All heck breaks loose when a head gasket blows in a car. Unfortunately, the blown head gasket can damage the engine severely. In fact, the damaged gasket itself is serious engine damage. In order to replace the head gasket, part of your automobile’s engine must be rebuilt. Let’s talk below specifically about what happens in the engine when the head gasket blows (cracks).
Instantaneous Coolant Loss
The head gasket is located on top of the cylinder block and it forms a seal over the block. This keeps the coolant and oil from leaking into the cylinders. It also keeps the heat produced inside of the cylinders from overheating the engine. When the head gasket cracks, coolant immediately makes its way into each cylinder. This means your engine is losing coolant while you are driving.
Overheating Engine
Naturally, this coolant loss is going to cause your engine to overheat, and this introduces another set of problems. For example, if you continue to drive the vehicle when the engine is too hot, you can also crack the exhaust manifold or engine block. In addition to the heat caused by the coolant loss, the engine will also take in the heat leaking out of the cylinder block.
Scorching/Boiling Coolant
This can get your engine so hot that the coolant that remains in the radiator and overflow reservoir will start to boil. As you know, boiling coolant can explode out of the radiator because it can blow off the radiator cap. If you are anywhere in the vicinity when this happens, you could be scalded severely. As such, pull over and cut the engine but don’t pop the hood until it cools.
White Exhaust Smoke
We mentioned above that when the head gasket blows, the coolant leaks into the cylinders. This creates a mixture of air, coolant, and fuel that is burned away when the spark plugs ignite the mixture. In some cases, you may also have motor oil in the cylinders. When the coolant is burned, it creates white exhaust. When the motor oil is burned, it creates blue exhaust.
Diluted/Milky Motor Oil
Finally, a blown head gasket will mix the coolant and motor oil together. This creates a milky substance that cannot protect your engine as it circulates through it. Unfortunately, you may end up with a damaged engine that needs to be replaced because it cannot be repaired.
In light of all of the above, we recommend that you have your vehicle towed to our shop if you believe that the head gasket is cracked. This helps preserve the engine.
