Please Help Head gasket or thermostat??

Question

Hi, being a girl i was sold a very poorly car, everything has gone wrong! Recently it has been over heating and losing water when it gets too hot! I have had a gurgling water sound since i had the car (5months) and am not sure if its related!! I took it to a garage and they reved it up loads until the water bubbled out and told me it was the head gasket! My brother inlaw then said to me today it sounds like the thermostat!! Can anyone shed any light... i donjt want to payout another £300 if i dont have to! Thanks sam x

Answer 1

.  Try the simple, cheapest thing first, and replace the radiator cap.  This little, low cost item is probably the most overlooked part of the cooling system, and causes many overheating problems.

  The radiators in today's cars have to maintain a pressure to avoid the overheating, and if the cap is old and doesn't seal correctly, heating problems soon develop.

Answer 2

the thermostat CAN cause you to lose water if it boils into an already over filled overflow bottle and it leaks out of that.  here is the test. if your antifreeze smells like gasoline or exhaust then its definately your head gasket if not change the thermostat. at a shop that is usually about 80 dollars. if problem persists it possibly could be a head gasket.  now if you have a water pump that is failing your car will overheat and also lose water. hope this helps.

Answer 3

The thermostat won't cause it to lose water. If any of the two choices, it's the head gasket.

Answer 4

The thermostat is a easy fix. Costs about 10 dollars so i would do that first. Head gasket is a big job and labor is very expensive.

Answer 5

the only thing a thermostat will do, if its stuck is push the anti-freeze out into the resovoir. sounds like the head gasket is leaking.

Answer 6

Thermostat won't cause you to lose water.  sounds like headgasket. Check Kragen for headgasket repair. They do have stuff its blue and gaurnteed to work...but it runs $60 a bottle. If thats a little to pricey I have used the stuff in the limegreen bottle and it works just as good(about $22) sorry but i don't remember the name of the stuff.

Answer 7

replace thermostat first its a  lot cheaper than head gasket but if problem persists then pull plugs and check for water. if the plugs look rusty then change head gaskets if not have your water pump checked