so in a nut shell the car overheated. it went well in the red on the gauge the fan kicked in and the the heater stopped blowing hot air. fast forward to now after trawling the forums i thought i had the problem sussed to the matrix but a mechanic friend came out for a look and said that i had a leak on the thermostatic valve housing and that there was a pulsing in the pipe that lead to the thermostatic valve. he then said the words no driver wants to hear HEAD GASKET!!!!! there is no mayo/baileys in the oil in either the dipstick or engine and i would say that the water wasn't in the exhaust gases but who knows. all i can say on the matter is that the coolant tank was bubbling like a witches cauldron and he said that's not a good thing so if this is the case i'm screwed due to the value of the car vs the cost of a repair/recon engine thoughts welcome :)