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I have a Mitsubishi Pajero 1999. We have flushed the coolant liquid at the occasion of a service (because I could hear water running when I pressed the accelerator, like if you blow in a water glass with a straw) and our mechanic told us he suspected a “poor condition of the head gasket because he detected a high pressure in the engine”. The temperature of the motor has always reach half way of the engine temperature gauge and it’s still the case… The level of the coolant liquid remained constant until the flush; but a few weeks after the flush, we saw that we didn't have any coolant liquid anymore...
Is it the head gasket which cause the high pressure in the engine or another component? Do we have to fix/change others pieces (than the head gasket) to fix the problem? We are quiet keen to change the head gasket but, because our cambelt is also due this year, when I asked to my mechanic to change both, he told me that was cheaper to change the entire engine (because it's a V6). Do you agree with that and do you have a rough idea of the cost ?
Thank you very much for your answers!

HI there,
Running water sounds through the heater system, can indicate a few scenarios but the main one is air in the cooling system. This can be caused by air trapped in the system after work has been carried out, or worst case a blown head gasket. However if the coolant is now disappearing (as in having to top up the radiator on a regular basis) unless there is an external leak, it may be head gasket related. The remedy depends on what your plans are for the vehicle, as they are getting a bit old by now, it may be hard to find a good engine that's not worn out, and it would still require a new cam belt and water pump as part of the engine swap. I'm not sure on prices, but I would imagine the costs to run into the thousands for the two jobs.