[mikeosos]

What's the diference between a blown head gasket and a cracked head? I am leaking water out of the side of my engine and blowing steam out of the tailpipe.I would appreciate any response.

 

[zanegrey]

cracked head is a lot more money.

 

[rdixiemiller]

Aluminum heads aren't as prone to cracking as cast iron heads. However, they will warp up like a potato chip if you overheat the engine enough.
Pull the head, take it to a machine shop and have it decked. Check the block for cracks in the area where you see water leaking. Unless you ran it screaming hot, you probably just blew the head gasket. If it froze and cracked the water jacket, you could well be cracked into the cylinder wall as well as the outside of the block.
Cracked block=mucho more $, as you will be buying an engine.

 

[mikeosos]

thanks for the reply

 

[mikeosos]

I'm hoping for just a blown gasket it never froze just ran hot. Thanks for the info

 

[rdixiemiller]

Sometimes gaskets will corrode through and start leaking. Many of the older factory gaskets were stamped sheet metal with a sealant on them. The modern composite gaskets are much better at sealing than most factory head gaskets. When I was turning wrenches in the late seventies, we swore by Felpro PermaTorque blue head gaskets. They would seal up any engine if the head was not warped too much.