A car engine has two important parts: the cylinder block and the cylinder head. And they are connected with each other by the cylinder-head gasket. Its main task is to seal the combustion chambers and the channels through which the antifreeze passes. When the cylinder-head gasket is punctured, various malfunctions appear in the engine.
Each engine model is equipped with a cylinder-head gasket. It can be made of thin sheet metal or reinforced paronite with metal edging of the holes under the combustion chambers. Between some holes in the gasket are thin enough walls, so the slightest error during installation or replacement will lead to their rapid burnout.
The main guarantee of durability of the cylinder-head gasket is an ideal plane of adhesion at the head and cylinder block. Adjacent surfaces should be clean, without shells and roughness. The second important point to prolong the life of the gasket will be the observance of a certain order of tightening the bolts fixing the cylinder head. For this purpose, engine manufacturers, as well as manufacturers of gaskets enclose a scheme of screwing fasteners with an indication of the tightening torque.
Symptoms and signs of a punctured cylinder-head gasket
The most obvious and indisputable sign of a punctured cylinder-head gasket is shooting outward, i.e. gases burst outward from under the head. It is difficult not to notice, it will be very loud.
There is also a variant of shooting between cylinders, let’s say between the second and the third, from the outside such shooting is difficult to accurately determine, you need to measure the compression, at any rate the engine will trojan, and rejoice if the reason for the engine trojan and lack of compression in two cylinders is only a punctured cylinder-head gasket, not something worse.
Exhaust gases in the radiator, also as one of the possible signs of a punctured gasket, but not always. It happens that gases pass through some small crack somewhere in the head or on the wall of the liner. In most cases, the engine will work quite stably, the only thing will be a little bit missing coolant and exhaust soar, and so in principle nothing terrible, but in the future, most likely, such a minor defect will grow into a full-fledged shot.
So, when the cylinder-head gasket is punctured, the signs of this malfunction manifest themselves differently, but the main symptoms look as follows:
- The increase in engine temperature occurs due to the breakdown of the combustion chamber trim. Burning gases get into the cooling system and quickly heat the antifreeze. When exhaust gases enter the cooling system, there is rapid gassing in the expansion tank.
- Mixing of engine oil with antifreeze, getting fuel into the coolant also become a consequence of damage to the cylinder-head gasket. Appearance of oily spots in the expansion tank of the cooling system should be alarming. Without flushing the cooling system in this case can not do without.
- It is difficult to immediately identify a problem in the motor, when there are interruptions in the work of the cylinders. If the cylinder head gasket between the combustion chambers is burned, then there is mixing of the fuel mixture in one cylinder with the exhaust gases of another cylinder. In this case, problems occur when starting the engine, and after warming up the motor begins to work steadily.
- Sometimes there is a rupture of the outer shell of the cylinder-head gasket. Then on the surface of the engine in the area of the junction of the cylinder block and the head can be observed oily sweat.
- Frequently the breakdown of the cylinder-head gasket can be determined by the appearance of the exhaust gases. White smoke from the muffler indicates that moisture or antifreeze enters the combustion chamber. This occurs when there is a tear in the gasket between the cooling jacket channel and the combustion chamber.
It is important to note that overheating of the engine due to the breakdown of the cylinder-head gasket can lead to warping of the cylinder-head plane. It is peculiar mainly to aluminum heads, cast iron heads do not suffer from such disorders, at least I have not met, they like to give cracks. First of all, the curvature should be detected, and if it is there, the head should be ground, you do not need to grind the head just for prevention if it is flat.
So, burned the cylinder head gasket or blown the cylinder head gasket in fact does not matter, the essence is the same, repair is inevitable. And this disease is peculiar to most engines, but here’s how it happens, the owners of the same machines can differently answer questions about the experience of replacing the cylinder head gasket, one may not have such experience at all, and the other can already tell a couple of stories, as he went to the service or changed himself.
What to do if the cylinder-head gasket has been punctured
If, according to the results of the inspection, the cylinder head gasket turned out to be punctured, then you have no option but to replace it with a new one. The cylinder-head gasket is not too expensive part. Depending on the car model, material and firm-manufacturer its price ranges from 50-200 rubles. But this is only the upper part of the “iceberg”.
When replacing the cylinder-head gasket it will be necessary to change the bolts. When the bolt is unscrewed, its parameters do not meet the necessary requirements, and when re-winding with the required force there is a high probability of the bolt body rupture. The cost of new bolts fluctuates around 50-100 rubles.
Before installing a new cylinder-head gasket, it is important to check the surface of the mating planes on the cylinder block and cylinder head. If additional grinding is required, then the gasket must be purchased taking into account the thickness of the removed layer of metal. Grinding the cylinder head will cost in the range of 70-150 rubles.
Remove the cylinder head in some engines is quite difficult. It is required to disconnect many parts and assemblies, drain the technical fluids. Therefore, it is better to entrust this responsible work to qualified specialists. Replacement of the gasket at the car service is estimated at the amount of 120-300 rubles.
After replacing the cylinder-head gasket, the motorist should monitor the behavior of the engine for some time. If the engine runs steadily, the exhaust gases are transparent and the temperature does not exceed the norm, then the gasket copes well with the task assigned to it and the problem is solved successfully.