How do you prevent a blown head gasket?

[Al96]

Hey all,

I have a 5sfe 4cyl Camry 1994. 171K

I have heard quite a lot bad stories about head gaskets especially in older cars. So my question to you guys is how do you maintain your car in order to avoid a blown head gasket in future?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[freeyellow2000]

Head gasket failure are usually failure in cooling system.... (ie the engine blocks get to hot and causes warping or idiots who do donuts in a parking lot which cause the car to overheat. (no air passing thru the radiator)

Other than that ..... it head gasket failure it hard to predict

[toyomoho]

Yes, if the 5S-FE engine then overheating is the most likely cause, hot rodding the engine is also not good.

Don't let the engine overheat (broken coolant hose, etc), don't hot rod and the gasket should be just fine.

Some models of Toyota engines did have had gasket issues caused by poor design.

[sf695@hotmail.com]

This may be a stupid question, but what exactly might happen if you blow a head gasket? Except for the obvious fact that the head gasket is damaged.

I mean, what other damage might one expect?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by sf695@hotmail.com

This may be a stupid question, but what exactly might happen if you blow a head gasket? Except for the obvious fact that the head gasket is damaged.

I mean, what other damage might one expect?

Warped or cracked cylinder heads, or in the worst cases you can even crack the engine block itself. Today's engines made with aluminum cylinder heads and some with aluminum blocks, do not take kindly to overheating. In my youth these engine parts were made of cast iron. Aluminum melts and distorts at a much lower temperature than cast iron; hence they are more fragile. Remember, it's all about making the cars lighter today to lower fuel consumption. Aluminum engine parts are one of the ways we do this.

Mike

[sf695@hotmail.com]

So, the damage is mainly from over heating, right ? If you stop the engine in time, the damage may be limited, right?

[freeyellow2000]

Originally Posted by sf695@hotmail.com

So, the damage is mainly from over heating, right ? If you stop the engine in time, the damage may be limited, right?

That is correct, Although you can still drive your car depending on the how much it is leaking into the combustion chamber, is not recommended for obvious reasons.

Symptoms of Blown head gasket:

Coolant in Engine Oil (and vesra visa)
White smoke from the tail pipe (smells a little bit sweet)

The most obvious result of a hard gasket is that the engine will not crack and will be hydro locked (since liquids can't be compress)

[sf695@hotmail.com]

Originally Posted by freeyellow2000

That is correct, Although you can still drive your car depending on the how much it is leaking into the combustion chamber, is not recommended for obvious reasons.

Symptoms of Blown head gasket:

Coolant in Engine Oil (and vesra visa)
White smoke from the tail pipe (smells a little bit sweet)

The most obvious result of a hard gasket is that the engine will not crack and will be hydro locked (since liquids can't be compress)

Wouldn't you see over heating before that if it's a small leak. Like when overheating from a leak in the cooling system?

[Al96]

thanks for your informative replies. after reading I just did a radiator flush and filled it up with 50 50 coolant water as recommended in the manual. checked all the pipes too, I might change a couple soon (bit swollen).

at the shop I compared quite a few products. I came to know it is best to spend more money and buy the concentrated coolant (1060g ethylene glycol /liter) that has antifreeze and anit-boil properties. the standard coolant (75g ethylene glycol/Liter) is not anitfreeze and anti-boil.

hope it helps.

[freeyellow2000]

Originally Posted by sf695@hotmail.com

Wouldn't you see over heating before that if it's a small leak. Like when overheating from a leak in the cooling system?

If it a breakage in the actual head gasket, what I stated before is correct. Now if it was let say its hose that is leaking, you car will overheat. You would see that the temperature gauge is above normal and white steam since the coolant is being boiled away. The main purpose of the cooling system is to cool the engine block which is where the head gasket is at.