Can I drive my Car with a Blown Head Gasket

“Can I Drive my Car with a Blown Head Gasket?”

Welcome to Mercie J Auto Care, Where Compassion and Craftsmanship Come Together. I'm Rick Smith, ASE Certified Master Technician.

I suppose you can drive your car with a blown head gasket, but you won’t get very far and will likely cause further damage. The head gasket seals between the combustion chamber where the piston is located and the passages around the cylinder that use the anti-freeze or radiator fluid to cool the engine. When we ignite the fuel for the engine to run, the hot gases are supposed to go out the exhaust pipe. A failed head gasket will allow those hot exhaust gases to go into the cooling system. This will cause an overheating issue. It also causes a lot of acid which is very destructive to hoses, radiators, water pumps, heater cores, and coolant bottles.

So although you might be able to drive your car with a blown head gasket, it is highly advisable not to.

[hisheeelijah]

Thanks for the video quick consise and to the point. Well done

[joedo]

The way i drive my leaking headgasket is. Always have proper coolent in the trunk and top it off every 3 days. I burn about 1 gallon of coolant a month. Car never overheats but if i burn coolant and dont top it off then the thermostat doesn't show temperature rising and thats how people over heat the engine. 191k miles on dodge charger 2.7l. Every 2 days i let off pressure from radiator, also rev through the collant in the cylender at initial start up to clear the misfire, then everything good to go.

[invisiblekid]

Short answer yes.
But you will ruin the engine. It’s inevitable. You didn’t mention that a blown head gasket can let coolant leak into the combustion chamber and mix with the engine oil. This will produce white sweet smelling smoke that comes from the exhaust. This is detrimental to the engine as it doesn’t lubricate properly having coolant mix with the oil.

[bikersoncall]

To the point, thanks!
Didn't waste our time, I learned something.

[DeathbeforeSumo]

Wow you answered My question completely!

[shaniquajohnson]

My old 1990 Celica is beat up with all bald tires and all the warning lights on. When I drive it's sluggish with white smoke coming out the exhaust. Engine is always hot on the temperature gage indicator.

[natalieborer]

I hope you will see this! I have a 2002 gmc Sierra with a 4.3 I’ve noticed I’m losing coolant and can smell a sweet smell. I’m not noticing any change in the way the oil looks, or smoke out of my tail pipe. My engine is not over heating but I did notice a drop in pressure not a ton maybe 5-10 psi over the span of 6 months. This is my daily and at the moment I don’t have to money to fix a blown head gasket. Is there some cheaper fix I can try. Do you think it sounds like a head gasket?

[dude]

I drove my car for 5 years for 100K with head gasket blew.

[mterlude]

So if I were to buy a car with a blown head gasket would I have to tow it home? Or could I drive abt 30 miles?