Safe to drive?

Hi,

I think I might have a blown head gasket or cylinder - coolant is going nowhere fast with no visible leaks...

I know the car's screwed (think it was when I bought it, but you live and learn) and I'll be getting a new one soon as. But what I need to know is how likely it is to survive a 350 mile journey (and back)?

The cars been idling all over the place for months but with no other symptoms, then recently started mis-firing a little (new sparks/leads already), but once its going it does keep going. Last wekend I noticed the temp guage creep into the red after about 40 miles, and when I checked the coolant the next morning it was empty. Thing is though now I must have put 5 litres in over the last week and its got through the lot...

I know the obvious answer in no, don't drive it, but I'm supposed to be going on holiday tomorrow and I'm just trying to guage my odds of making it there and back. I really don't care if it's the last journey the car makes, it'll be going to the scrap yard soon enough anyway, I just don't want it to be the last journey I make :-).

If it does give up on me is it more likely to be a case of pulling over and calling someone to pick me up, or will it blow up when I'm doing 70 and send me flying off the road? That's really the question.

I know it's not an easy question to answer 100%, but in my shoes would you waste a holiday over it? Can't really do the holiday by public transport.

Cheers for any advice.

Is it an automatic or a manual? I wouldn't think that a blown engine would cause the car to go flying off the road as long as the torque converter doesn't lock up or the clutch pedal is depressed right away.

Is your oil all milky? Do you have a compression tester to check for a blown gasket? Check your tranny fluid as well, you may be dumping coolant into it through the internal cooler in the radiator. I've also seen the water pump impeller rot away and cause overheating, but that wouldn't explain the coolant loss.

It's a manual, 1.6, 16v Ford Escort. And it really is falling to bits :-) The amount of things wrong with it's really quite impressive.

As long as it's not going to become my hurse then I'm happy. It's just I've never had this sort of trouble and don't know a great deal about cars generally. Just had images in my head of the the bonnet blowing off at speed or something. If the engine melts then it melts, just so long as I can still walk away and get a new car next week...

As for diagnosing the problem better - I've already spent almost as much as the thing cost me (not a lot) getting stuff fixed, so no more garage visits. I just can't believe I actually laid out for a new clutch just a month or so back. But again - I was kinda stuck needing the car running the same day...

Rent a car and don't ruin your vacation. Sitting on the side of the road with a dead ride sucks. Plus It will cost as much to tow it as it will to rent a car. You're taking quite a gamble otherwise.