Occasionally, the compression in the cylinder will cause a leak to form in the gasket and the gasket will have to be replaced, or severe damage can take place (a "blown" head gasket). This problem has been exacerbated by the use of aluminum rather than iron cylinder heads; while lighter than iron, aluminum has a much greater thermal expansion rate, which in turn causes a great deal more stress to be placed on the head gasket. Engine makers have responded to this by adding a non-stick coating such as Teflon to the surface of the head gasket.
If the gasket fails, a variety of problems can occur, from compression loss (leading to power reduction, or a rough engine), to exhaust gases being forced into the cooling system, leading to the engine overheating and increased engine wear due to the motor oil being mixed with antifreeze. Coolant can leak into the cylinders, causing the exhaust to issue steam[3] and the catalytic converter to be damaged. If a very large amount of coolant does this, hydrolock can occur, causing extensive engine damage. Sometimes, all that may happen when a head gasket is blown is excessive steam erupting from the tailpipe and the engine may act and drive like normal
A damaged head gasket can cause compression to leak between cylinders.Head gasket condition can be investigated by checking the compression pressure with a pressure gauge, or better, a leak-down test, and/or noting any indication of combustion gasses in the cooling system on a water-cooled engine. Oil mixed with coolant and excessive coolant loss with no apparent cause, or presence of carbon monoxide or hydrocarbon gases in the expansion tank of the cooling system can also be signs of head gasket problems.
Driving with a blown head gasket (if possible) can cause additional extensive damage due to overheating or loss of lubrication.
Blue exhaust smoke may be indicative of oil-burning.
Oh freaking great. I just did my legend's headgasket a few summers ago. Now there are people having their Civic's gaskets go bad? I guess after that whole mess I could do the Civic's in a day. If you have ever heard about the Legend's Head gasket problem and how much of a B*tch it is to replace, you'll sympathize!hsnap:
May I add that blue smoke is also the same as white smoke. Driving with a blown head gasket IS very possible. Also, VERY IMPORTANT if you plan on replacing the HG(head gasket) by yourself remove the head bolts from center outward or else you WILL warp your head. And please dear God please tq the head bolts back down to SPEC.
could you give more of a description of how this happens?
1. If I'm driving fairly hard (including track days), is there a point where it happens more often (after so many miles/years?)?
2. Will these symptoms occur suddenly or over a few hours?
3. If it does happen, what else should i check to make sure everything's okay?
ok just brought my car back to honda....I think I blew the head gaskets.. car didn't want to start this morning and when the car is idling if you rev it up white smoke shoots out the tailpipe.. on my way to honda my friend was driving behind me and said everytime I let off the gas or gave it gas white smoke came out. I should hear from honda in the next few hours hopefully. What do you guys think??
if u have an SI find out what caused the head gasket to blow, i had several tuning shops tell me its almost impossible to blow the head gasket on these motors, which leads me to think its caused by a faulty gasket
hey yea I have an Si and its still under warenty I just had my 1st 2nd and 3rd gears replaced. Honda didn't call me back today but hopefully tommorow I will find something out. I'm really curious to what this is and why it happened..
ok i just found out my head gasket iz blown or about 2 be or halfway there. i smelt oil n a guy 4um work told me 2 check my dip stick 2 c if coolant is mixed in with my oil. so i did n sure enough it was. i dont know how long it has been blown/damaged or whatnot but damn now is not da time yo!! money iz tight n now i gotta take my header off (cousin helpin friday) b4 i take it 2 honda. i have less than 25k miles so they might think im suspect! Not 2 mention the guy 4um work knows the honda tech dude so im alright there. he (tech dude) told me ill get a rental car when i bring my car in but he doesnt work til next week (taking saturday off)........ so now ill be buying the cometic hg n arp studs on friday ( he told me he will put it in 4 me 4 a price?!>?!!? he wouldnt tell me)...........so my question is would i be safe driving my car around? i mean its not smoking or n e thing but damn i just dont like the fact dat coolant iz circulating with oil inside my motor! its my daily driver n only driver lol........ i know i have no otha choice but damn.....i dont wanna blow my **** n have 2 duke it out wit honda...........neva had head gasket problems b4.........eva!... gyea i like 2 rev who doesnt! our cars are made 2
dude honestly do u not know how to type so we can comprehend what ur saying? and no don't drive around on it, ur motor can be loosing compression and it can suffer long term damage like my motor.....
I would like to get this straight... stock Si have problems with blown head gasket? It should only happen if you push the car TOO HARD, and cars that have too much PSI from Force Induction such as TURBO or Supercharger.
yes no?
I think your pushing too much PSI for the head gasket to fail, or just a BAD gasket. I know plenty of people who rev the shi* out of there's :vtec: 9+ and have almost no problems. (Side note please don’t rev that high All the time unless you have a built motor or it WILL Blow) If you think it is a blown gasket take it to Honda and they can suck up the cost. :yeahthat:
Took my ride to the dealer today for a bad gasket - I was being honest when I told them that I have a header and they took my car in for fix - BUT Here's what I told the service advisor that when I'm installing the header I notice the oil from the head gasket so he took it in with no questions asked.. I asked the tech what's the cause he said it is all from the heat building up causing the gasket to weakened and plus our engine is tilted towards the firewall so most likely the oil will seep from the back..
my car is in the shop for a blown gasket, damn thing has been blown for over 8 weeks, im not sure how bad the damage is but i dont think its much, maybe i caught it early enough? how long does it take b4 the gasket and engine is badly damaged...?
I believe my headgasket is blown on my 07 civic SI sedan... goes into the shop on friday... Will let you know. -40K miles - AEM Cold Air Intake - only engine mod.
I blew a headgasket in my em2...lets hope it doesn't happen to the fg2
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