If I understand correctly, your engine was overheating and you had the radiator and hoses replaced. Was there diagnosis or did you just tell him what to replace?
You’ve now had two mechanics tell you that you have a blown headgasket, the one who replaced the radiator telling you it was [probably] because of the overheating…not at all an uncommon cause of headgasket failure. Did either or both of them do any tests? As everyone has bee pointing out, there are definitive ways to test for this.
And, to the last question, you have your thermostat and your temperature sensor confused. You cannot “disconnect” the thermostat, only remove it. And the temp sensor only “reads” the temperature, it does not control it in any direct way.
Hello the same mountainbike, yes my engine was over heating and leaking coolant heavily. I brought it to my mechnanic who said I needed a new radiator and hoses. He warned me that the main gasket might be blown but there was no way of knowing this without taking out the motor. He said that was the only way to be able to see the gasket and the only way to determine if it was blown, he said this would be very expensive. I opted to have the radiator and hoses replaced and hoped the it was not a BMG. I drove home from the mechanic (about 50 minutes) after the job was done and the car overheated and all the coolant leaked out. I called my mechanic and he said it was definitely a BMG and that would be very expensive to fix. I replaced the coolant and I could drive the car for about 20 minutes before it would over heat. I brought the car to another garage with 2 other mechanics who were both certain it was not a BMG but some other problem that was causing the over heating. They took out the thermostat which worked fine, the fan in the engine worked. I just sold the car for $400. I was really tapped out after paying for that damn radiator and all the other fixes I’d done on the car over the past year. I don’t know if I got ripped off or not but I probably did. I will not go back to that origninal mechanic. I don’t trust the second mechanics I brought the car to either, they told me the water pump didn’t work but it turned out it did. Finding a good, honest mechanic is key. The first mechancic I went to came highly recommended by someone I trust. When I get another car I am going to be very concerned when I have to take it in for repairs, I don’t know where that will be…yet. Thanks, sheckyb
Hello same mountainbike, there was a diagnosis made by the mechanic I brought the car to when my car was leaking coolant and overheating. He told me I needed a new radiator and hoses. He did warn me that the main gasket might be blown but there was no way of knowing without taking the motor out to see the gasket, he said that would add alot to the expense of replacing the radiator so I opted for just the radiator replacement and took my chances.
None of the mechanics did any test to definitely determine if my main gasket was blown or not. I called the mechanic who replaced my radiator and asked him why he didn’t do any tests and he said when a radiator is leaking as heavily as mine was you can’t do any testing till after you fix the leak.
I did finally have the thermostat removed and it worked fine so I ruled that out as the cause. I did just sell the car for $400, I don’t know if the main gasket was blown or not but I had sunk so much money into that car and nobody I took it to concurred with anything the person before said. Lesson learned here? Find a mechanic you can absolutely trust, I thought I had one but ultimately I don’t think that was the case. Any additional thoughts? Much appreciated, sheckyb