I had a leaky radiator on my 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee that finally, after a few treatments of stop leak, gave in completely. I coughed up the $500+ to have it changed and now, 3 days later, I have come to the conclusion that the head gasket is also blown. I know this because coolant is now mysteriously disappearing instead of simply leaking. And the oil level is higher than it should be. The coolant is disappearing at the rate of a couple of litres per trip.
I can’t afford to fix this today. But I should be able to afford it on payday, Friday.
Can I drive this for another 50 - 100 Kms, topping up the coolant, and praying? I know realistically I should get it towed now, to the garage, but if I can just nurse it for a couple of days I’ll be OK. (Anyone want to lend me a car till Friday? )
It is not wise to drive it. There are two very big potential problems. The more immediate is that the head gasket failure may, at any time, escalate to where it’s simply not possible to drive. This will add the inconvenience of a breakdown to your situation. The more serious is that the antifreeze in the oil will ruin the crankshaft bearings (it may have already, but maybe not). This will add the expense of an engine overhaul or replacement to your situation. A rental car may save you a lot of grief and money.
Adding to what Gary T said, a distinct possibility of driving around on a blown head gasket is a “hydrolock” which is what happens when you have a coolant passage to cylinder breach. Coolant gets into the cylinder (doesn’t really matter if it drains into the cylinder or condenses there once the engine’s off and cooling) and if there’s enough in there, you can’t even crank the engine, much less start it as coolant is not compressible.
Ask me how I learned this…
Warping the heads is a distinct possibility as well.
And yes, the breach can go from “better fix this soon” to “you an’t goin’ anywhere, Bud!” at any second.
Before you pour more money into this (head gaskets can be staggeringly expensive to clean up after) have a look at what a rebuilt engine costs. Also look at what the vehicle itself is worth. When I had one blow, I had to come up with about $2500 for the gasket itself, new head bolts, machine shop service (to inspect the heads) hoses, radiator, water pump, and some “this and that” stuff like spark plugs and timing belts that made more sense to do while it was already removed from the vehicle, rather than re-installing old parts that would need to come out not much farther down the road anyway.
If coolant is leaking into the block via a cracked head gasket shouldn’t the oil in the motor be a white creamy goop rather than just looking like oil? Wouldn’t this be an obvious indicator of a blown head gasket?
Head gaskets seal the block to the head (of course), but what is it that they seal? Coolant, oil, and combustion gasses. A blown head gasket usually means that you are mixing 2 of these things together - coolant & oil (here’s where you may get coolant into the engine oil like described by Gary_T), coolant & combustion (you may see bubbles in the coolant and/or you may see white steam/smoke from the tailpipe), oil & combustion (you might see oil smoke from the tailpipe). Not only do you run the risk of stranding and engine bearing problems, depending on what exactly is the problem with the head gasket you may be channeling hot combustion gasses between the block and the head, which can wear away the metal and make your repair either much more expensive or impossible (depending on the extent of the damage). Good luck with this.
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