I'm going to give all the diagnostic info I can about this.

My car, starting about two nights ago, has been leaking antifreeze. I've been keeping it filled up with water until I can fix it or get it fixed. One problem was the pipe going over the heat-shield. The little piece of hose was leaking, so we put a new one on and it *seems* to not be leaking there anymore, but I can't be sure.

I also took a look under the hood and noticed some drips from further back in the engine compartment.

The car smokes, meaning the antifreeze must be hitting something hot (well, I guess the whole engine is hot after driving, haha). Also, unless my temperature gauge is off, my temperature is fine (I'm not overheating). I kind of wonder if it's a head-gasket, but I have no idea. What would some more symptoms of a broken head-gasket be?

Occasionally, as well, my car has some trouble starting and I have to quick push and release the gas pedal while I turn the key. Don't know if that's related, but I just thought I'd mention it.

white smoke of your tail pipe, or loosing coolant through your overflow , take the cap off and rev the engine, if you see bubles or if it comes out you ll know
Do a compression test that will get you some idea. Don't confuse low compression for a bad head gasket thuogh. A bad valve can lower compression. And a bad ring. There's no straight simple answer to this question

Hey.

Thanks for the reply.

I understand there's no simple answer, I'm just trying to get a better idea of what's going on.

Thanks again for the ideas, I'll go try them out.

I know I'm not loosing coolant in the overflow. I have had white smoke come out of the tail pipe when I start the car, but not every time and certainly not for more than about 5 or 10 seconds.

The same exact thing happened to me. Coolant disapearing. Drove it hard one night, and my fucking radiator cap blew off and almost dented my hood. After than night my car lost major power. I decided to rebuild the head and call it a day.

Also, ignore the stock temp gauge. It is pretty much worthless. Where it sits just under halfway the temp ranges from about 130-190. Anything over 210 and it moves up to the next step which is just over halfway.

coming from the back of the engine might be a leaking heater hose at the firewall, they're right above the exhaust.

the heater hose in the back of the engine bay is probably leaking, they tend to ware out over time, the clamps just loose pressure and fail, if you do choose to replace them do both of them! they are a pain in the ass, but worth it down the road, also make sure not to damage the barbs on the end of the heater core! I think its 5/8in hose...you will need about 2ft of it and 4 good hose clamps, good luck!