Can You Drive With a Blown Head Gasket?

While you technically can drive with a blown head gasket, it doesn’t mean that you should. While you technically can drive with a blown head gasket, it doesn’t mean that you should. The head gasket of your car acts as a seal and the moment it blows your engine will experience an immediate loss in pressure. This loss of pressure means the pistons in the combustion chamber will no longer be firing with force and you will feel a significant loss of power. This will then result in oil and coolant leaking into areas of the engine where they shouldn’t be.

Coolant can mix with motor oil, diluting the oil and reducing the engine’s ability to properly lubricate parts. So, as you can see a blown head gasket is a major problem for any engine and it costs quite a bit to fix mechanically.

The longer you keep driving your vehicle with a blown head gasket, the more damage you will do to the engine.

How to prevent a blown head gasket

Head gasket failures are generally the result of an engine overheating so ensure coolant is topped up and that the system is in good working condition with no leaks and an efficient radiator.

Will a blown head gasket take my car off the road?

If you have a blown head gasket, it won’t make your car undrivable. However, you must be aware that if you continue to drive, the damage that comes with it causes non-lubricated bearings and overheating parts. The longer you ignore this problem and don’t get it looked at, you could end up with an engine that is irreparable.

Signs of a faulty head gasket

● White exhaust smoke - when the coolant finds its way into the combustion chamber it will burn or evaporate as white smoke which can be seen coming from your exhaust.

● Milky oil - when the coolant and oil mix, it will form a white liquid and you will see this around the dipstick when you’re checking your engine.

● Power loss - a perforation in the gasket will cause pressure to decrease in the combustion chamber, along with the power of the engine.

● Overheating engine - when coolant leaks into your engine, it can overheat.

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