over heating issue

[PantyRaid]

I think I figured it out but thought I should ask here.

I got a great deal on my 98 gt because the kid said the water pump was out..
upon inspection I noticed the water neck was leaking profusely" well the kid took the thermostat out because he heard he could get more HP"
well in doing so he stripped the bolts and tried to use a paper gasket and lock washers..

I replaced the neck, tstat and bolts ..rtv sealed and thread locked everything and she was still over heating slowly.

I took the radiator apart and cleaned it as well as replaced the hoses..

was told could be head gasket... I did a compression test and I'm getting 185-200 in all cylinders ...

I thought could be the heater core so I unplugged both line and sure enuf no pressure coming into the motor but plenty coming out" water pump is still good right?

tomorrow I'm going to bypass the heater core and see if that helps...

could it still be a head gasket even though I'm not loosing any pressure ?

[02_Legacy]

yes still could be a headgasket. Are you sure you filled the system properly. Subaru's are notorious for getting air pockets trapped in the cooling system.

[PantyRaid]

yes ..I bypassed the heater core this morning and it seamed to run great..but when I parked it it was smoking like crazy..didn't smell bad so I'm assuming excess moisture from the heat shield