Engine Cooling problem
1994 Subaru Legacy 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 237000 miles

hi there, my question is 'How can i tell if my car needs a head gasket replaced or the water pump or both??'

My 250T legacy has been overheating the last couple of months.

I took it to a subaru mechanic and he was convinced that it needed a head gasket replacement, or motor replacement. The alternative was to sell it before it got worse of course. Well i kept driving it as i needed transport and it eventually got so hot that it would stall etc.. and started leaking water. The leak is from the water pump, apparently. My friend tells me that its probably just my water pump and not the gasket. he says if you can drive around for so long(2 months or so ) and not have any effect on the motor performance then its probaly the pump. I had the radiator replaced before all this happened and nothing has happened to it prior to the leaking until now...
Things i can tell you since this problem occurred are:
- Water from coolant(overflow) would push out- mechanic says this is a sign that the pressure of the water is forcing it out as it has nowhere else to flow???
- Car overheats within 10 15 minutes driving.
- Leaked a lot of water - had to top it up a lot.
- Would lose power up hills when cold. sometimes would stall.
- have dropped a temporary (one shot leak preventor) to prevent it leaking which it has but it still overheats.

Also since i bought it ( 4 years now) it would make bubbling noises too. Mechanics told me it was the aircon but have read elswhere that it can be the water pump??


Should I replace the water pump to fix the problem or should i get a compression test first to see if it is the head gasket? Or forget it and get rid of it as is.
Would much rather love to get it going again. other than this it has been reliable to me.


Much cared for subaru enthusiast

Tones
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The only way to really find out what's causing it is to have it block and pressure tested.