It’s a dreaded statement no automotive machinist wants to tell their customers: your engine block has cracked. This issue can often be confused with a blown head gasket or cracked cylinder head since the symptoms are similar. While these two issues are manageable if caught in time before serious damage occurs, a cracked engine block almost always means a new engine. With that in mind, we’re taking a look at the four clearest signs your engine block has cracked:
- Oil or coolant leaking
A puddle of liquid forming below your vehicle’s engine is seldomly a good thing. Cracked engine blocks often result in fluid pathways being blocked, resulting in seepage of engine oil or coolant. Leaky engine syndrome isn’t a clear sign of a cracked engine block, so looking for other symptoms would be the next step.
2. Steam from exhaust
Seeing white ‘smoke’ coming from the tip of an engine’s exhaust? A crack in the engine block can result in coolant leaking into a cylinder, where it is then burned during combustion. As a result, you’ll see white smoke, which is actually steam, coming out of the vehicle’s tailpipe
3. Misfiring and rough idle
Compression in an automotive engine is vital for its efficient operation. Unfortunately, a cracked block can result in a loss of pressure, which can lead to a rough idle and/or the engine misfiring. At this point, it’s safe to say you’ll need an automotive machinist if you’d like to see the vehicle on the road or project site again
4. Overheating engine
Remember when we said coolant and oil leaks can indicate a cracked engine block? There’s another symptom that is a result of this fluid seepage: engine overheating. Since there’s less engine oil and coolant, the engine and its parts run hotter and hotter, eventually leading to constant overheating.
Qualified engine block repairs and refurbishment
The Eagleharm Engineering workshop can machine any engine block, whether V-8, V-6, inline, 90-degree or 60-degree. We have industry-leading equipment and decades of automotive machinist experience to provide the best engine block repairs and refurbishments in KwaZulu-Natal. Contact us today if you think your engine block could be on the verge of catastrophe and you’d like to get it checked out.
Read more articles: