i was driving my 97 cobra and someone told me they saw smoke coming from my car, my temperature was perfect so i kept driving, a mile down the road the temperature shot up. the coolant cap looked like it had almost been blown off but not much coolant had been spit up and now when i start it there is a ticking noise in my left head.is it possibly a valve or blown head gasket?

 

Check for oil in your coolant. Doesn't sound good though. Good luck.

 

The same thing happened to my brothers 2001 cobra. What happened is after he got his transmission replaced they filled up the radiator with coolant but forgot to fill up the engine with coolant.

 

What color was the smoke? Coolant smoke will be white. A blown head gasket surely can cause overheating and coolant spewing.

 

its my head gasket coolant on my dipstick!!! how hard to change these gaskets?