Evan Faris

My z31 overheated last week and checked the car with no coolant in it.. It doesn't leak any but 4-5 months ago I changed the water pump and never checked the coolant until last week..I didn't know but I think i'm paying for it now.. Everyone is telling me that my head gasket might be cracked because for one, my exhausts stinks really badly and is burning coolant and has some water in it. The bottom of my car, the exhaust was smoking badly yesterday and a guy told me i'm getting water in my fire chamber? So what are the causes of a bad head gasket and what will happen eventually if it gets worse? What should I do from here if I can't afford to get it fixed?

Hardway

Sorry to hear about your luck Evan but it sounds like you have a blown head gasket based on all the symptoms you have listed. It will only get worse if you drive it since you have water flowing in to the combustion chamber. It will run bad but the real damage is done once you turn it off. Water gets in to the cylinder and will start rusting against the cylinder wall thus killing your compression and your engine's ability to run. Based on your location you might be able to find another engine to pull out and swap. If that is not an option you are looking at a head gasket replacement and possibly rebuilding your head as it may have warped under the heat caused by over heating. If you really do not have the money to fix it you may want to consider buying a new car. Shop labor and parts will run you at least $900 to fix the car and it may not be worth fixing depending on mileage and condition. May be worth more to sell it as-is or part it out and use the money as a down payment on a newer car.

michealtheworm

look at my tread and you will see a bad head gasket/head. mine was shooting water out.