coolant/head gasket/what?

nice new look to the site, been a while since i've been on. i like

and here i am pissed off at my car because she's dumping out all the coolant. I can't tell where it's leaking from anywhere around the top of the engine... can't get under it, but i can see that the trans pan is where all the coolant is ending up. don't know where it is coming from. am i dealing with a head gasket here? it is on the driver side, away from the pulleys/water pump area, and it seems dry around both the top bottom radiator hose connections...

at first i thought it might be a cracked radiator because it was a little wet on the front of the radiator (now i think that was just maybe overflow pushing through or something) so... i got it home from work and when i got home it was really dripping out fast underneath when i turned off the engine but i still couldn't see any spray or significant wetness from the top...

you guys have been a lot of help in the past, i could really use ya now - i don't really want to take it to a shop and get shafted if i don't have to... if its a head gasket i'm pretty much screwed

thx in advance

another thing, (i just read that other thread about the coolant mixes)

I noticed that its got the "green stuff" in it - but it has the "Use Dexcool" thing on the overflow bottle... i haven't done anything related to coolant with this car since I've had it. after I get this figured out (I guess I'm going to have to try to get it to a mechanic tomorrow sometime) I guess I should get it flushed, but what should I use after that? any suggestions helpful

It sure sounds like a head gasket to me Dave... hate to say it! Did you have the plastic engine cover off to have a look to see if it was coming out of the intake? From your description, it sounds like its leaking out of one of those two locations.

no i didn't. but what exactly will that tell me (pardon my ignorace, please)

I am going to try to get it to a shop (assuming I can find a halfway decent one nearby) today or tomorrow. Fortunately I live very close to my work so I can catch a ride pretty easily, or even walk if necessary but... I wanna get this thing fixed. geez - what kind of ballpark figures should I prepare to drop if I gotta replace the head gasket?

update:

just spoke with my mechanic. He said it is a freeze plug in the back of the motor between the motor and the transmission. Also said he's got to take the transmission out (well, either the trans or the engine, but the trans is easier) to get to it.

Before he does this ask him to check for electrolysis in the cooling system, this is an usual problem to have with that engine. If he does not know how to check this, post back.