Head gasket blown! Bought car today! Please help!

[amdforever2]

Can headgaskets alone cause:


Fuel tank to drop by 1/4
Smoke to billow en masse from exhaust
engine to stutter
overheating

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Can headgaskets alone cause:


Fuel tank to drop by 1/4
Smoke to billow en masse from exhaust
engine to stutter
overheating

no.

 

[Pepsi90919]

you're sure you're not confusing water vapour with actual smoke? smoke stays in the air and is pretty heavy, exhaust will smell sweet if it's glycol, water vapour pretty much comes out and starts to float up and/or disappear.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Can headgaskets alone cause:


Fuel tank to drop by 1/4
Smoke to billow en masse from exhaust
engine to stutter
overheating

the last one (overheating) usually happens with blown headgaskets, engine stuttering would be a lot less likely, but possible. Head gaskets usually will not make a lot of smoke after blowing. They may make a little bit, usually under full throttle, but not a whole lot. It wouldn't affect the fuel level at all.

 

[slick230]

Dude, no matter what anybody says here, you're gonna have to have a mechanic physically *look* at the engine and tell you what's wrong. If you have all these other problems, then you might have a lot more than a blown head gasket?

 

[BigNeko]

Can headgaskets alone cause:

blah-blah-blah

Well folks, you saw it. Tried to help an Anandtecher out by giving some guidance on what info to give to get maximum return.
It isn't just WHAT happens, but also the ORDER that it happens in that is important.

But that's okay, buddy. You'll get expert advice by saying "MY headgasket is blown, what do I do."

Good Luck.

Really.

 

[amdforever2]

It is white, bluish smoke.

It lost 1/4 tank of gas.

It hit the top of temperature gauge.

The engine began to ............ thump, ping, act unnormal?


What can cause this?

 

[Eli]

Is it blue-grey smoke, or is it white smoke?

lol.. are you parked on a hill? losing 1/4 tank of gas doesent have anything to do with your engine, unless you just used a quarter tank of gas and didn't realize it

I wouldn't be running the engine anymore if it's acting funny. Have a mechanic look at it ASAP.

 

[amdforever2]

Incident began when I started car and engaged reverse. Engine seemed to almost die, but I reversed. I noticed smoke. I switch to drive. Engine still acting kinda funny. End up on freeway, temperature is rising. More smoke. Tons of smoke. Temperature all the way up. Exit, enter parking lot. Smoke everywhere. Cabin, everywhere. Temperature gauge still at maximum, notice fuel has apparently decreased by 1/4 tank. Turn off car. Cry.


That is the event sequence.

 

[amdforever2]

blue-gray I believe. Unsure.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Incident began when I started car and engaged reverse. Engine seemed to almost die, but I reversed. I noticed smoke. I switch to drive. Engine still acting kinda funny. End up on freeway, temperature is rising. More smoke. Tons of smoke. Temperature all the way up. Exit, enter parking lot. Smoke everywhere. Cabin, everywhere. Temperature gauge still at maximum, notice fuel has apparently decreased by 1/4 tank. Turn off car. Cry.


That is the event sequence.

Your car is overheating and it has nothing to do w/ headghaskets. If headgaskets blow and start smoking, the smoke will come out the tailpipes. you probably have a leaking radiator hose or a bad water bump or something. Cars will ping when they ocerheat, it doesn't mean a headgasket is blown.

 

[amdforever2]

What is causing it to overheat and smoke from exhaust and everywhere?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Incident began when I started car and engaged reverse. Engine seemed to almost die, but I reversed. I noticed smoke. I switch to drive. Engine still acting kinda funny. End up on freeway, temperature is rising. More smoke. Tons of smoke. Temperature all the way up. Exit, enter parking lot. Smoke everywhere. Cabin, everywhere. Temperature gauge still at maximum, notice fuel has apparently decreased by 1/4 tank. Turn off car. Cry.


That is the event sequence.

Dude, you (edit: may have) killed your own car. It might have been REALLY simple if you had STOPPED IMMEDIATELY when you noticed a problem. Entering the freeway was stu . . . uh, poor judgement.

If your needle pegged with the engine at Maximum HOT your entire engine may be DOA.

YES, get a mechanic to look at it, ASAP. If it is a big V8 you might have got lucky.

And - the worst news - you will probably be stuck with the entire repair bill.

 

[amdforever2]

I wasn't sure there was a problem when I got on freeway.

To get it home i put tons of water in the thing and limped home.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
What is causing it to overheat and smoke from exhaust and everywhere?

Like I said, maybe a radiator hose, or the water pump.

And apoppin is right, you can kill your car by overheating it. In fact, overheating can cause a headgasket leak.

 

[amdforever2]

Could this possibly be a cracked head?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
I wasn't sure there was a problem when I got on freeway.

To get it home i put tons of water in the thing and limped home.

Now you know what to know next time you are not sure. If the temperature is rising suddenly get over to the side and STOP the engine ASAP!!!

As I "added" in the edit to my previous post - you may be lucky if you have a big V-8 engine (they tolerate extreme temperatures much better than the smaller engines) . . . have a mechanic check it out and GOOD LUCK!

It could be a BLOWN engine. Overheat is SERIOUS!

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Could this possibly be a cracked head?

A head will not just crack for no reason on a stock driving at regualr speeds. Even if it did, you'd still get smoke out the tailpipes.

 

[BigNeko]

Looking for the site that translates VIN to tell what type engine is in car. That will determine whether sh!tty Ford V6 or 302 V8. (Former T-Bird owner.)

So after you got on the freeway, then notice the smoke (or steam), then stop. What was the weather like? Hot?
How did you know you needed tons of water? Let car cool down, open radiator cap and do not see ANY water?
DID YOU ALSO CHECK OIL AT THAT TIME? Good or no good? Did you have to add any oil?

af2, to save you the trouble later, you should be writing all that happened down anyway. You WILL need to have a mechanic look at it, and it will be ALOT easier to just hand that person a piece of paper with EXACTLY what happened on it, rather than the mechanic having to pull teeth to get the story.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: BigNeko
Looking for the site that translates VIN to tell what type engine is in car. That will determine whether sh!tty Ford V6 or 302 V8. (Former T-Bird owner.)

He already said it was the 3.8

 

[amdforever2]

It had oil.

It took two 32oz glasses of mcdonalds water and bucket to refill it

i started and it spat some water out so i had to add more

then i limped home

it never hit MAXIMUM hot, just up there.

likelyhood of cracked block, warped block, cracked heads, or warped headS?

 

[amdforever2]

Is there any way I can determine if there is permanent engine damage like cracked block and all that needs to be fixed is gaskets?

Can a mechanic with hood up look and see, or does the car have to be lifted?

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
Is there any way I can determine if there is permanent engine damage like cracked block and all that needs to be fixed is gaskets?

Can a mechanic with hood up look and see, or does the car have to be lifted?

These things can be diagnosed, but the only way to know for sure is engine disassembly and inspection.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: amdforever2
It had oil.

It took two 32oz glasses of mcdonalds water and bucket to refill it

i started and it spat some water out so i had to add more

then i limped home

it never hit MAXIMUM hot, just up there.

likelyhood of cracked block, warped block, cracked heads, or warped headS?

The easeist and cheapest way to do it is to put the thing back together, fix whatever broke, and then drive it and see if there's any new problems.

 

[amdforever2]

How long does it take to replace head gasket?

Does car have to be lifted to do this?

If I have the seller replace the headgasket at his own expense and everything is fine I will know right?


If he replaces headgasket and everything is unfine I will know it is cracked or something right?