Figuring out if I blew a gasket or cracked cylinder head

Tiny
MELLOW4YELLOW
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 HONDA CIVIC
  • 1.6L
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 233,000 MILES
I was driving on the highway when my car started making noises and cutting out with smoke rolling out the corners of the hood by windows. It is locked up and will not turnover at all. There is oil on the valve cover. I was told I may have a blown head gasket or possibly a cracked valve cover. What do you think?
Tuesday, December 20th, 2016 AT 11:13 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 34,330 POSTS
To have an engine lock up due to a leaking cylinder head gasket, the leak would have to be really severe. That type of leak rarely comes on that quickly. It is more common that you would stop a warmed-up engine, then, due to the normal pressure in the cooling system, a cylinder would slowly fill with coolant. That would cause hydro-lock and a failure of the engine to crank to restart. If you think this is why the engine is locked up, remove the spark plugs, then try to crank the engine. If the head gasket is leaking, coolant will spray out of the spark plug hole when you crank the engine.
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Wednesday, December 21st, 2016 AT 8:41 AM

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