First off... I have a 94 Eclipse. Just the basic model. Standard.
So... I was driving home from Ocala yesterday. I usually have my radio loud but was on the phone so I had it off. All of a sudden I started to hear something like a clicking on the front passenger side of my car. I noticed that when I pressed down on my accelerator, the sound got worse. I'm an idiot and didn't think to check my gauges because I thought it was just something minor. Then I started to smell something weird and saw steam coming from under my hood so I got over to the shoulder as fast as I could. As soon as I was off the road, my car shut off. When I finally opened the hood, I eventually found a huge crack in my radiator. There was of course water everywhere. I got the thing towed and took it to a shop today. They replaced the radiator and said that my head gasket was blown. They said it would be 1100$ to fix which is a lot considering I only paid 1700$ for the car. The guy said it was first stage and would get worse. He also said even if I get it fixed, the bottom could still blow. Opinions on what I should do??? Buy a new car? Get it fixed? Replace the whole motor? I'm so upset... that car is my baby and I can't afford anything else right now.

Update: Clint (my bf) talked to the guy and said it would be ok to drive as long as the car wasn't beat on...
Still seems like sooner or later something has to be done.

 

$1100 is alot for a headgasket.
If you heard a clicking sound that gets louder when you rev you may have spun a bearing though.

 

they sell this stuff at NAPA (might sell at autozone/discount auto) called blue devil (not sure of the name), but its a really good product. its about 60 dollars a bottle, and temporarily fixes blown headgaskets and similiar problems. its a liquid that you put in the motor, then goes to the leak and once it heats up it seals it. they use it at my school when people need a cheap temporary fix, and i think it lasts for like 5k miles. im not sure, of the exact time it lasts, but you should definitely look into it.

 

Some more info from pep boys, where the car is now:

After replacing the radiator with a brand new one, filling up with coolant.

Compression checks out okay, even 170PSI across all 4 cyl.

no water in the exhaust, or appearance of water in the oil.

air (exhaust?) bubbles in the coolant, they tested the coolant with a solution test that changes color if there is oil in it, and it changed color.

I dont know, I always thought that if you had a blown head gasket, that the compression check would show low on one cyl no matter what...

 

Blue Devil....My buddy tried this to get home from South Carolina like 2 years ago....Car still has not had the Headgasket fixed! haha

Been well over 15K added

I didn't think it would work. Even to get home...But it did

 

like i said, the stuffs amazing. they keep records of everything they do for customers cars in the auto shop (im in the body shop class) and they had a customer come back for a check up after having it put in about a year ago, and it's still holding up fine. i'd suggest it

 

Sounds like this stuff is worth trying. Cheapest price I found to get it fixed was 500-550$. Thanks for the input guys!

What about long term negative effects that it may have?

 

i'm not sure. when they checked it out, they didn't mention any problems it has/can cause to the car its been in for the last year, but I would go to one of the stores that carries it and ask one of the workers if they know any down sides to it. for the price i'd try it, even if it only lasts for a few months (more than likely will work long term) its still better than forking out a ton of cash now, if your not in a good financial situation. but either way keep us posted of how it works if you try it!

 

every time ive blown a headgasket, the compression was perfect.

 

how many headgaskets have ^ gone through? lol