last nite my shed of a escort xr3i decided to overheat that bad the temp gauge was almost coming back on itself.

straight away i thiught headgasket i managed to get the car home noticeing white smoke coming out of the exhaust

as i pulled up loads of steam from under the bonnet which i thought pressureised due headgasket and water everywhere

on closer inspection i took the head off to find gasket intact
i have noholes in rad or hoses

so what elese could it of been to cause this pressure and overheating any ideas
i pick my head up at 12 today and getting new rad to see what happens

could the thermostat cause this aswell as im unclear if it could or not

any help much appreiciated thanx

the fan was on aswell

 

Where was the steam under the bonnet coming from ? There's obviously a leak there somewhere, or it could have been just a blocked breather cap on the expansion bottle. Any residue of oil / mayo in the expansion bottle or dipstick ? My guess is that it was the headgasket even though you couldnt see why. The new rad will help circulation, and you can check the thermostat is working by removing it and boiling it up in a pan of water to see if it opens. good Luck

 

IS the water pump working as I cooked my old Escort Ghia when the pump went pear shaped. A new pump is only about Ł20 from Halfords

 

there was no oil/water mix this was the wierd thing

the steam was coming from the expansion bottle i think or the rad but neither are damaged in anyway no holes cracked nothing

also could i use a turbo headgasket on the car aswell cause i have a spare headset here for a turbo

headgasket is still intact

i just hope its all fine today as i havent dun mw xmas shopping yet and need to do it tomorrow