Head gasket or not

[bilko0795]

Have a problem with cooling, driving to work in the snow last week had the blowers on hot nice and snug when the air started to get cold, looked at the gauge and it was over a 110 carried on driving as work was only a couple of miles away on arrival i popped the bonnet and the header tank was full to the top and the hoses were cold. Is the head gasket gone or could it be the water pump i did a belt change a few thousand miles ago and though the parts came from audi alas the pump did not as i bought it from the bayany thoughts on this would be helpful as i'm looking at £600 for the gasket job as i'v no time to do it myself.

Thanks in advance.

[LHD_Kid]

does sound like the impeller may be spinning on the shaft.... that's where I would look first...

[bilko0795]

Just took the big hose from the top of the rad to the head and started the car and reved there is no flow of water coming from the hose. is this normal as the thermostat has not had time warm up.

[newsh]

Thermostat might have failed shut.

It does take a while for the thermostat to open in this weather though.
I’ve had the opposite lately, thermostat is not closing enough and the heater blows cold when driving, warms up when stopped. I’ve got a bit of cardboard wedged in front of the rad to cut down on cooling

[newsh]

If you’re not losing water then the head gasket should be ok.
I would try removing the thermostat first and see if it runs cooler.
If that doesn’t work then look at the pump.
I assume coolant is clean and rad not blocked?

[Error404]

Yeah I'd go with water pump failure or stat is seized. Head gasket failure is very rare and then normally as a result of a cooling problem.

[bilko0795]

Thanks for response guys i will go with thermostat and pump. just wondering if i lost water from rad due to driving car home 18 miles not the best idea in the world but had to get it home. As you can imagine engine very hot when arrived home but no damage done that i know of hopefully.