Thanks for all the great feedback. After being fairly convinced it was oil getting into the cooling system and suspecting a head gasket, I took the car into my trusted mechanic. When the head was off, he let me stop by and take a look at what they found. Apparently I did have a fairly bad case of "alloy rot" as I think someone coined it, where the coolant piping that runs through the head by the cylinder chambers rusts away and eventually ruptures the gasket, causing an exchange of fluid. He explained this usually happens when the coolant isn't changed enough in the car's life, and it turns acidic, causing the breakdown of the aluminum. In any case, the head has to be re-machined, and although the bill is big, I'm glad to find the problem. Moral of the story? Flush your cooling system often!
Thanks for all the great advice!
Jason
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1980 245 B21F M46
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