The signs of a blown Head Gasket

The head gasket sits between the engine block and the cylinder head in an internal combustion engine and it helps your engine run efficiently. If the head gasket blows it could end up being quite expensive to fix. Here are a few signs that you may have blown your head gasket:

White smoke from the tailpipe

When there is an internal head gasket leak, the coolant flows into the combustion chamber which then burns and gives off a white smoke through the exhaust pipe. The amount of smoke released from the exhaust will inform you how bad the leak is.

Overheating engine

This is the least obvious sign of a blown head gasket. This can be caused because of a lack of coolant. If the engine overheats, it could cause major problems such as the warping or cracking of components because of expansion. It could become a huge expense.

External Coolant Leak

An external coolant leak from a head gasket would cause the coolant to leak from the bottom of the exhaust manifold. This usually only happens when the engine has warmed up. This is an easy way to tell that your head gasket has blown as there are no other cooling passages near the head gasket.

White, Milky Oil

Over time, if the coolant is leaking into your combustion chamber, the oil and water will mix and create a milky, white oil. If this happens, the oil will not sufficiently lubricate your engine and will cause wear. You can identify this problem by checking your engine oil cap.