A head gasket found beneath the hood, plays a vital role in your car. It provides a seal between the engine block and the cylinder head. The head gasket provides a seal by preventing engine oil from leaking into the combustion cylinder.
Although a crucial component, the head gasket can encounter issues like any other part in the car. In some cases, when the head gasket faces problems, it may turn into a milky brownish color.
A blown head gasket can result from several causes, such as engine overheating and other common signs of wear. Although the causes of a blown head gasket could be many, it may put your car in bad condition.
In most cases, a blown head gasket will result in engine overheating, the exhaust pipe having white smoke, leaking of the coolant, and spark plugs faults. Other issues that may result with your car when it has a blown head gasket is overflow or bubbles in the coolant tank and low cooling system integrity.
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So, Will a car start with a blown head gasket?
This is a question most drivers and those who intend to operate a vehicle tend to ask. It is a critical question, especially with the idea of the causes and effects a blown head gasket has on the car. Will a car start with this issue?
Yes, the vehicle will start with a blown head gasket, but its health conditions are at risk. As pointed earlier, the work of the head gasket is to provide a seal between the cylinder head and block of the engine. The seal is enhanced by preventing internal combustion gases from mixing with the oil. In other words, it ensures the free and safe flow of coolant to the respective parts of the car. Therefore, a blown head gasket will not affect the car to start; only it will lead to overheating the engine.
How to start a car with a blown gasket?
Start your car in the usual way you have used to. As it has a blown gasket, there are some issues it may encounter, such as the engine lacking enough compression pressure. This means the engine may develop some difficulties in operating. Therefore, if you start the car and it fails, try again, and the engine will start if there are no other issues besides the blown head gasket.
How do I know if my head gasket is blown?
Since the head gasket provides a seal to prevent coolant passages, when it becomes blown, it allows the coolant content to enter the cylinder. As a result, here is what will happen with your car under the blown head gasket.
- Exhaust pipe having white smoke.
- Overheating of the engine
- A coloration of milky white-like in the oil
- A loss of coolant with the absence of leakage loops
- Bubbles in the coolant tank or radiator
These symptoms are a serious problem for your car, and your vehicle may start underperforming due to some reasons. For example, the engine may not get what is required from the head gasket and overheats.
As well, fault spark plugs may develop difficulties. Although the above symptoms are expected to conclude a blown head gasket, it’s not always.
So, Can you have a blown head gasket with no symptoms? Yes, you may have a blown head gasket but no signs or symptoms such as milky oil or coolant.
The truth behind this scenario is that the blown head gasket may be allowing the coolant alone to enter or leak outside the combustion cylinder without mixing with the oil. Besides, there are other symptoms of a blown head gasket, such as intermittent starting or no start (although not always) and rough idle.
How long will a car last with a blown head gasket?
There is no fixed period for this issue since it’s rather complicated. Automotive enthusiasts, frequently reported that a car with a blown head gasket lasted about a month, on average, although other car’s conditions will be subjective to this period.
In other words, the engine’s life under the blown head gasket will be longer or shorter depending on the nature or level of the leak. Blown head gasket conditions are challenging to repair, especially if you are doing it yourself.
The engine is set to produce much pressure internally, which is connected and kept by the head gasket. Once there is leakage on the head gasket, the pressure is lost, and oil mixes to form a milky white-like substance. The formation of milky white oil and dumping it into the engine will take about 30 days, on average then the engine fails.
How does a car act with a blown head gasket?
The head gasket provides a combustion seal, keeping the coolant away from mixing with engine oil all the time. A blown head gasket will make the car act abnormally, and this can be seen by several abnormal behaviors of the car while driving.
Once your car has this problem, the engine may malfunction and lose its standard power. Besides the engine’s overheating, the coolant level will drop. The blown head gasket may also lead to a mix of oil and coolant, and the tip tail of the car may be subjected to producing white snort when operating the vehicle.
Can you have a blown head gasket without overheating?
Yes, you can have a blown head gasket without overheating. Besides, a blown head gasket can exist and can result in white smoke, engine loss of power, and milky substance in the oil.
Will a blown head gasket cause rough idle?
A blown head gasket will course rough idle. When the head gasket loses its power to control the combustion pressure, the engine loses its compression ability. As a result, the engine will run with a knocking or a rough idle.
Is it worth fixing a blown head gasket?
Yes, it is worth fixing a blown head gasket. Why not! Generally, like any other issue that your car may develop, a blown head gasket is a problem that needs to be attended to. Your car health is subjected to how it will operate; if poor, still the entire operation will also be poor.
Ignoring blown head gaskets can damage the engine, and the cost of repairing the ignition system is high. Once the engine has got a problem, it may extend to the point of needing to replace it with a new one that is so expensive. It is not only the engine that is affected by the blown head gasket but also other parts which may lead to buying a new vehicle.
If you have a blown head gasket, it will cost you $1000 and $2000 to repair it. Although very expensive but worth it, repairing blown head gaskets is essential if you don’t intend to incur more cost for your car.
