Coolant & oil mixing🥲
08 lancer 4a91 engine, 390,000km driven. Bought used at 250,000km 3 years ago. Consistent oil changes every 5-7k km. Finally encountered my first engine problem. Had the radiator tested to see if that was the issue and it was fine so most likely blown head gasket. What do you think I should do from here? The mechanic has yet to open it up and see if it’s visibly damaged but he recommended an engine change to avoid going down the rabbit hole of constant fixes to come with this engine. Is that the best course of action from your experience with these cars? Just some additional info, the engine did not run hot or overheat before noticing it, the car ran fine and had no issues with power. As far as how I used to drive it, did some consistent 180km drives daily/ every other day for the first year and a half and the remaining time was 30km drives daily. Did some spirited driving with it, reaching speeds of 140-160km/hr consistently once I’m on the highway. And driven in low gear at high rpms for smaller roads. Would replacing the engine with a more powerful one once available be a good option? for example going for a 2000cc as opposed to the current 1500cc? Or should saving the current engine be the focus.