Head Gasket Failure...A Miracle Cure?....

[Aunt Trumpet]

or no thermostat fitted or thermostat stuck open, as these are possibilities?

I thought we were assuming that the owner would know whether a stat was fitted and that if one does fail, that it does so in the closed position?....when trying to diagnose a problem you need to go for the obvious causes first and then work your way down the list to the more obscure ones as a process of elimination.

[mikeonb4c]

or no thermostat fitted or thermostat stuck open, as these are possibilities?

I thought we were assuming that the owner would know whether a stat was fitted and that if one does fail, that it does so in the closed position?....when trying to diagnose a problem you need to go for the obvious causes first and then work your way down the list to the more obscure ones as a process of elimination.

You're right. I was just dotting I's and crossing T's as there have been one or two mystery cases that turned out to be Bongos where - unbeknownst to the owner - there was no thermostat fitted.

[missfixit70]

Unscrupulous garages have been known to remove stats without owners knowledge (albeit very rarely) so it's worth keeping in mind.