4 SYMPTOMS OF A BAD HEAD GASKET

PURPOSE

The purpose of the head gasket is to seal the combustion chamber, coolant passages, and engine oil passages. This prevents them from mixing together or leaking out of the engine.

location

The location of the head gasket will be between the engine block and the cylinder head. Some engines have two cylinder heads, so they’ll have two gaskets. 

symptoms

MIXTURE OF OIL & COOLANT

The first symptom of a bad head gasket you could be experiencing with your car is a mixture of oil and coolant. You’ll notice a cappuccino color on the dipstick. In some situations, you might also see a milky substance when removing the engine cap or coolant cap. This happens when the head gasket is torn, leaking coolant into oil passages or vice versa. 

overheating engine

The second symptom is an overheating engine. You'll notice the temperature gauge climbing up, and in worse situations, the engine will start smoking. This can happen if the head gasket is torn, allowing the coolant to transfer from the passages into the combustion chamber, where it gets burned off in the process. If you keep having to refill your coolant but don’t see an external leak, this could be the reason why. On the flip side, the head gasket could be torn from the edge, allowing coolant to leak externally.

thick white smoke

The third symptom is thick white smoke coming from the tailpipe. This happens when coolant moves into the combustion chamber. This will create thick white smoke, sending it down to the exhaust manifold and out the tailpipe. It’s important not to confuse this with the white smoke that comes out when it's cold outside. This is a process of condensation and is totally normal.

poor performance

The fourth symptom is poor performance. Your car will be a lot slower than usual. In some situations, you’ll also get a check engine light with misfire diagnostic codes. This happens when the head gasket is torn and unable to hold the compression for the combustion chamber. Compression is super important for the engine to perform its best. Without it, your car will be at a loss of power. 

Ensure you can access your car's diagnostic codes by acquiring an OBD2 scanner here.

A quick way to see if you have a bad head gasket is to do a combustion leak test.

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If you concluded that your head gasket needs to be replaced and you want to do it yourself, I would recommend getting a repair manual here. You can use code “AD10VA” for 15% off one-year subscriptions for any US Order.

You can also buy a new head gasket here.

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