Does Your Vehicle Have A Blown Head Gasket?

Car problems can happen when you least suspect them, especially while you are on the road. That's why it helps to know the warning signs that you are experiencing a specific problem so that you know what's going on. Here is what you want to look out for to tell if you are dealing with a blown head gasket. If you are driving your car and suspect that you have a blown head gasket, check out a few signals below.

White Exhaust

Do you notice that you have white smoke that is coming out of your vehicle's exhaust pipe? This problem is happening because your blown head gasket is causing coolant to leak into your engine cylinders. You will definitely want to take your car in to be repaired as soon as possible because the problem is going to continue to get worse over time.

Milky Oil

Check the oil in your engine with the dipstick to see what color it is. The engine oil should be amber-colored, which you can check by wiping off the dipstick on a paper towel to see what color it is. Be aware that a blown head gasket may cause the oil to look like it is milky colored instead. This is due to the oil being contaminated with coolant, and it is now mixing together and causing problems with the oil. 

Engine Overheating

Another problem that you'll likely run into is that the engine starts overheating. This is due to the engine not getting the coolant that it needs due to the blown head gasket, so the temperature of the engine is going to be hotter than it should be. You may notice that the engine temperature is rising when you see that white exhaust or get a warning light on your dashboard.

Low Coolant With No Visible Leak

You may also go to check the engine coolant and notice that it is very low, but there is no visible leak of fluids coming out of your car. This is due to that coolant getting into other parts of your vehicle, so it is not necessarily leaking out and falling to the ground beneath your car. You also won't notice that the fluid levels become low until you start driving your vehicle, so the coolant levels are not going to dip while the vehicle is sitting in your driveway. 

Reach out to a local auto repair service if you notice these problems in order to fix this crucial car problem.


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