Possible head gasket failure

[dadaddy35]

First off I think I brought a shitter , nothing but trouble since I got it......
2 weeks after buying one of my injector pipes snapped off at the pump union nut,fixed that easy job been running ok for 2 weeks. Got diesel leak from one injector or the leak pipes. The revs were high so adjusted that, then got a squealing noise from around the belts but wasn't too worried as my missus car does this, but what did worry me was I noticed the temp gauge instead of staying around 80 would go up to just over 90 and the fans would kick in and it would drop for a bit before doing it again.

The other day after a ten mile drive I returned home to steam form the bonnet, popped the hood and water was pissing out the rad reservoir overflow pipe.

Now this has s@@t the f@@k out of me so much I don't want to drive it, after googling I started the engine cold with the rad cap off and gave it some power and noticed the water in the rad was moving the higher I revved the engine as to say air was being pumped into it

It still starts and drives fine , I'm thinking either my water pump has gone, my head gasket has gone between combustion chamber and water or worse case both have gone.

If it is my head gasket what's the average going rate and would it be possible for a novice with limited space and tools to accomplish the task.

[306Dan]

If you take your time doing a head gasket it's not hard especially if you can get hold of a manual just to ease yourself, otherwise it's normally around £320 to £350 for someone else to do it

[Dave]

If your overheating and the rads are kicking in quite often check your rad itself cos all the fins may have corroded and fallen out. Has it done it again since? Normally if you get pressurised coolant it's hg popped but change the rad cap first cos it might just be weak as all engines run under pressure. I ran for 6 months with a blown gasket tho but not everyone can get away with it as long

[andyyy]

also check that the stat is opening or remove and see if that fixes

[dadaddy35]

If your overheating and the rads are kicking in quite often check your rad itself cos all the fins may have corroded and fallen out. Has it done it again since? Normally if you get pressurised coolant it's hg popped but change the rad cap first cos it might just be weak as all engines run under pressure. I ran for 6 months with a blown gasket tho but not everyone can get away with it as long

The rad is a new one put on a few months before I got the car..
Before this happened the fans would only kick in when in heavy traffic,now I just leave it ticking over and after a while temp will get to just over 90 and fans kick in.
Don't think it is the thermostat as before it happened I noticed a bit of white smoke when on boost which as I've been informed is coolant being burnt.

But to be on the safe side I'll check the thermostat, I don't own a Haynes manual so would it be located at the end of the top rad hose where it goes into the fuel filter to the right of the dipstick?

[andywhy]

80-90 degrees then down on the fans was common on mine when stuck in traffic. I wouldn't worry about that on it's own. As long as it doesn't go under 80 or over 90 or so when running normally the thermostat is probably just fine.