We are serious here at Ashton Automotive & Performance. Driving with a blown head gasket will damage your engine even more than it is already damaged. To put this in perspective, it takes a partial engine rebuild to replace the head gasket, so your engine is already damaged severely. If you continue to drive the vehicle, you run the risk of cracking other engine parts such as the cylinder block. Let’s talk more about this below and the reason why you should tow your vehicle to our shop.
Causes Coolant Loss
A blown head gasket causes coolant loss in the engine. The head gasket is designed to prevent the coolant from leaking into the cylinders. Naturally, once it cracks, there will be a free flow of coolant heading into the cylinders. This flow is nonstop until you replace the head gasket. This means adding coolant to the cooling system will only add more coolant into the cylinders.
Creates Excess Heat
It only makes sense that your engine will start to overheat when it cannot keep coolant circulating through it. Unfortunately, this means that the engine is going to overheat until you replace the head gasket. Because of the crack and the coolant flow, you cannot keep enough coolant in the engine to keep the temperature low enough that it is normal.
And the coolant isn’t the only reason why your engine is overheating. The head gasket also creates a seal above the cylinder block because there is excessive heat in the combustion chamber. Once the head gasket opens up because it is cracked, this heat can enter the engine and increase its temperature exponentially. This is one reason why you should not drive your automobile.
Dilutes the Motor Oil
The other reason why you shouldn’t drive your automobile is the engine will also lose motor oil as it leaks into the cylinders. In addition, the motor oil will get diluted because the coolant will mix with it. This prevents the oil from doing its job of protecting your engine. If you keep driving your automobile with the diluted motor oil, you could damage your engine beyond repair.
Causes Excess Exhaust
Finally, as an aside, the cracked head gasket will also create excess exhaust that you will see in your rearview mirror. The color of the exhaust will be white or bluish-white. This exhaust is being created by the burning coolant and oil in the cylinders.
Ashton Automotive & Performance in Killeen, TX, is here to help you, so give us a call today so we can set up an appointment to replace your head gasket.