Hightech Automotive advises that the head gasket is a crucial part in your car’s engine. This gasket creates a seal over the combustion chamber to ensure oil and coolant stay out. It also forms the seal so the chamber can build up compression, a critical part of combustion. A blown head gasket can damage the engine severely if you keep driving your automobile. Here are the signs of a blown head gasket.
Coolant Loss
As we mentioned in the introduction, coolant needs to stay out of the combustion chamber, but if the head gasket cracks, the coolant will start to leak into the chamber. Unfortunately, the coolant will continue to leak from the engine into the chamber until you have the head gasket replaced. This will leave the engine with little to no coolant circulating through it.
Overheating Engine
Naturally, this is going to cause the engine to overheat, and this is the reason why you should not drive your vehicle if the head gasket is cracked. Even if you add coolant to the radiator to bring the level back up to full, the fresh coolant will also leak into the combustion chamber where it will be burned away. In other words, a cracked head gasket causes the engine to overheat all the time.
Boiling Coolant
In fact, the engine can get to a temperature that will start the coolant boiling in the radiator. If you continue to drive your car, SUV, or truck when the engine is this hot, you also run the risk of cracking the engine block and cracking the exhaust manifold. If you hear the coolant boiling in the engine, pull over and turn off the engine immediately. Call for a tow truck to our shop.
White Exhaust
As we mentioned above, the coolant is burned away in the combustion chamber as it leaks into it. When this happens, you will see white exhaust smoke coming out of the tailpipe. If the engine is hot enough to boil the coolant, you may also see white smoke pouring out from underneath the hood.
Milky Motor Oil
Aside from the excess heat, it is also a bad idea to drive your automobile because the motor oil is also released when the head gasket cracks. This gives coolant a chance to mix with the motor oil and dilute it. Consequently, you can damage the engine with the diluted motor oil.
Hightech Automotive in Forest City, NC, is here to help, so call us today if you suspect you’ve got a cracked head gasket underneath the hood.