406oc.co.uk

my car was loosing coolant so cleaned out new thermostat and coolant but same thing again.

i felt return flow pipe to header and not hot so could that be a problem, will check once cooled. i think previous owner had issues as there was gunk round tank from past.

could it be head-gasket i did rev it but seemed to be ok but not sure if a subtle leak somewhere.

Get a local garage to do a pressure test..they normally don't charge much..a fiver or so.
Or you can make your own tester..out of an old header cap and tyre valve..

took cap off and looks like smoke coming out of header and on revs water surges out, so i think it is knackered.

Head gasket failure usually causes water loss when you push it, poodling about the pressure doesn't get high enough but run it at full throttle under load and it will often empty the cooling system.

Peter

that sounds like what has happened. i noticed a lot of crap around tank so i think it is a long term thing. i will sell for scrap.

Around the header tank is a good place to look when you are buying, any white deposits, streaks or signs of it being cleaned arouse suspicion.

Peter