Blown head gasket?

[pianoman199]

Last week my Mazda Protege started overheating and eventually stopped on the hiway with white smoke coming from under the hood. I got it towed to the nearest pepboys and they replaced the radiator, thermostat, antifreeze, water outlet gasket, and did a flush and fill for $446.
They said a 'seam' between the radiator and thermostat was damaged causing a leak.
They did a test on the head gasket and said it turned out 'green' (not blue and not yellow).

Ever since that day, my engine is not starting properly. It doesn't sound right, and kind of jerks and knocks for a second right after turning it on. And I always smell antifreeze under the hood.

Today I went on a road trip and my engine is overheating AGAIN! I'm bringing it into Mazda to get checked.

How much would it cost to replace the head gasket?

Or, is my car pretty much doomed?

[mazdatech]

Gee why not take it back to pep boys so they can milk you for some more money or did you learn your lesson."a seam between the rad and t-sat"....That is a big seam about a foot away from each other.....they must have seen you coming........Mazda is aware of their 2000 protege radiators falling apart ......he__ they have a special tool they delivered to the dealer just to help the problem get out of warrenty. Sorry about your luck.

[pianoman199]

Originally Posted by mazdatech

Gee why not take it back to pep boys so they can milk you for some more money or did you learn your lesson."a seam between the rad and t-sat"....That is a big seam about a foot away from each other.....they must have seen you coming........Mazda is aware of their 2000 protege radiators falling apart ......he__ they have a special tool they delivered to the dealer just to help the problem get out of warrenty. Sorry about your luck.

That's interesting, I never heard about that. Most 2000 protege owners I know haven't had these kind of radiator problems. Then again my car has 106,500 miles so that could be why the seam between the radiator and engine went out.

But honestly, if what you're saying is true, what can be done to stop these radiators from falling apart?

All in all, I like the car.

Thanks!