I recently found out I partially blew a head gasket when my aux fan fuse blew out and I over heated. Are there any quick fixes??? As in additives that will help it for a while?? I only need to add a cup or two of water a day, till I have the $$ to get it fixed I was quoted $1500 is that about right?? Anything will help thanks peep's
Blown Head Gasket
- Thread starter danielismad
- Start date
Tom is right - the only thing you will do is cause MORE damage by driving it. Worse case scenario - a good amount of water leaks into one of the cylinders and that cylinder is on a compression stroke. You try to start it - but water doesn't compress so it bends the crank, snaps a rod, etc. Not likely but remotely possible. More likely is continued overheating to the point that you crack the head or block, or warp the head beyond repair. You need to realize that since water is escaping it's likely some part of the head is not getting cooled properly.
As Tom said, the oil AND the filter MUST be changed. The filter can absorb the water in the oil and swell up, and result in low or no oil pressure. I have personally seen this happen - a few years ago on my Volvo after the radiator neck broke and it overheated (my wife was driving it at the time...)
Also, the cooling system should be flushed. Just as water gets in the oil, oil gets in the water.
It cost me about $150 in parts to replace the head gasket on the Volvo - valve cover and head gaskets, machine shop service to surface the head. I did the work myself in about 5 hours total. $1500 seems a bit high. I am guessing, but I would have expected $600 - $1000 depending on what type of shop - dealer, BMW specialist, general shop, etc.
As Tom said, the oil AND the filter MUST be changed. The filter can absorb the water in the oil and swell up, and result in low or no oil pressure. I have personally seen this happen - a few years ago on my Volvo after the radiator neck broke and it overheated (my wife was driving it at the time...)
Also, the cooling system should be flushed. Just as water gets in the oil, oil gets in the water.
It cost me about $150 in parts to replace the head gasket on the Volvo - valve cover and head gaskets, machine shop service to surface the head. I did the work myself in about 5 hours total. $1500 seems a bit high. I am guessing, but I would have expected $600 - $1000 depending on what type of shop - dealer, BMW specialist, general shop, etc.
Ok, so how fast does a car overheat? I'm thinking you should see the temp guage go past 12 o'clock and pull it over before anything cracks, right? Atleast that's how I always pictured it... I got all the parts to do a fan delete mod but now I'm a little scared. Atleast if I go through with it I'll be sure to put some kind of LED or something in the dash to let me know the fan is on so if it ever shuts off I can pull over and kill the engine. But actually, wouldn't it only overheat if you were stopped at a light or in traffic, so why couldnt you just turn the car off? Or is it just a matter of not noticing the temp guage? Ok, I'm really curious - Thanks for any answers.
Well one rainy cool day high 50's in the 325i I noticed a little white steam coming from the engine/hood.... and when accelerating the fan clutch would lockup and it would make that heavy vaccum cleaner blowing sound. I knew the engine was very hot, but the temp guage was "frozen" at as you put it 12 o'clock. I don't think the temp guage is a good indicator of the car overheating, it even says in the manual it can go as far as the edge of the red "under normal operating conditions". I think BMW rigged the temp guage, either that or it was just one of that cars many whacky quirks.(reason I got rid of it)
There are a couple of reasons major failures can happen.
- Some people will just not notice the temperature gauge until the car starts running rough because it is overheated. Then they look at the dash -- it is too late.
- If it is a catastrophic failure at speed, you have only a few seconds to shutoff the engine or it will overheat. That's what happened to my Volvo. My wife was going around 60 mph. The plastic neck on the radiator broke off (under operating heat/pressure it is almost like an explosion), immediately there was NO water at all to the head. The combustion temperature in an engine is 500 - 600 degrees. With no water to carry that heat away from the head, the head will overheat REAL fast - in just a few seconds.
- A really bad scenario is similar to BMW 325 7803's symptom. You can have a localized loss of water due to a blown head gasket, for example at the back of the block on cylinder 6. So the head is overheating at cylinder 6. But the temperature sensor is in the middle or at the front of the block, and everything looks normal.
This is why some race car and airplane engines have sensors on every cylinder head, as well as EGT sensors (Exhaust Gas Temperature).
- Some people will just not notice the temperature gauge until the car starts running rough because it is overheated. Then they look at the dash -- it is too late.
- If it is a catastrophic failure at speed, you have only a few seconds to shutoff the engine or it will overheat. That's what happened to my Volvo. My wife was going around 60 mph. The plastic neck on the radiator broke off (under operating heat/pressure it is almost like an explosion), immediately there was NO water at all to the head. The combustion temperature in an engine is 500 - 600 degrees. With no water to carry that heat away from the head, the head will overheat REAL fast - in just a few seconds.
- A really bad scenario is similar to BMW 325 7803's symptom. You can have a localized loss of water due to a blown head gasket, for example at the back of the block on cylinder 6. So the head is overheating at cylinder 6. But the temperature sensor is in the middle or at the front of the block, and everything looks normal.
This is why some race car and airplane engines have sensors on every cylinder head, as well as EGT sensors (Exhaust Gas Temperature).
danielismad,
What are the signs that lead you to believe you have a blown head gasket? What is happening exactly? Are you just leaking coolant? Where is it leaking to?
You don't want to try to drive with a blown head gasket. You shouldn't be able to drive around with one. There something about your initial question that leads me to wonder if you really have a blown head gasket. Are you going by what a mechanic told you or did you check it out yourself?
If it really is blown there are no quick fixes or additives that would help.
What are the signs that lead you to believe you have a blown head gasket? What is happening exactly? Are you just leaking coolant? Where is it leaking to?
You don't want to try to drive with a blown head gasket. You shouldn't be able to drive around with one. There something about your initial question that leads me to wonder if you really have a blown head gasket. Are you going by what a mechanic told you or did you check it out yourself?
If it really is blown there are no quick fixes or additives that would help.
Water slowly leaves my car and it is not leaking, I checked the dipstick and there some to be some condensation right above the oil mark. I took it to a mechanic to get my brakes done and told him what had happened about the over heating and the water dissapearing. He took a look and said that piston #4 was missing and the 02 sensors were bad. He let me know that w/out taking the head off he could not be positive but seemed that the head gasket may be blown causing the chain reaction of the #4 and o2 sensors being polluted. He said the only way to see is to take the head off and see what is going on. I stopped and decided to shop around when he said it would be 1500 to change the gasket and see if the head had any cracks. At time in the morning when I start the car it seems like the battery is dead but I held the key and it turned on, felt like there was way too mucj compression to turn the motor on one of the pistons. Not a good sing Im guessing,
interesting... becasue if the coolent was leaving into the exhaust, the car would be overheating like crazy. If it was leaking into a cylinder, then you would probably see bubbles in the expansion tank and it would be overheating as well wouldn't it?? If it was leaking into the oil then you would have mayonaise looking sludge. There should be very clear signs when it comes to a blown head gasket. I could be wrong....
hmmm.
hmmm.