Do you kill your engines slow because of this?

[TurboII]

Every time you blow a head gasket do you slowly kill you engines. My brother made a good point because of the milk shake that occurs every time that happens and when the car over heats big time. Is that true?

Joey

[turbovanman²]

Depends on how the head gasket blew. If it blows into the cooling sytem then oil and coolant mix and you get the milkshake which will eat the bearings alive. If you blow inbetween cylinders, then usually no damage happens, just a rough running engine.

[TurboII]

but either way your killing the engine because i blew my head gasket and i noticed hot spots and the fire rings channels were cracked and i had milkshake in my oil pan and cylinders number 1-2-3 had coolant in the pistons.
THATS BAD!!

[Orangetona]

but either way your killing the engine because i blew my head gasket and i noticed hot spots and the fire rings channels were cracked and i had milkshake in my oil pan and cylinders number 1-2-3 had coolant in the pistons.
THATS BAD!!

It also depends on how long the engine runs with the problem, the stuff you described about milkshake and coolant on the pistons is all normal. Ive noticed moreso if you are driving the car with a headgasket problem and take a sparkplug out, all that pressure is released fast and the coolant pours in.

Hotspots? Where, im somewhat curious.

[looneytuner]

I overheated big time with a blown gasket. First time I didn't notice in time in twenty years of TDs. My mechanic told me the bearings would also be wasted since they are sacraficial. Even if there is no knocking, they will be damaged or it is best to assume they are.

[BadAssPerformance]

Depends on how the head gasket blew. If it blows into the cooling sytem then oil and coolant mix and you get the milkshake which will eat the bearings alive. If you blow inbetween cylinders, then usually no damage happens, just a rough running engine.

+1 Milkshakes are bad even if they dont kill the bearings right when the HG goes...

One BIG point about the milkshakes... if you mix up a shake in your oil pan you REALLY have to flush the motor out well to get all the coolant out of the oil passages in the block! Coolant is NOT a lubricant and it is very corrosive so if your bearings are being lubed with coolant in the oil, it will possibly damage them. It may take a couple oil changes after the car is back together and running to get it clean.

[TurboII]

You think it will be a best idea to run crappy oil for a few days of running and then put the good stuff in the get all the coolant out. My new thing im going to start doing is make it a priority to change the head gasket ever 25,000 miles. don't care if it good or not.

[turbovanman²]

What I do on customers cars is do the head gasket(s), drain out the old oil as much as possible, refill with new oil and new filter. Get her running, go drive it, bring her back and change oil and filter. There will be no bad oil left after doing this.

Some engines are really bad at bearings being eaten, GM Diesel 6.2/6.5, Ford 3.8's are a few of them but TM's, Quad 4's, most small blocks seem to be fine. It could be a better or harder bearing material but the above, the bearings seem to flake and fall apart.
Overheating is also bad, you can score the bores, damage rings, warp the block deck surface. If you've driven it for a while and got her hot, then after you get the head off, look for signs of scoring or piston to wall transfer on the cylinder walls, rotate the engine over by hand and also check the deck for flatness.

[Dave]

but either way your killing the engine because i blew my head gasket and i noticed hot spots and the fire rings channels were cracked and i had milkshake in my oil pan and cylinders number 1-2-3 had coolant in the pistons.
THATS BAD!!

Where were these hot spots? You will develop cracks between the coolant passages, it's a common problem and a TSB was put out on this showing there is no need for concern. It's all in the beauty of an aluminum head. A head gasket will blow in one or both spots. Either between the oil passages, combustion chamber and water jackets, or just between the combustion chamber and water jacket. When either of those happen, coolant will flood the cylinder(s). You're in fine shape if it does just that and doesnt blow within the oil passages, which is when the coolant mixes with the oil reducing its viscocity.

Not only is coolant corrosive, but so is oil. It has detergents in it to help break down oxidation, lubricate, cool, seal, etc. Coolant just robs these tasks of it because it's essentially water.

Listen to Simon and just change the oil after driving for about 25 miles.

[MiniMopar]

I'm sure I haven't changed as many HGs as some, but I've done a few dozen at least. They usually blow between the cylinder and coolant passage or between cylinders. In all those years, I've never had an issue with coolant getting into the oil...even when I had to drive a long distance with the leaking gasket (removed the t-stat). Even if coolant is getting into the cylinder, it won't get into the oil unless you shut the motor off for while. With the motor running, the coolant just burns up! It has no time to get past the rings.

Now if the HG was blown for a long time and the user drove to work for weeks like that, yeah I could see how enough coolant could seep into the crankcase until the oil could no longer safely hold it and start foaming (milk). The oil can handle some moisture...there is plenty of condensation happening in there, especially in the winter. The oil can safely absorb some moisture and it gets cooked back out as long as it gets up to temp for a while.

[Dave]

I'm sure I haven't changed as many HGs as some, but I've done a few dozen at least. They usually blow between the cylinder and coolant passage or between cylinders. In all those years, I've never had an issue with coolant getting into the oil...even when I had to drive a long distance with the leaking gasket (removed the t-stat). Even if coolant is getting into the cylinder, it won't get into the oil unless you shut the motor off for while. With the motor running, the coolant just burns up! It has no time to get past the rings.

Now if the HG was blown for a long time and the user drove to work for weeks like that, yeah I could see how enough coolant could seep into the crankcase until the oil could no longer safely hold it and start foaming (milk). The oil can handle some moisture...there is plenty of condensation happening in there, especially in the winter. The oil can safely absorb some moisture and it gets cooked back out as long as it gets up to temp for a while.


+1 for all my blown HG's. :nod:

[TurboII]

Ya thats true, but even if you burn coolant isnt that bad for the rings?

[Turbodave]

Ya thats true, but even if you burn coolant isnt that bad for the rings?

If a little coolant is burning it shouldn't hurt the rings, it actually might help them since it tends to clean the carbon out of the cylinders.

[TurboII]

If a little coolant is burning it shouldn't hurt the rings, it actually might help them since it tends to clean the carbon out of the cylinders.
Thats an interesting thought. so a little wont hurt but what if a lot was to go in such as cylinder number one. I seen lots of cars with Hg issues and found lots of coolant in at least one of the cylinders.

[BadAssPerformance]

Yeah, a little hot coolant will actually steam clean a piston like nothing else... a lot might cause it to hydrolock or damage the rings...

[TurboII]

Ya i heard of story's about hydro locking. I overheated once but thank god i didn't have milk shake in the oil pan or have a ship load of coolant in the cylinder i was lucky and wish that never happens again (knock on wood).

[moparzrule]

If you pay attention to your gauges (you better have gauges!) than you shouldn't overheat to the point of damaging anything. You can go to 220-230 degrees water temp before anything gets damaged. Heck the stock fan schedules only turn the fan on at 220 I believe, it's atleast 210. I have a custom cal and 180 thermostat with the fan schedules set to 195/185 on/off so I know if I get over 200 something is wrong. I also check my oil very often, and listen for any bubbling in the coolant everytime I shut it down. Also pay attention for white smoke out the tailpipe. These are all things you SHOULD do anyway, it's good maintenance and helps assure you don't screw up your engine. Better safe than sorry in this case.

[ShelbyZD]

When my Daytona's factory HG blew a couple summers ago I definately noticed a drop in oil pressure after correcting the problem. At hot idle I was getting about 7psi less than before... same brand oil and filter.. for the record. I expect I drove about 7-8kms on the milkshake.. and certinaly won't be doing it agian.


Also... ... I notice white smoke coming outta my 'tona currently. Only happens when I hit full boost. No other signs of a bad head gasket.. I guess this could only be that though right?