Kingdom Of Diesel Engines

By Aly A.Fatah
Why cylinder head gaskets blown?
Sometimes, we as mechanics or technicians do major repair
including machining cylinder block like machining cylinder block
surface, and after we put the engine back into service, customer
complains cylinder head gaskets blown, the first reaction that
many people takes is to accuse overheating and or abusing the
engine, after unnecessary argument with the customer, the
mechanic gets the gasket replaced and put the engine back into
service, in unlikely event the customer complains repetition of the
same problem.
To my expectations, the problem will keep happening as far the
root cause of the problem was not repaired, normally every one
point the finger to engine overheating every time someone
mention cylinder head gasket blown, before we go for why
gasket blown, let us ask what Is a Head Gasket?
Simply we can say it is the part that installed between cylinder
block and cylinder head to mainly seal:
1. Lubricating oil.
2. Coolant (water).
3. Combustion chamber (Compressed gases).
and prevent them to be mixed together and / or dilute each
other.

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Kingdom Of Diesel Engines
By Aly A.Fatah

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In automobile engines, the head gasket is a ringed panel that is
placed between the cylinder head and engine block. The head
gasket is put in place as a barrier that prevents engine fluids from
leaking into the cylinders. As such, the head gasket is among the
most vital components in the combustion chamber. In addition
to serving as a barrier to the cylinder, the head gasket blocks off
conduits to the oil and water. Due to its position between hot and
cold engine components, the head gasket faces a full range of
temperatures, from the high heat of the combustion chamber to
the often cold temperatures of the cooling system. As the impacts
of temperature changes take their toll over time, the head gasket
can ultimately bear marks along the surface. Consequently, leaks
do often develop along this crucial area. If the problem worsens,
the gasket can blow — all of which begs the question:

What is a blown head gasket?

In short, blown head gasket is a defective gasket and
consequently leaks water or oil outside and or allows mixing
water and oil or leaks compression to coolant.
That is why you see:
 Oil in radiator.
 In some cases, you find water in oil pan.
 Compression in radiator.

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Kingdom Of Diesel Engines
By Aly A.Fatah
Head Gasket Failure:

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 Kingdom Of Diesel Engines
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A driver will often wonder what causes a blown head gasket. The
truth is, anything from the coolant system to the combustion
chamber could be responsible. Most confusing is the fact that
symptoms which resemble those of head gasket failure will
sometimes originate from other causes. In certain cases,
a symptom might show due to multiple failures within the
engine. Examples could include the following:
 Overheating could be caused by a restricted radiator, which can
get worse the farther you drive along.
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 Coolant in the oil, usually blamed on head gaskets, could actually
be due to problems with the intake gasket.
Symptoms such as these may or may not be due to the head
gasket. An accurate diagnosis often depends on the expertise of
a skilled technician.
The Trouble with Ignoring Blown Head Gasket Symptoms.
Often times, a driver will ignore blown head gasket symptoms
due to the costs that come with repairs. This can be an even more
costly mistake, however, because in many cases, blown head
gaskets lead to further car trouble if you continue driving.

A coolant leak, for example, could lead to the following problems:

Related Symptoms of Blown Head Gasket Trouble
When head gasket failure occurs between two or more cylinders,
several symptoms are bound to result. The most common
symptom in this case is a misfire, which would result from the
leakage of compression between cylinders. Evidence of this could
include the following:
1. Lowered compression due to rough idling
2. Overheating of the engine
3. Coolant leakage to the oil compartment
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Signs of a blown head gasket include:

1. Milky coolant or oil in radiator.

2. Bubble formations coolant tank:

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3. White Smoke.

If your vehicle exhibits one of these symptoms, there’s a good

chance — though it’s not entirely certain — that your engine has
blown its head gasket. If two or three symptoms are evident, then
in all likelihood you probably do have a blown gasket. In the event
that your gasket is most likely blown, refrain from driving your
car much, if at all, until the problem is rectified. The components
that connect to the gasket can get warped or irreparably
damaged from the temperature extremes and fluid leaks that
head gasket problems can cause, all of which could result in huge
repair bills. In a worst case scenario, the engine might need to be
replaced or overhauled.

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By Aly A.Fatah
In addition to all of the above, there is a hidden reason can cause
head gasket failure, and many mechanics are not paying
attention to that reason when they installing liners during engine
overhauling, this reason is liner protrusion, which is the height
of the liner above cylinder block, this height (Protrusion) is
decided by engine manufacture and it is differs from engine to
another and is mentioned in service manuals.
When you install liners you need to measure liner protrusion to
make sure that you did not exceed the recommended value.

Liner Protrusion
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I would strongly recommend to stuck up to the recommended
dimensions, what you need to do is to measure the protrusion
using dial indicator as seen in the figure below.

Measuring liner protrusion

If liner protrusion is higher than the specified value, all what you
need is to push liner down using liner installation tool.
If liner protrusion is less than the specified value, all what you
need is to pull liner up using liner removal tool, in some cases you
need to put shims under the liners.

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Before we go to discuss what could happen if liner protrusion is
more or less than the specified value, let us understand why do
we need liner protrusion, and why it is critical, Liner protrusion is
designed to accommodate head gasket fire ring and secure the
sealing of combustion gases and to align head gasket in the
proper position also prevent any misalignment that may occurs
as a result of vibration.

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Fire Ring

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From the above, we can understand that if we do not keep liner

protrusion within the recommended value, the hot combustion
gasses sealing will be out of control and the gasket will be blown,
even if we replace the gasket, it will blow up again because root
case of the problem which is liner protrusion was not fixed.

That is why incorrect liner protrusion is the hidden cause behind

keep blowing head gasket.

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