saturn's. The cam journals cracked and leaked oil into the cooling system they even had a extended warranty period for this happening but your car is over that period.

Your welcome atleast you know what your up against you have to change the head all the rubber coolant hoses thermostat water pump coolant bottle etc plus flush it good.

I've heard good things about 'Blue Devil' from some of the local shops.

They say follow the directions exactly! (An endorsement from 3 local shops near me)

I'm sure that the life of it is probably dependent on the severity of the 'wound'.

I have a diagonal crack in my '46 Willys Jeep block. It's about 5 inches long and is perfectly centered up on a freeze plug. It was found after the block was machined back in 1995.

'The Crowd' demanded I get another block/ or drill the beginning and end of the crack to 'stop it'/ follow a pre-heating torch with a nickle welding rod. Otherwise I was screwing up!

I'm hard headed!

But mostly was 'Financially Challenged'

At the time, I had to just "go with it".

The machinist gave me 2 're-builder's blocks' (like 1 inch square x 2 inch long carbon/ charcoal like blocks) to stick in my radiator after it started seeping coolant.

This worked well for about 2 months then I noticed a little moisture on the crack. I added another block.

It's now 22 years later, the crack is still visible, NO MOISTURE at all crack has not grown!

Click on 4th pic below

So I reckon if you are not in love with this vehicle (As I am with my two Jeeps), If you get good results with the sealer, but fear a relapse, dump that puppy on Craig's List/ news paper/ Auto Trader/ in the yard with a sign on it while it is doing well!

Moral of the story

It's your call!

The Medic

You can try it but it's a cracked oil passage way much higher pressure then coolant. Also you would still have to replace the water pump thermostat and the rubber hoses coolant bottle and flush the system if it did work. But honestly I highly doubt it will work I was a Saturn factory trained tech for over 16yrs that's where my experience on this car is coming from.