If a piece of the head gasket breaks off, it may cause a knocking noise coming from the engine. What Causes Head Gaskets to Blow. A head gasket is probably the most important sealant in your engine, It seals in both very hot combustion gases and the coolant in the engine, which can be a cold or moderate temperature.
Can a bad head gasket cause a knock?
Sometimes you can get a knock sound from a blown head gasket. This can happen when the gasket is blown between two cylinders and the pressure from one cylinder shoots into the other.
What happens when head gasket blows?
Once the seal is blown, pressure in the combustion chamber is lost and you'll feel a significant loss of power. If your blown head gasket is causing coolant to leak, your engine is far more likely to overheat. This will incur further cracking and damage to your engine.
Does knocking damage engine?
Why Does Knocking Occur? Knocking can damage the surface of the piston, the cylinder walls or the crankshaft bearings, all of which are expensive to repair. Modern computer-controlled injection systems can correct your fuel mixture to prevent knocking, but at the cost of engine performance.