My Car Is a Mess! Help me!

[mhopcroft]

I am at a lost as of what to do, for one my car will not hold water/coolant.... it will last like around the block & then the water level light comes on & you can smell this hot smell, so my dad thought it was the thermostat & he takes it to my couisn whom i believe made it way worse! he changes the thermostat & he had to take off a lot of crap to get to it, now when the car is driving it sounds like a jet taking off & when you are in drive & stopped the car rocks so bad you have to take it out of gear & the water is not lasting at all! it runs out just sitting there, when at first you could at least drive it before it ran out!
now it smells like burning paper.. what could be wrong?

[Ian Szgatti]

The rocking is probably caused by coolant entering your cylinder(s). If you don't see coolant leaking externally, then you have probably have a major head gasket leak causing an internal leak.
You need to get this car to a qualified shop soon. Ask them to perform a compression check. I have some experiance witht his as an automotive technician, so you can use that advice if you wish.
Perhaps you can save some money by having your father perform this relatively easy test with a compression guage. They are inexpencive and widely available.
You should probably NOT drive this vehicle until it is diagnosed and repaired. You could cause catastrophic engine damage.

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by mhopcroft

I am at a lost as of what to do, for one my car will not hold water/coolant.... it will last like around the block & then the water level light comes on & you can smell this hot smell, so my dad thought it was the thermostat & he takes it to my couisn whom i believe made it way worse! he changes the thermostat & he had to take off a lot of crap to get to it, now when the car is driving it sounds like a jet taking off & when you are in drive & stopped the car rocks so bad you have to take it out of gear & the water is not lasting at all! it runs out just sitting there, when at first you could at least drive it before it ran out!
now it smells like burning paper.. what could be wrong?

Note, in the future post the model and engine for more compehensive info.