Engine Performance problem
1997 Ford Taurus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

97 Ford Taurus No Heat,Spudders when in drive sometimes dies (shuts off) Corrosion in Radiator Resovoir. This car has been quated by technicians for a bad Head Gasket. Also for a Bad thermostat and air in the engine. Also Has been said exaust fumes are getting in the engine from manifold causing the corrosion in the radiator resovoir. Car has had pressure check on it and came back with some sort of leak or plug. Just cant narrow it down because of the inconsistency of repair quates. Please help send me in the correct direction and narrow the work needed. The head gasket on this car to be changed by a technician is expensive in the $1500 range due to it being a Dual Head gasket. Please help Means

Hello there,

Sorry for all your problems.
Unfortunately, everything that you were told could very well be tied together.
Usually when a car shop replaces the head gasket, they also replace the thermostat.
What possibly happened is that your thermostat failed resulting in your car overheating which resulted in your head gasket problem.
Replacing the thermostat is the least of your concern though because it is a very simple and cheap job.

Symptoms of a head gasket would include:
-white smoke in exhaust
-coolant in oil
-hard/long cranking to start the car
-oil in coolant
-low compression in one/several cylinder (hence the hard cranking)
-loss of power

Have they tested your coolant for exhaust gas in it?
That would also indicate a bad head gasket.
$1500 sound about right for this job.
I would make sure to have it done by a mechanic you trust though; when you replace the head gasket, you should also have the head resurfaced; if done improperly you'll be back at the shop within weeks with another head gasket problem.
Also, a blown head gasket is usually the result of another problem. In your case it seems that it would be a bad thermostat; but make sure the technicians inspect your cooling system for any other possible problem.