D24TIC Yet more advice please - thank u for your patience

[Laney760]

Thanks everyone with your patience with me and my engine. As everyone knows my head gasket is definitely 'going', burning coolant in cylinders out through exhaust, much worse under load. Also now know my diagnosis as to low compression is not just due to the head gasket but I burn a fair bit of oil, some engine wear and tear there, have been told by people following my car I burn blue smoke (as well as white and steam!)

When my thermostat packed up slowly and finally died altogether I wasn't doing my engine a lot of good running cold all the time, it had no performance BUT I used very little coolant as to previously, I think it wasn't only because I drove steadier but performance was so down that on higher revs the engine wasn't under as much load? Foot down produced far less smoke under load than it is now with the the new stat in (but also far less 'performance')

Thermostat now done, engine warming up very quickly, a huge improvement in performance but once again back to burning loads more coolant today

I was wondering if I am putting the head gasket under less stress running with a non-functioning thermostat but that way probably increasing the demise of rings and general wear and tear leading to engine death etc.. if I might be doing the lesser of two evils re my engine this way and it might last a bit longer before it dies this way (ie with no thermostat) as oppose to dying re the gasket finally giving out altogether? (I've come to the sensible decision as to not having the gasket done on this worn engine and not having a complete rebuild either, have seen decent 940 tds for a lot less money than a rebuild, have got over the 'disease')