A cracked head gasket can cause the coolant to mix with the motor oil. When this happens, JTR Repair advises that your motor oil will turn white and look like a milkshake. Unfortunately, if you continue to drive your automobile when the motor oil is in this condition, you could cause irreparable damage to the engine. This is just one reason why you should not drive your vehicle if the head gasket has blown. In addition to diluted motor oil, here are other signs that your engine has a cracked head gasket.
Loss of Coolant
Not only does the coolant mix with the motor oil but it also leaks into the cylinders. This is because the head gasket creates a seal above the cylinders to prevent the coolant from getting in there.
Unfortunately, once the head gasket blows, there’s no stopping the coolant from leaking out of the engine and into the cylinders. This, naturally, causes the engine to overheat.
Overheating Constantly
In fact, your engine will overheat constantly whenever you drive your car, truck, or utility vehicle. You can try adding coolant to the cooling system, but the additional coolant will only leak into the cylinders. In addition, the heat from the combustion chamber is no longer contained by the head gasket. Consequently, the engine’s temperature is going to get very hot.
In fact, there have been instances when the engine gets hot enough that it can boil the coolant. You can actually hear the coolant boiling in the engine. If this is the case with your automobile, we recommend that you pull over immediately and turn the engine off. Do not pop the hood or stand in front of the radiator until the engine has cooled off completely. The reason why is that the boiling coolant creates pressure inside of the radiator that causes the cap to rupture and scorching coolant to escape.
White Exhaust Smoke
Another thing that you are going to notice if you have a blown head gasket is white smoke coming out of the tailpipe and white steam coming out from underneath the hood. This is not only a sign that the engine is way too hot but also that the coolant is being burned in each cylinder. Unfortunately, this is not a good thing for the cylinder block.
Call JTR Repair in Crawfordsville, IN, today to set up a service visit if you have a cracked head gasket in your engine.
