BY ERICH REICHERT / ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 5, 2018 / NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION / Regardless of the type of vehicle you own, a blown head gasket&hellip;{"id":10531,"date":"2018-07-02T10:34:35","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T17:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=10531"},"modified":"2018-07-02T10:34:35","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T17:34:35","slug":"you-have-a-blown-head-gasket-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/02\/you-have-a-blown-head-gasket-now-what\/","title":{"rendered":"You Have a Blown Head Gasket: Now What?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">BY ERICH REICHERT \/ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 5, 2018 \/<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION<\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\/<\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Regardless of the type of vehicle you own, a blown head gasket ranks toward the top of the list of most-involved car repairs. Because of its complexity, you have to consider whether it\u2019s worth doing or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We\u2019ve already examined the\u00a0<\/span><strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/eight-signs-blown-head-gasket\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">signs of a blown head gasket<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, so let\u2019s take a closer look at what you should do when it comes time to perform this repair. Here\u2019s a rundown of the options you have when your engine\u2019s head gasket fails.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><strong>What It Is<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The head gasket is the seal between the cylinder head, where the engine\u2019s valve train and a lot of other things are housed, and the lower block, where you\u2019ll find the crank, cylinders and other moving parts attached. Because the head gasket seals the meeting point of the engine halves, you\u2019ll find it located about halfway down the engine. This means that, in order to replace it, you have to remove half of the engine \u2014 the more critical half at that. Removing all of those parts, removing the intake, removing timing chains\/belts, detaching sensors, and other various components is labor intensive and usually better left to a professional.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Replacing the Gasket<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The most straightforward method of repair is to purchase a new cylinder head gasket and replace the failed one. As mentioned above, this requires not only the removal of the top half of the engine, but also a handful of specialized tools to remove and reinstall certain parts like timing chains or belts. When performing an entire head gasket replacement it never hurts to think about the nearby parts that can also be<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/auto-repair-projects-can-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">easily replaced<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">while the engine is disassembled. Items like the water pump and timing belt are prime examples.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><strong>Stopping the Leak<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If the leak is minor, however, you may be able to use<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/p\/PARAS663Y?cid=social_blog_032018_Head_Gasket_Stop_Leak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">head gasket stop leak<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. Stop leak is basically a liquid sealing compound that you pour into your radiator. From there, the coolant carries it to the head gasket, where it fills in any leaks and, once hardened, reseals the gasket. This can be an option to stop a minor leak without the headache of either tearing your engine apart or having your mechanic do so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">At first glance, a blown head gasket can seem like more than you can handle on your own. The standard method of repair involves taking most of the engine apart. If that isn\u2019t an option, a stop leak product may be your answer but keep in mind that a proper repair is always the best choice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Check out all the<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/c\/engine-parts-gaskets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">engine parts<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">available on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NAPA Online<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">or trust one of their 16,000\u00a0<\/span><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/store-finder.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NAPA AutoCare locations<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on blown head gaskets, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/store-locator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">local NAPA AUTO PARTS store<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Photo Credit:<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/johnrobertshepherd\/5399581848\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Blown head gasket, Morris Marina<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">by<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/johnrobertshepherd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>John Shepherd<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">(<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/legalcode\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CC BY 2.0<\/strong><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, National Automotive Parts Association. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more\u00a0<\/i><\/span><strong><i><a href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">automotive tips and stories<\/a><\/i><\/strong><i>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">from NAPA, or here for more information on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/event-info\/car-show-hours-dates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the next Pomona Swap Meet &amp; Classic Car Show<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":10533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[805],"tags":[4672,6367,3605,6365,6364,3027,6300,6368,6369,6363,3491,3037,3703,6370,3596,6366,3081,5213],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Blown-Head-Gasket.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9nnZN-2JR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10531"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10535,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10531\/revisions\/10535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}