Q: coolant bursts out of tank

I’m afraid the news will not be good. The symptoms you are describing points towards the head gasket(s). The gasket fails in between cylinders on the engines, I have seen them do this. When the gasket fails, pressure from the combustion chamber leaks into the cooling system.

Coolant can also be drawn into the cylinder on the intake stroke. This results in white smoke from the exhaust. There are some tests that can be done before the engine is taken apart. Check the engine oil for coolant. A shop can use a tailpipe emissions tester to measure the amount of hydrocarbon is the cooling system.

This job can become very expensive if problems are found with the cylinder head, or with a lot of other things. This is major engine work, but this job is only the top half on the engine. Overheating an engine just once or twice can damage many things.

If there is coolant in the oil, and the engine is run like this, the lower end can be damaged. I don’t want to scare you, but I’ve seen head gaskets done, the engine runs great for a week, and then it starts knocking and is pretty much ruined. I’d suggest have a certified mechanic inspect your overheating issue to see if it looks to be repairable, but you might want to explore other options such as a remanufactured engine, or another car.