so today while i was driving home, i stopped at a stop light waiting to turn right, the car was running fine, the temp gauge was normal (i watch it quite closely). anyways, the car was running fine until the light turned green and i started to step on the gas peddle. the car started to go and then died. i get out and pop the hood, i notice some steam coming so i checked the thermostat to see if it was hot... it was warm but not hot so i grabbed a few rags and opened the cap. there was no coolent in there. i checked the coolent last night so i know it had enough, and i have not seen any big leaks when parking, only a drop here and a drop there. nothing that would have cleared out my coolent that fast. anyways, i pull the dipstick for the oil, it seems that it is a bit... milky. i believe i blew a head gasket. i have done some searching and found that a MLS gasket is suggested, though i am not sure what else i should check and/or replace while doing the head gasket... or how much it should. does anyone have any suggestions on what to else to check or have a general idea how much it will cost to do the head gasket?
thanks,
-Eric

 

if it was ur head gasket im pretty sure you would have seen clouds of smoke behind u

 

first step. get a Haynes manual on 1st gen neons.
follow instrucions on how to replace a HG. i dont think anyone here wants to type it.
next step. there are some other parts, like the timing belt that you prolly should change while you have all this apart. and while you are at it a new water pump, and maybee camshaft sealsand cam tensioner ohh and you might want to spend a few minutes resealing your spark plug tubes.

 

the reason i think it is the head gasket, even though there wasnt any smoke that i saw, is that the oil is now milky and thing when it wasnt before, and alot of my coolent is missing from the system. so what i can figure, i can expect to spend around $250 to get it running again if i do everything myself. guess i will grab my friend and be the tow behind to get it home today and take a closer look at everythng.

 

went back out to look at the car today, last night when i checked on it, the oil from the dipstick was milky, today it isnt. it appears that the reason it was milky was due to condensation.... the car fired rite up today and was working well with the exception of a slight knock when it first turned over, but that went away. i have a feeling what ever happened has something to do with my cooling system, as now it looses most of the coolent. so i suppose i am going to do a water pump, tensioner, and belt soon. it wasnt making any of the bad noises it was last night, this is good. i also checked the engine codes, all checks out normal

 

if it was milky right after the car was running is because it had just been running. Now if you just checked it again after it has cooled a day or two the oil and water has separated. It could be either one the head or gasket. Besides if it is the head cracked you will need to replace the gasket anyway. If it is just the gasket it is best to have the head checked for trueness and make sure it is cracked. To have it checked to make sure it isn't warped. I know you said it wasn't running hot but that can mean that there wasn't enough water in it for the sensor to read the correct temp. Besides having it checked is cheaper then not and having to take it back a part and having to buy another gasket kit and get the head checked then.