# Blown head gasket?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/blown-head-gasket/5228>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [September 28, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/blown-head-gasket/5228 "2007-09-28T17:26:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nosedansus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@nosedansus](https://community.cartalk.com/u/nosedansus)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/blown-head-gasket/5228/1 "2007-09-28T17:26:10Z")

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My car started overheating after several weeks of not being driven. Filled radiator, seemed fine. Didn’t drive at all after that for a week or two. Wife drove the car today 30 minutes - hot again. Haven’t checked the coolant yet, but probably empty again. Can’t find a leak - could a blown head gasket burn off a radiator’s worth of coolant in half and hour with nothing out the tailpipe and no previous warning? I planned on driving it 140 miles tonight, but I’m thinking bad idea.

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**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/blown-head-gasket/5228/2 "2007-09-28T17:45:58Z")

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Yes, a blown headgasket can go through that much coolant (remember that the water jacket is under pressure at the same time that the cylinder is unver vacuum).

A compression leakdown test should answer the question definitively.

And yes, a 140 mile drive tonight is a bad idea.

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**Author:** ![hoggiedoo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/hoggiedoo/32/376_2.png) [@hoggiedoo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hoggiedoo)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/blown-head-gasket/5228/3 "2007-09-28T20:49:10Z")

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Check the color of your oil. If it’s a light brown/tan you’ve got some water mixing with it. Also, does the exhaust look a little white? My son’s car was sucking in so much water it looked like a Stanley Steamer!