over heat water boiling is it head gasket?

whilst driving a short distance (1 mile) i noticed temp gauge right next to red instead of middle, pulled car over immediately and noticed on lifting the bonnet the water boiling in the coolant tank. on checking oil level found zero oil so topped up with 2 litres and left engine to cool. it is back to middle now when i went back to raod after two hours but scared to drive the car.would it have overheated with lack of oil for a short journey ( as i checked it last week and oil level was ok, no patches on my driveway etc). is it the head gasket gone,blocked collant tank, or rad not working, or do you think it the cheapest easiet option of no oil? also can anyone give me UK £ prices for the above repairs so i can work out if its do-able.

cheers guys, ps i am a newbie without series problems without a car and am disabled to boot. by the way the car is E34 518ise on a 95 N plate if thats helpful.

Many thanks all.

a stuck thermostat.

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Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg Bob

a stuck thermostat.

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Hope so, i know thermostats are nice and cheap and i may be able to do that myself depending on location due to my disability :)

Hmm, I wouldn't think that the water would boil in the expansion tank with a stuck thermostat - if that were the case, the boiling water could never get to the expansion tank. Am I wrong?

Only way to know for sure on the head gasket is a compression check. Checking the coolant for oil, the oil for coolant, and checking for coolant out the tailpipe are all good indications.