okeedokee

okay I read the whole thing.

Well, I can't get my hands on a manual of any kind, so is there a writeup of how to take the manifolds off? I saw pictures, but no description of where the bolts are, etc.

From what I understand, the upper manifold actually fails, not just the gasket? So I should check for warpage, etc. If it hasn't warped then it'* still good, and just replace the gasket and misc. parts. I should replace the lower manifold gasket as well, can I do that while the manifold is on the car, looks like it from the pictures I saw.

Lastly, is there ANY way to know if the coolant is being lost due to the manifolds? Other than the loss of coolant, are there any ways to tell if the manifolds are the problem? I'm gonna guess the mixing of the coolant with the oil is a good indication, I'll go check that right now. Anything else I could look for?

Where in NY are you?
I checked your profile and your posts and didn't see where you mentioned it.

Plattsburgh, about 60 miles from Montreal. I believe I'm about 5 hrs from Syracuse.

There'* no coolant in the oil as per my check. Also, the engine has never overheated, despite her running the overfill container empty for a long time now. I'm currently thinking that perhaps there is something messed up with the thermostat/radiator cap. Here'* my thinking(remember, I'm not entirely familiar with these engines, so I dunno if this is how it works in the 3800):

Coolant got into the engine somehow, no problem. However, whenever the coolant tries to make it back into the overflow container, there'* a leak or something and the coolant is lost. This would explain why she keeps losing coolant, and even runs with no coolant in the overflow, yet still doesn't overheat or have any temperature problems at all.

Any ideas along this line of thinking? I'm currently running the engine and letting it sit for a bit and warm up and such with some cardboard underneath it to see if I can identify any leaks.