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Unfortunatley AutoZone will not be able to test for head gasket failure. You will need to but gauge or pay a mechanic to do it for you.

"If it was a blown headgasket, would it continue making that boiling sound even with the car shutoff?"

It might do as the excess pressure finds it way out of the system.

If you are in or around Austin I'll test the cyclinder pressures for you.

Ok may be a long shot but the simple things first, try replacing the radiator cap, with a weak cap spring the cap opens up early to relieve pressure and the water will boil at a lower temp

neilp: Jersey Village is metro Houston.

Russell: If you are starting a new job, I'd say get a newer unit just as soon as you can.
The new boss will not be impressed if you can't make it to work trying to get a few more miles out
of the Mazda. You could try to milk it for a while, or this thing could go belly up tomorrow.

The new Mazda 3's are a great value. They have a lot of equipment for a very good price.

But if you can't buy brand new, think about spending $5k-$7K and moving WAY NEWER in years,
with a lot more serviceable miles.

Just my 2 cents.

SIA

If it is a head gasket you are unlikely to get more than a few days from your car before you have a catastrophic failure. I have never known of a miracle cure that works so caveat emptor. If you are in a position to do so I would go trade it now!

The VW and the Mazda might be good choices, but I wouldn't buy a Mitsubishi. I have come across too many premature failures.

No way would I ever buy a brand new vehicle. Lose too much value way to fast.

I bought a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis earlier this year with 108K on it for $3200 cash.

Something else you could try is a product called "Water Wetter". It's an additive that is put in the coolant. Lots of the weekend warrior motorcycle racers use it at tracks that ban coolant.

Russell wrote:I've had this car for 6 years, and it's served me well. It's just hard to think about taking on a car payment + student loan payments + credit card payments. I feel like I'm going to be drowning in debt soon

http://www.daveramsey.com

Dave Ramsey is awesome.

Sounds like you've already fixed your car problem, but for what it's worth, in high school I had an 1982 S-10 that I ran without the thermostat for a long time. It always ran at about 220 degrees idling or driving. There was one summer when we took a road trip in it to Dallas and it was around 103+ degrees, outside temperature, and it ran around 230-240 degrees in that weather. So, I guess depending on vehicle type, you can run without the thermostat, it just may run a little on the hot side. Again, sounds like your not experiencing any more problems, but just from what you had said earlier, if there is boiling water in the resivoir, I would suspect something to do with the radiator cap or blown head gasket possible pressuring up the coolant system and the coolant system reliving into the resivoir. Just my guess.

Also, I had a blown head gasket on my current vehicle and I did not notice any boiling in the radiator. What I saw was the oil had a white milky looking stuff in it. You could see it when you pulled the dip stick out. It also ran a little rougher and had white smoke on startup. Not too much while driving or idling. Good luck!

Why was the thermostat not replaced along with the radiator, or even with the subsequent water pump? Any time a car has overheated, the thermostat has been compromised. Thermostats are cheap; it costs more to test one than it does to just go ahead and replace it. . Replacing it is cheap insurance, which is why it is the best practice to replace it along with any cooling system repairs.

Never run a modern car without a thermostat. It is too much to go into here, but you can end up causing engine damage over the long haul.

bdickens wrote:Never run a modern car without a thermostat. It is too much to go into here, but you can end up causing engine damage over the long haul.

I currently have a 160* thermostat in my car, 1995 Camaro Z28, which practically stays open all the time. It was originally equipped with a 195* thermostat. The reason you MAY want to do this on SOME modren cars it to decrease the engine operating temperature in order to be able to raise the timing for increased performance. Alowing the engine to run at cooler temperatures will also help prevent detonation and pre-ignition. But, like you said, it still has a thermostat, it just stays open all the time.

Sounds like that new thermostat got itself unstuck. I'd leave it alone but watch closely to see if it acts up again. It does, dump it. You can safely run without a thermostat, but it causes premature engine wear. Easier while you're in there to just throw a new one in. Most are good to go, but sometimes you get a bad one like you did. Sometimes they cure themselves and sometimes you have to reenter the patient. I've had 'em where they didn't make it out of the operating room, much less down the road. Always buy the best, that's usually the problem with new thermostats that fail. Think NAPA.