Head gasket failures are expensive and can quickly damage your engine if not dealt with as soon as possible. Head gaskets typically fail due to an engine overheating one too many times. This could be because the engine block expands at a different rate than the cylinder head when the engine is warming up or if the engine has had issues with overheating due to a clogged radiator, coolant leak or other issue. As a result, the head gasket is not able to seal the new gap as effectively and coolant starts to leak through the gaps.
Signs of Head Gasket Failure Related to Coolant
Here are some top signs related to coolant that may indicate you have blown a head gasket and to get to your mechanic or maintenance shop promptly!
- Leaks: A simple method of diagnosis that anyone can do-regardless of their background is to look for leaks externally on the unit. Do you physically see coolant leaking anywhere on the floor, ground, or inside the engine – coolant is colored for a reason!
- Coolant Level: Check your coolant levels. Are you noticing the need to constantly top up your coolant? A few reasons that your levels could be low include leaking to the ground, leaking coolant directly in the oil, burning off due to overheating, and being consumed in the cylinder. You know your equipment best- if you are toping up frequently or the levels seem abnormal you should investigate the reason for coolant loss immediately.
- Bubbles: when you are looking at your coolant levels, check for bubbles. You can either see this after you take the radiator cap off, or in a transparent coolant surge tank. Bubbles indicate that combustion gases have entered your system through a blown head gasket.
- Smoke Color: if your exhaust smoke is white – this usually means there is coolant in the cylinders and indicates a cracked/ blown head gasket. Be sure to look for white smoke at start up and or if it’s continuous white smoke. White smoke just at start up indicates the leak is slow, but constant indicates there is a major issue with the system.
- Oil Color: Another visual check is to look for coolant leaks with your oil dipstick. Milky or “mayo like” oil indicates you have a coolant leak somewhere in your system. This will cause damage to your engine quickly. If this is the case, immediately bring your unit into get inspected, but DO NOT DRIVE IT OR RUN IT.
- Engine Temperature: While issues such as coolant leaks or faulty fans can cause engine overheating leading to head gasket failure, head gasket failure can also be the cause an overheating engine. Exhaust gasses can leak into the coolant (see note on Bubbles above) or coolant can leak into the cylinders, burning off as steam (see Smoke Color above). As a result, your engine will overheat which will cause further engine damage if not checked quickly.
Suspect a Head Gasket Failure?
If you suspect there’s coolant leaking into your oil system due to head gasket failure and your oil is not milky/ creamy, send in an oil sample to confirm if there is a leak in your system. Fluid Life will trigger a Gas Chromatography (GC) based on the ICP Spectrometry results for coolant indication elements such as sodium and potassium.
After you have fixed your head gasket issue, be sure to send a follow up sample to ensure no further contamination or wear was caused by the leak/ blown head gasket.
As we mentioned in an earlier blog about recognizing symptoms of head gasket failure, repairing a head gasket is expensive. Diagnosing a head gasket failure requires experience and a methodical approach as other issues within an engine or cooling system can cause similar symptoms. If the diagnosis points to a blown gasket, repairs should be made as soon as possible to prevent more damage and catastrophic failure.
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