A cracked head gasket can damage your engine beyond repair if you continue to operate your vehicle. The head gasket forms a seal over the cylinder block to keep the auto fluids out and the heat in. As you will learn as you keep reading, when the head gasket cracks, many things happen at once that can create additional engine problems. The cracked head gasket alone is a big enough problem.
Diluted Motor Oil
Once the head gasket ruptures, the motor oil will mix with the coolant. Consequently, this means you have diluted motor oil circulating through the engine. Naturally, the motor oil cannot do its job of lubricating and cleaning the parts and drawing heat away from the parts. Consequently, the motor oil can actually damage the engine when it is in this state.
Leaking Engine Coolant
In addition, the coolant and motor oil will both start to leak into the cylinder block. They will make their way into each cylinder where they will be burned away with the air and fuel. This reduces the level of coolant that is circulating through the engine as well as the level of diluted motor oil that is circulating through the engine. Consequently, your engine will get too hot.
Overheating Engine
In fact, a cracked head gasket can overheat the engine to a critical point. Not only are you losing coolant out of the engine and into the cylinder block, but the crack in the head gasket is also releasing the heat in the cylinder block into the engine. This will overheat the engine to the point that the coolant will boil. Naturally, you do not want to drive your automobile when the engine is this hot.
If you continue to operate the vehicle, pressure will build up inside the radiator because the coolant is boiling. Unfortunately, when the pressure gets to be too much, the radiator cap will blow off the radiator. What coolant is left in the engine will spray all over the engine. As such, if your engine starts to overheat, pull over, turn the engine off, and call for a tow truck.
White Exhaust Smoke
Finally, we mentioned above that the coolant and motor oil are burned in the cylinders when the head gasket is cracked. This will increase the exhaust smoke that your vehicle releases and turn it white. The exhaust may also look blue because of the motor oil.
Be safe and have your vehicle towed to our shop if you believe the head gasket is cracked. This helps you avoid the additional engine damage caused by the problems discussed above.