Can i still drive my car?
So I have a Honda Civic with a blown head gasket a mechanic confirmed with a chemical test. When I check the dipstick and the Oil cap I see no signs of coolant mixing with oil I even took the valve cover off and no signs of water whatsoever, although after the car warms up there's bubbles coming through the hose in the coolant reservoir. Not a lot maybe a bubble every 10 seconds. My question is can I still drive my car for another two weeks until I have time to fix it? Or am I risking messing up the engine?
You can drive it for as long as you want, as long as it continues to run. Of course, eventually, it won't run any more, and if it overheats while driving, you could cause further damage to the engine.
No one can possibly say. However there's a risk. It just depends if you are prepared to take it. Your car may survive or you may end up with a destroyed engine. Personally I would not take the risk. But I'm a careful person where cars are concerned.
Provided you make sure the coolant level never drops and provided you stop using the car if there's any sign of white/grey frothiness visible through the oil filler, it should be OK to drive carefully. Do not rev it hard or make the engine work too hard. Your biggest risk will be overheating due to loss of coolant. If it starts to happen, pull over and top-up the coolant AFTER allowing the engine to cool down.
If you keep a gallon of premixed antifreeze in the vehicle and check the coolant level every time you go to use the car you may get away with driving it 2 more weeks. Your head gasket is leaking combustion pressure into the cooling system not oil into the cooling system. Right now you only need a head gasket replaced. If the head gasket blows out in the hot weather you may need a complete overhaul to replace the bearings if coolant gets into the oil. You might want to loosen the radiator cap a notch so that the cooling system doesn't hold pressure. That's what forces coolant into the oil when the motor is turned off. It also makes the antifreeze disappear more so you'll need to stay on top of filling the radiator before driving.
You risk head damage.
New gasket today, or new engine later.
Nope!
Yes, there's a risk of continuing to drive the car. Two distinct possibilities are a cracked head from the water leak, and water won't compress, so internally a valve or piston could be broken by the excess pressure of water in cylinder. If you have a bicycle, use it instead of the for awhile.
Yes
Your mechanic is right, need a new gasket, BUT, if you take it easy(driving that is)You can add 2 cans radiator stop leak for a little while, just to get you out of a jam
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