We hope that you never blow your head gasket, but if you do, you can count on us to repair it. We aren’t going to candy-coat this: A blown head gasket requires a partial engine rebuild to repair the problem. It is important that you stop driving your automobile the minute you suspect the head gasket is blown. Here are signs that your head gasket is compromised.
Coolant Loss
The common terminology is a blown head gasket, and this means that the head gasket has cracked. When the head gasket cracks, the coolant that is circulating through the engine starts to leak into each cylinder in the cylinder block. Unfortunately, this coolant leak is perpetual. Adding coolant to the cooling system will only send more coolant into the cylinder block.
Overheating
Naturally, the cracked head gasket is going to cause your engine to overheat because the coolant level will be low continuously. In addition to forming a seal to prevent coolant from leaking out of the engine, the head gasket also seals off the heat from the combustion chamber. This heat will rise through the crack and increase your engine’s temperature even more.
Boiling Coolant
In fact, your engine can get so hot that the coolant will start to boil in the radiator. You probably know what happens next. As the coolant boils, it builds up pressure that blows the radiator cap. Unfortunately, this leaves you with scalding coolant spraying all over your engine. It is important that you never get near the radiator when the coolant is boiling.
White Exhaust
Going back to the coolant in the cylinders, it will be burned away with the air and fuel. When this happens, it creates white exhaust smoke that flows out of the tailpipe. If the white smoke looks a little bit blue, you also have motor oil leaking into the cylinder block through the crack in the head gasket. This means your engine is losing coolant and motor oil.
Milky Motor Oil
In fact, the coolant will mix with the motor oil and cause it to turn milky-white. As this mixture circulates through the engine, it can damage the moving parts because it cannot protect them from the friction they create. As you can see, a cracked head gasket creates an environment that can damage your engine beyond repair. This is why we recommend you call for a tow truck.
Give us a call today if you suspect that you have a blown head gasket underneath the hood. We will inspect the head gasket and give you a detailed estimate for the repairs.
