The head gasket is a crucial part of your engine. It seals off the combustion chamber to ensure that compression builds up inside the chamber for engine combustion. It also forms a protective seal over the chamber to make sure that motor oil and coolant do not end up inside the chamber. Trojan Auto Care advises that the head gasket can crack when the engine gets too hot. Here are signs that you have a blown head gasket in the engine that needs to be replaced right away.
Excessive Coolant Loss
When the head gasket cracks, you immediately lose excessive amounts of coolant out of the engine. The coolant makes its way into the combustion chamber and sprays all over the engine because it is under pressure. This is why we say you have blown the head gasket. As the coolant sprays all over the engine, the supply of coolant circulating through the engine is depleted.
Overheating Engine
Consequently, your engine is going to overheat fairly quickly once the head gasket blows. In fact, your engine may have already been overheating and this is why the head gasket cracked. This is one reason why we do not recommend that you drive your automobile when it is running too hot. Aside from cracking the head gasket, you can also crack the exhaust manifold and cylinder block.
Scalding Engine Coolant
As the engine’s temperature continues to rise if you keep it running after the head gasket has cracked, what cool that is left in the cooling system will start to boil. You will be able to hear the coolant bubbling in the cooling system. Specifically, the coolant will boil in the radiator.
White Exhaust Smoke
As the coolant sprays throughout the engine, the engine will burn it away. Consequently, you will see white exhaust smoke flowing out of the tailpipe as a result of the coolant burn. Because the engine is already too hot, you will also see white smoke flowing out from underneath the hood.
Milky Motor Oil
The engine temperature aside, you should not drive your vehicle if the head gasket is cracked because the motor oil and coolant mix. Consequently, this leaves you with diluted motor oil circulating through the engine. This can cause serious damage to your engine.
Trojan Auto Care in Troy, OH, would be happy to help, so call us to set up a service appointment so we can inspect the head gasket and replace it.
