headgasket

what causes a headgasket to blow? just wondering thanks.

i'm gonna take a whack at things like overheating, over pressurizing (too much boost) and just the general age of the gasket. I'm sure there are other reasons as well.

Detonation

I agree with Gary, Detonation is #1 cause. Overheating also possible but I suspect much less common.

___Scott___":1fw6xv5i said:

I agree with Gary, Detonation is #1 cause. Overheating also possible but I suspect much less common.

Click to expand...

Actually.. on stock cars, of any make or model it is much more common for a head gasket to fail due to an extreme overheat.. Detonation isn't going to come into the picture until you've got some mods going.. In other words, provided everything is running properly and until you're exceeding the capabilities of the stock fuel map, you shouldn't have any "serious" concerns with detonation..

If you really want to get technical.. Detonation can kill the head gasket itself.. whereas an extreme overheat will warp the head or block which compromises the head gasket's ability to create a proper seal which then leads to coolant leaking into the combustion chambers and from there you've just got a bigger can of worms waiting..

In both cases the seal is broken.. and thats just not cool.. :doh:

Somebody on the board had a list on their own website about "How to blow up your motor", and it was based on peoples' experiences. I think it would help this conversation, but I've lost the link. Anyone know where it is?

Detonation can happen on a stock car.
It is all interrealted.

If the car over heats, is it more prone to detoantion ?
Of course the head gasket will blow if you run out of coolant or something...

Of course if you are racing and keep boosting
as the temps rise, then it is all bad.

Regards;

GMan":22x1oaie said:

Detonation can happen on a stock car.
It is all interrealted.

If the car over heats, is it more prone to detoantion ?
Of course the head gasket will blow if you run out of coolant or something...

Of course if you are racing and keep boosting
as the temps rise, then it is all bad.

Regards;

Click to expand...

I meant detonation occuring by itself, due to a lean condition.. not as a byproduct of an overheating engine.. But yeah.. both suck

Also not torqueing the head studs in the right order, or at the wrong ft/lbs