Ok so I recently started noticing my car was overheating and the sensor would go off saying coolent temp hot. So I started by adding coolent that didn’t work. I than replaced the thermostat didn’t change. I saw the water pump was leaking and changed that but before I did I was driving it home one night and the engine stopped and I barely had control of the car. Now the water pump is new and I don’t know what the problem is. I think it’s the head gasket but can someone help me.
Engine stopped = no power steering etc. Should be easy to find why the engine died, does it attempt to start now?
You will need to fill us in on a few more details.
What makes you think that the head gasket is shot?
Does the car start and run normally, now that the water pump is new, or is it that you cannot get it started?
If it starts but has no power, the computer could have put the engine in "limp Mode"
This is a way for you to get off the road, but keeps you from just pushing the engine until it blows up.
Yosemite
No no sorry I said that wrong so it had stopped when I let it overheat cause I couldn’t pull off the road. Since the water pump I drove it. It’s fine besides the fact of it still overheating. And I heard from a friend about the head gasket but didn’t know if that’s what the problem is
There is a test kit that you can buy at the auto parts store. You sample the coolant and the test will reveal if there are hydrocarbons in the coolant.
If there are… it is the head gasket.
Yosemite
The head gasket separates the cylinders from the oil and coolant passages and the intake and exhaust manifold passages. So a head gasket leak could be between any two on that list. If you suspect the coolant passage is involved, a shop can pressurize the cooling system and see if it is holding pressure or not. If the pressure immediately drops but there’s no coolant dripping on the ground, a head gasket leak would be the most likely culprit. A similar test can be made by pressurizing each individual cylinder, one by one.
The first thing a shop would do though is check the coolant and the oil, to see if there’s any signs of them mixing together. And look into the top of the radiator when the engine is running for signs of bubbles.
Ok thanks I’ll see about taking it into a shop