So, I'm reasonably certain that my intermix problem is a cracked head. I have rechecked the new oil cooler and the new o-rings. All look fine. I have re-flushed it again and again - I still have oil in the coolant. I can't think of anything it could be other than a cracked head. Assuming that's correct, my plan is to remove the engine and send the affected head off to repair.
While the engine is out, my plan is to replace the engine and transmission mounts, the rear most cats will be replaced with cat delete tubes (they're rattling like crazy when hot, and it's internal, not the shields), replace the IMS bearing, the clutch, inspect and replace the flywheel if necessary, the AOS, and all AOS tubes and oil fill system lines and hoses. Of course I will give everything a good cleaning as well. I'm thinking that with 105K miles on the engine already, I'll use the Pelican IMS bearing kit. The others are just unjustifiably expensive.
Am I missing anything else I should look at replacing while the engine is out? I don't know much about the chain tensioners and pads - are these easier to do with the engine out, and should I look at replacing them? The engine does have the usual rattling temporarily on cold start, and it quickly goes away. The water pump was just replaced, so I'm good with that. This is NOT going to be a fun job.
