Is it safe to drive with a suspected blown head gasket?

What happens if you keep driving?

If you continue driving with a blown head gasket, you risk:

• Frequent or severe engine overheating.
• Warping the cylinder head.
• Cracking the cylinder head or engine block.
• Coolant contaminating the engine oil, causing bearing damage.
• Engine misfires and loss of power.
• Complete engine failure requiring an engine replacement.

What should you do?

If you suspect a blown head gasket:

1. Stop driving as soon as it is safe to do so if the engine is overheating.
2. Allow the engine to cool before checking the coolant level.
3. Arrange a combustion leak (block) test, compression test or leak-down test to confirm the diagnosis.
4. Avoid topping up coolant repeatedly and continuing to drive without identifying the cause of the coolant loss.

Bottom line

A suspected blown head gasket should be investigated as soon as possible, even if the vehicle still seems to drive normally. Continuing to drive can turn a relatively straightforward repair into a major engine rebuild or replacement, especially if the engine overheats or coolant contaminates the oil.

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