Can you crack the block in your car if it runs hot

[pam222]

i have a 98 chevy malibu.they say its a blown head gasket.wont know how bad it is till the open it up.my car has aluminum engine i think that what he said.he says it cant be fixed.need to get another engine.does that sound right to you. can it be fixed by putting new head gaskets on it?

 

[wip99gt]

The engine would seize because of the rings catching the liners before the block cracked from overheating. There is always the possibility of the head warping from overheat though. Did he say that the engine cannot be fixed? If so ask him for details why because both the 2.4 and 3.1 are pretty solid blocks.

 

[blackhawk1928]

I cannot possibly have sympathy for a victim of an overheated engine unless your coolant temperature gauge was broken at the time of the cooling system failure. If you continue to drive after your coolant temperature gauge goes past the halfway mark, you are causing your engines imminent death.

 

[nekulturny]

Absolutely you can crack the block. What he told you is that the cylinder heads (top half) of the engine. The bottom end is cast iron. Blown gaskets are a great way to cook a head.


If he tells you its toast, it is. It doesn't matter how solid an engine is if you were driving it with blown gaskets. The testament to their durability is proven by the fact that you were able to keep driving it before it finally died.

 

[wip99gt]

A cracked block is just not nearly as common as a cracked or warped head though. Most damaged blocks I'vs seen are from thrown con rods and not overheating. In 15 years of wrenching I have come across 3 engines with cracked blocks from other scenarios. One was dropped about 20 feet and two from overheating. Granted I do work on very few aluminum blocks so my expertise on those are limited. I actually have two engines at my shop right now from the very same customer that are seized from running them without coolant. That was a $15000 mistake on their end.

 

[nekulturny]

A cracked block is just not nearly as common as a cracked or warped head though. Most damaged blocks I'vs seen are from thrown con rods and not overheating. In 15 years of wrenching I have come across 3 engines with cracked blocks from other scenarios. One was dropped about 20 feet and two from overheating. Granted I do work on very few aluminum blocks so my expertise on those are limited. I actually have two engines at my shop right now from the very same customer that are seized from running them without coolant. That was a $15000 mistake on their end.

A mistake he made twice lol!

 

[wip99gt]

Yeah and in the same week. They were installing thermostatically controlled louvers, a big stationary power thing up north, and drained the coolant to attach all the hoses. Problem was that they forgot to put coolant back in. $15000 was for the engines, it'll still take about 20 hours to change both of them at $115 an hour labor.