Blown Head Gaskets
Head gaskets form a s
eal between the engine block and the cylinder head. This seals both the combustion chamber and the coolant passages in your engine. The head gasket seals the coolant passage both from the atmosphere and the combustion chamber; you can’t really see much of the head gasket on a vehicle. It can be very difficult to diagnose a head gasket leak.
Since a visual inspection usually will not prove a head gasket leak, it is important to know the other symptoms so you can accurately diagnose a head gasket problem. Some symptoms of a blown head gasket could be significant loss of coolant with no visible leaks, white smoke from the exhaust, overheating engine, coolant leaking, and bubbles in the coolant or radiator overflow tank. The only externally visible sign of a blown head gasket would be coolant externally leaking from the head gasket. To make diagnosis even more confusing, other things may cause the same symptoms as a head gasket failure. Another issue may be multiple failures which can cause more than one symptom. For example, a restricted radiator may cause an engine to overheat, much the same as a head gasket failure. Consequences of not replacing a bad head gasket could lead to other problem with your vehicle such as, damage to your catalytic converter, overheating, corrosion.
If the blown head gasket has caused catastrophic damage, a complete engine is redeemable; the head gasket should be replaced. When replacing, consumers should search by the make, model, and year of the car and obtain the newest generation of head gasket possible along with updated instructions and newer generation tools. Alternatively, people should engage a professional to do the job. To replace the head gasket, a few major steps are required.
