How To Identify A Cracked Head Gasket In Your Lexu
A blown or cracked head gasket is a serious repair. It's not one, however, that should be ignored.
To build much-needed engine compression, the engine’s combustion chamber must be sealed. A crucial role is played by the head gasket so that the combustion chamber of your engine is sealed appropriately. Additionally, the head gasket helps keep oil and coolant from leaking. Your engine could otherwise catch fire or overheat.
When the head gasket on a vehicle is cracked or blown, the repair can be a costly one. Ignoring the problem, however, will only lead to further trouble. How do you know if you have a blown gasket on your vehicle? Here are some signs to watch for.
Overheating
If you have a chronically overheating engine, a failing head gasket could be the cause. To create power, your engine has to work much harder in this case. What's more, your vehicle could be losing coolant due to the faulty head gasket; so the overheating situation becomes even worse because the cooling system is underperforming.
White Smoke/Low Level of Coolant
There is a lot of water in engine coolant. As your engine burns the coolant, from the tailpipe, you may notice water vapor showing up as white smoke. This could mean that, due to a leaking head gasket, your engine is consuming the coolant.
In your cooling system, there may be a leak elsewhere if you notice a chronically low coolant level, even though it isn't being consumed by the engine. Where the cylinder head and the engine block meet, there may be a leak.
Engine Knock or Rough Idling
Your engine will lose compression if there is a bad head gasket leak. This can mean your engine will stall, experience knocking, or run roughly when idling.
Engine knocking, however, can be caused by other things as well. On your vehicle, a compression leak test will be performed by a technician to determine whether the head gasket on your vehicle is leaking or not. If engine oil and combustion gases are mixing, this is a good indication that internal failure of your head gasket has been experienced.
Your Engine Oil Is Contaminated
Water and oil do not mix. So, if your engine’s oil is infiltrated by coolant, the lubricating qualities of this mixture will be insufficient. Your engine’s oil system could have engine coolant in it if you have a leaking head gasket. Under the oil filler cap of your engine, in this case, you may notice a frothy, thick mixture. Look on the underside of the cap to see if this sign is visible. If a pale, foamy oil build-up is noticed, the engine oil has likely been contaminated by coolant.
The Prestige Lexus Service Team Can Replace Your Car’s Head Gasket
Head gaskets are just the tip of the iceberg where the certified service technicians at Prestige Lexus are concerned. If it has anything to do with a Lexus, they can likely fix it. If you'd like to schedule a repair or regular preventative maintenance on your luxury automobile, they'll be happy to be of assistance. For service, please call 855-917-3434.
Speaking of luxury automobiles, are you in the market for a new or used Lexus? If so, the sales team here would love to show you around. We have an impressive inventory of both new and used Lexus automobiles. Each and every one is designed with innovation and excellent engineering in mind. You can call 877-929-9191 and speak to a representative about sales, or you can use our convenient online form to start a conversation with us.