Quote Originally Posted by Long Live The Nova
Same symptoms as head gasket.
Oil/Coolant mix
Sort of but the other way around, you would get oil in the header tank, whereas if the h/g went you would get water in the oil (oil filler cap gunk etc)

Stuart loves the word porous, and he is right in that the metal does not pass oil/water through... the waterways corrode (NOT crack ) usually due to incorrect coolent levels.

All but 1 XE I have owned has gone the same way and they last for YEARS like it, as long as you keep an eye on the header tank (and dont leave it for months)