Possible head gasket failure? Please help me out guys!

[ShinS30]

Okay, here are the problems with my '90 240sx-

-I've been running with a bad water pump for about 3 weeks. It leaks coolant, and I have to keep replacing the coolant constantly to prevent overheating.

-I have an old muffler, that I've recently needed to re-attach the pipe to the cat because it came loose from the clamp in the freeway, so it made my ride somewhat lumpier because it doesnt fit flush & tight anymore.

-And today, my car all of a sudden started sounding really rough, and heasitant during driving, with a signifigant loss of power. At times, the car almost sounded like a boxer. Would this possibly be a bad head gasket? The car still starts & drives, but it just sounds/feels horrible.

I'm somewhat mechanically inclined, but my experience is still very much novice, and my budget is tighter than tight. What would you guys recommend I do? Take the car to a shop, and get it looked at, then possibly get raped on prices? My options are limited, and I don't have the space or luxury of a garage to do my own work.

Thank you dearly for the advice in advance guys!

[assassin7420]

Check for coolant in the oil. If so, Congrats on your new milkshake maker!

[sonicsr20]

Smell your coolant, If it has the smell of gas on it, then your head gasket is letting the coolant leak into the exhaust. Better yet, look at you exhaust and see if there is an excess amount of moisture comeing out. I had a bad head gasket, my car run real crapppy but it never smoked.

[480sx]

Sounds like a bad HG.

Running with a known bad water pump caused your failure. You wernt flowing enough water through the engine to maintain temps and it overheated internally.

[Neil]

from the description it may be something as bad as losing compression on one or two cylinders from overheating, or it could be something as simple as a large leak in the intake.

Cash in your penny jar and get a new water pump, though.. topping up your antifreeze isn't exactly a suitable fix, and polluting the ground is bad, too.