Blew a head gasket on I-5 near Bakersfield and it changed my whole tune on cooling system maintenance

I was hauling a load of produce southbound when the temp gauge shot past 230 in under three miles, steam pouring out from under the hood. Turns out the fan clutch had been slipping for weeks and I kept putting off the replacement. Anyone else learn the hard way that ignoring small noises leads to a $4,200 repair bill?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlie26918d agoMost Upvoted

Man that "temp gauge shot past 230 in under three miles" part really hit close to home. I had the exact same thing happen on a Grady White boat motor I was hauling up to Oregon, same deal with a fan clutch I knew was bad but kept thinking "next oil change." That $4,200 bill must have stung bad but at least you got it fixed before it cooked the whole motor.

ivan4017d ago

Saw a mechanic on YouTube say those viscous fan clutches are basically a ticking time bomb once they start slipping, way too many people ignore the early signs. Glad your motor made it though, that's the real win.

riley_bell17d agoTop Commenter

Four grand seems steep, you could have grabbed a used motor for half that.