Mechanics, I need your advice

[Whatsit]

I have a bad head gasket on my 2000 cirrus. This is a little beyond my skills. What would be a reasonble price to pay at a garage to replace a head gasket?
I used to have a friend that did all my work, but he has since past.
Any input would be appreciated.

 

[stioc]

I'm not a professional mechanic so take the info with a grain of salt but I'd say it would be tough to guesstimate the cost involved because of so many things that could need fixing. How did the head gasket blow in the first place ? why did the car overheat ? if it was a stuck thermostat that's cheap, but if it needs a new radiator, waterpump, etc then those things will need to be taken into account. Headgaskets don't blow on their own, unless its a manufacturing defect/bad-design (Mk3 Supra, Neon etc).

Then you have to take into account how hot did the car get and what it damaged, if it didn't warp the head too bad you can typically clean and slightly deck the mating surface and be done with it. However, if the head is warped then it'll need a new head.

Then you have to take into account the mileage on the motor, if its got over 100k miles and you're opening the motor up you might as well get a valve job done on it...cost would vary on this too depending on what needs replacing.

I'm not trying to scare you but just wanted to inform you on things that could be affected. If you don't care about any of those or if the car only needs a head gasket removed and replaced (R&R) then the labor charges can vary from $500 to $800 here depending on the make and model. That's just my guesstimate...

I'd call around and ask your local mechanics (anything between the really cheap quote and the dealer quote would likely be the avg cost).

 

[jeeperjoe]

I've done many head gaskets on motors with more than 100k and never touched a valve. It's possible to repair by just changing the gasket (that may not be the "correct" thing to do) but if all your going to do is keep the car a little longer there's no need to rebuild the head. It's really a case by case repair depending on why the gasket let go. A good machanic should be able to inspect the head for warpage or other mechicanal falure and determine a repair. So for your case without knowing what motor you have I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect to spend betweeen $600 - $1000 (ball park #) best bet is to call around I'm sure your not the only one to have that problem on that car. Just as a side note, it is wise, especially in cold weather to let your engine warm up a minute or two to stablize combustion cylinder temps. I've seen head gaskets fail on vehicles where people who drive them had the habit of doing cold start drive-aways. Many engines have aluminum heads that expand at a different rate than the block (iron). Higher combustinon pressure exerted during the "warm up cycle" is what can cause the gasket to fail. The other thing is of course any cooling system leaks that cause an engine to overheat from lack of coolant will in a sense do the same thing, some engines are less forgiving than others to an overheat situation. None the less alot of rambling but maybe you can prevent any future problems by making a few simple changes. Or you could just set the car on fire!!! (Just kidding).

 

[GearHead_1]

Higher combustinon pressure exerted during the "warm up cycle" is what can cause the gasket to fail.

Can you tell me about this?

 

[MXtras]

$975-$1300 for the job - re-surfaced head, new gaskets.

Blown gaskets come from thermal cycling, fastener fatigue (loss of adequate torque), poor engineering or in extreme cases - detonation.

Scott

 

[Whatsit]

Well it appears that my head gasket is fine, but it was oil leaking from (where)the oil pan mounts.

I guess thats what I get for not looking at it myself.
The first garage (started with a "M" and ended witha "idas") the talked like my head gasket was toast and I may not make it home.

I brought it in the my local garage and they had a good chuckle.
I told them the story and so on.

This is why people hate taking thier car in to a place because with out being ble to look at it ,they "trust the pro". I have had it happed to me once to the tune of $800.
My local place will let me in, let me look at it and even with my meager mechanical knowledge they listen.

That was a close one.

 

[oldgoat]

Does you car have the 4 or 6 cylinder engine? I never trust any of the chain shops for mechanical advice. They will tell you what will fill their pockets the best that they think they can sell you on. Find a good garage that you can trust for a real opinion.

 

[Whatsit]

4 cylinder.

 

[stioc]

How do these people feed their families with the dis-honest money they earn. Its one thing to charge $20 or $40 more than you competitor and its another to charge $900 for something they won't even have to touch and say 'its all done' the next day.

I'd write them a letter and cc the franchise company and the Better Business Bureau.

 

[oldgoat]

I was wondering because I know that in the 90's the Neon 4 cyl had a problem with head gaskets until they came up with a improved one.