Is my car head gasket out?

Question

My car has been working fine. It's a 1996 Mustang convertible. I just drove it 60 miles, yesterday. Today I didn't drive far, I just got lost in an area that had a lot of hills, in Los Angeles. On my way home, I noticed the coolant temperature gauge going up from normal to high. I was on the freeway, pretty close to my exit. I pulled over after I had exited and into a parking lot. It looked like coolant was wasted everywhere under my hood and I could see a bunch of it under the vehicle. But there is coolant in the reservoir, still. The car wouldn't start until the engine cooled down. I drove the car home, since I wasn't too far. I waited a while, and I started the car back up, again. I took the engine coolant system fuel cap off and it burst out and splash all over me, but it was not hot yet, because I didn't have the vehicle running very long after i started it this time. No coolant was on the ground this time around either. I'm going to take it to a mechanic, but I can't afford any repairs, at the moment. Does this look like it's going to be expensive. I only have $250 to spare.

Answer 1

Water pump or thermostat and you might have a leaking hose. What you experienced when you took the radiator cap off was and air pocket in the radiator and it spewed out the coolant. Does not sound like a head gasket yet, but you need to find that leak pretty fast.

Answer 2

Too murky to know for sure. Driving with a hot motor isn't good, so don't do it. Very basic: you burn gas to get power, even a little bit of power. The gas burns in the combustion chamber. The combustion chamber is part cylinder and part head, that's why these components have coolant passages in them. When coolant doesn't flow sufficiently, the coolant turns to steam and pressurizes the whole system beyond what the radiator cap allows. (This is why you shouldn't open the radiator cap on a hot motor- by releasing pressure, you can make a lot of steam, which makes coolat spurt out the radiator and will burn you. Don't do this, either.) Back to an overheated motor- when some of the coolant turns to steam. The steam pushes coolant somewhere- out the radiator, maybe it bursts a hose, or maybe squeezes through the head gasket. None of these is good. If you keep driving, you lose more coolant, until the motor gets really hot, and then very, very bad (read "expensive") things happen- you can fuse the pistons to the cylinder, you can burn a valve, you can warp the head, or you can melt a hole in the top of the piston.



Before you drive this car again, wait till it cools. Then fill the radiator and note how much coolant it takes. If you put in a quart or so, you'll probably be OK but only to take it to a good shop and diagnose the problem.



The problem? Could be the radiator or the thermostat (seldom the thermostat, but worth checking) or something easier- maybe the belt that drives the water pump is slipping. In any case, 1) make sure the radiator is full before you start the motor and 2) don't drive if the temperature shows it's hot. And don't put off diagnosing and resolving this. If you ruin the motor, it'll be expensive to replace. ... Best of luck!!



PS- Automotive Maintenance 101: Do not replace something just to be "doing something." Make sure you need a new radiator before you buy one. Ditto the water pump and drive belt. And any other component.

Answer 3

Check your oil. If its milky it means there's coolant mixed with your oil. That probably means a blown head gasket. Your car may have just overheated. When was the last time you changed out/flushed your system. Check radiator for leaks as well as your hoses. Never open the radiator cap when the engines been running. You may also need a new thermostat. Just a side note. If ever you see your cars running hot turn on your heat, I know sounds ridiculous but it transfers heat away from your engine. You can do it when your in a bind just to get ya home. Lived in Oceanside for 6 years...man do I miss Cali!! Good luck.

Answer 4

You Can Save 70% on Your Repair With European Exchange

Europeanexchange.com

Answer 5

could be radiator