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That blown head gasket on I-5 taught me a lesson about coolant checks
Last Tuesday I was hauling a load of lumber down to Sacramento when the temp gauge spiked near Redding. Cost me $1,800 for a tow and a shop to confirm the gasket was gone, and all because I skipped the 30 second coolant level check three mornings in a row. Anyone else have a preventable breakdown that made them religious about pre-trip inspections?
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charlesanderson1mo ago
Man, that hurts just reading it. I’ve done the same thing more than once, and it’s always the little stuff that gets you. One thing though, a blown head gasket usually isn’t from low coolant alone, it’s more like the heat from the low coolant that finally cracks it. So checking the level is good, but you also gotta watch the temp gauge and listen for weird sounds. Still, I bet you check that dipstick and overflow tank every morning now, right?
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