Toyota Repair: 89 Camry V6 auto trans/losing antifreeze, overheating, camry v6, coolant hose

Question
My car has 183K+, was well-maintained by previous owner (i bought from him last year).  The lower coolant hose blew about 4 mos ago, causing overheat (not into the red); then upper hose blew about 2 wks later.  Overheated again, but not into the red.  2 mos ago i had the entire exhaust system from cat conv to muffler replaced...car was running great...then 5 wks ago temp gauge inched up, i turned on heat full blast to relieve.  Later i added just over a qt of antifreeze; all was well for 10 days then it started to overheat again; i added about 1/2 to 3/4 gal. antifreeze.  Ever since, i have been keeping an eye on it and have added about 1/4 gal or less antifreeze twice since but no more overheats.  Today i took it to the shop to have it checked over before NYS inspection, i asked him to check  the antifreeze loss...he said the radiator has hydrocarbons, and that i have a blown headgasket or similar?!!??  What the...?   Car has been running as well as ever, minimal white steam from tailpipe...it is winter, & everyone has a bit of that...i'm very distressed, and don't believe car has 'blown' anything!  Heat works great and does not smell of antifreeze thru vents.  Please advise!  Possible 2nd opinion?  Thanks so much.

Answer
You can get another opinion if you wish but if they checked for hydrocarbons in the cooling system and found a significant amount then it has a blown headgasket, the leak is internal, the hydrocarbons enter into the cooling system from a combustion chamber, it doesn't necessarily mean there is an external leak.