I recently had an accident, the left side of the car was smashed, after doing the repair works, took a car for a spin and after a while a thermostat gauge shot up to 75-80% level. Took it to the mechanic and he said that the fan was not working and the water pipes were punctured due to the crash. I had them fixed and took the car out again to work (44km approx. back and forth), the car engine heated up real bad and started steaming.
Took it to the mechanic and they stripped down the engine to find out that the gasket has gone bad, and apparently the the engine head had a bit of corrosion at some places. Had the gasket replaced with a good quality Japanese double gasket, but the mechanic said it would run fine as long as I maintain the water levels.
However the car gets heated up with in 15mins, the thermostat needle hits 48% and stays there. My questions are as follows:
- is that OK to have the needle at 48-50%, even after putting coolant.
- what should I do with the corrosion? How long can I have it unattended?
- Is there anyway that I can mitigate further damage?
Would really appreciate your response in this regard.
Thanks