Chevy Lumina roughly 1994 Lower Gasket antifreeze leak?

Question

I'm a little confused.

My friend has a Chevy Lumina and it's running a bit erratically and is sucking down coolant by the gallon. She brought it to an auto shop and the guy started doing an oil change and said a lot of coolant is in the oil and that the lower engine gasket is show and if she wants her car fixed then she needs a new engine. She had the head gasket replaced last year, and it started acting up a few months later and she parked it until spring.
I've never run into a lower engine gasket, but I see them available for purchase. I can't find any instructions or anyone online talking about them which seems odd. Do they exist, are they called something else? Also, is it possible this is the head gasket leaking again? When the car is running about 1 gallon of coolant leaks per 20 minutes of driving. The mechanic didn't do any disassembly but said he only seeks coolant in the lower engine oil and not the upper and I have no idea how he's making that statement. Seems a bit off to me, but I'm somewhat new to this game.

DrCustom · Accepted Answer

I would imagine he is meaning that the lower intake gasket is leaking coolant into the engine and making its way to the oil pan.. This is a VERY COMMON problem for this engine. If this engine has already had a head gasket or cylinder head repair then I would say that you should verify that the intake is the only leak..  and if this engine has ran for very long with coolant in the oil , your mechanic is right.. you should maybe invest in a different engine or maybe even walk away from this vehicle and purchase something else with the cash it will take to fix this one.. 
 The coolant mixed in the oil will cause crankshaft bearing damage among other internal bearing problems. This problem can be fixed , however you may have already done the damage to the engine.

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Chevy Lumina roughly 1994 Lower Gasket antifreeze leak?

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