If you think you blew your truck’s head gasket, Midlane Truck & Trailer Repair advises that it is a good idea to pull the truck over and cut the engine. Call for a tow truck to bring your truck to our shop. We are going to list the signs of a cracked head gasket below. As you will see, it can be extremely damaging to your engine if you keep driving your life-duty or heavy-duty truck.
Excessive Coolant Loss
One of the first things that is going to happen when the head gasket cracks is coolant is going to flow out of the cooling system and leak into the cylinder block. It will also spray out from underneath the head gasket because it is pressurized. Naturally, this means that your truck’s engine will be starved of coolant and the temperature will begin to rise. You will see the temperature gauge needle moving quickly to the red zone.
Overheating Engine
This is because the coolant loss will cause your engine to overheat very quickly. This is one reason why we recommend that you stop driving your truck. As you know, the hotter the engine gets the more damaged it becomes. You already have a cracked head gasket. Do not crack the exhaust manifold gasket or the manifold itself or the cylinder block, as well.
White Exhaust Smoke
You will also be able to tell that the engine is burning away coolant because your truck will start to release white exhaust smoke. As the engine gets hotter, you will see white smoke coming out from underneath the hood. We know we’ve mentioned it above, but it’s crucial that you pull over and cut the engine. You do not want to continue to drive your truck when the engine is this hot.
Scalding Engine Coolant
One of the things that will happen is you will below the radiator cap and scalding hot coolant will spray out of it. In fact, when you pull over and cut the truck’s engine, you may be able to hear the coolant boiling. This is a sign that your engine is way too hot.
Milky-White Motor Oil
Finally, the other reason why we recommend that you call for a tow truck is that the coolant and motor oil mix when the head gasket blows. Consequently, you will have motor oil filled with coolant leaking into the cylinder block and circulating through the engine.
Midlane Truck & Trailer Repair in Eugene, OR, would be happy to help, so bring us up today if you believe your truck has a blown head gasket.