Lost some water from the cooling system on my Mondeo 1.8 16v. Some steam coming from exhaust. Engine temps normal. Slight stumble on cold start, clears in seconds. No water leaks visible. Does this sound like the Head Gasket has gone? I've had a quote of £450 to replace it, which considering it's a '98 Mondeo probably isn't worth fixing. Would something like K-seal keep it going for a bit longer while I raise funds for another car?
A bit of steam from the exhaust is normal...its condensation burning off.
Get a garage to do a "sniff test".
When my wife's Mondeo had some coolant loss, it was the rubber seal on the expansion tank cap that'd packed up.
With no visible leaks, I'd suggest you have a 'sniffer' test done by your local garage. It checks if their are any combustion traces in the coolant water. A simple and cheap test. They might even do it for free. Wont show a HG blown between cylinders, but if it continues losing water, and you still can't find any leak, a compression test might confirm whether that actually is the fault. Steam coming from the exhaust is quite normal, especially after a cold night. Can take a few miles before the exhaust system gets hot enough to clear all the condensed water from the system. Mike.. .
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