Head gasket leak

The head gasket forms the seal between the engine block and cylinder head. If there is a leak, the compression chamber will not be sealed, allowing the fuel/air mixture to leak out and fluids such as coolant to leak in.

Table of Contents

• 1. Symptoms
  • 1.1 Exhaust Blows White Smoke
  • 1.2 Lack of Power
• 2. Causes
  • 2.1 Warped Cylinder Head
  • 2.2 Damaged Head Gasket

Symptoms

Exhaust Blows White Smoke

If the head gasket has a leak, coolant may leak into the combustion chamber and ignite with the fuel. This will produce a white smoke from the exhaust.

See burning coolant.

Lack of Power

If the engine is not as powerful, some of the fuel/air mixture may be escaping through the breached seal.

Look for a misfire, if coolant is getting sucked into one or two cylinders it can cause misfires a low RPM from the coolant drowning the spark plugs.

Causes

Warped Cylinder Head

Over time metal can change shape depending on it's regular operating conditions. If an engine has overheated once it can be enough to warp a cylinder head enough to break the head gaskets seal.

Sometimes even higher mileage vehicles can have warped cylinder heads as the metal can warp very slowly over time from being heated up and cooled down repeatedly for so long.

Damaged Head Gasket

A blown head gasket may be the cause of the head gasket leak.