Recently my car overheated. The engine coolant was bubbling, along with steam coming from the engine.

To make this story a little shorter, let me review what has been done to resolve the problem:
Radiator replaced
Thermostat replaced
New oil pump (cause it was determined not enough oil was getting to the engine)
Replaced the fan on the radiator
New timing belt

After all of these repairs, my mechanic drove it around and it was still doing the same thing. That's when he told me it was the Head Gasket.

First off let me start by saying i'm not a mechanic, in fact i haven't worked on cars much with the exception of basic procedures like changing the oil, flat tires, fuses, the battery, stereo equipment, but i am motivated, and would like to see what my options are as far as fixing this head gasket on my own. As it would save me a ton of money. Of course, i would need to find a mechanic friend, or someone who has worked on cars before to assist me.

1)Just what is the difficulty level on a procedure like this? What tools or materials would i need? How long would it take me to do something like this? what would the cost approximately be for parts?

2)Also, what would cause a head gasket to go bad? I'm curious because i would hate to replace it, and have it go bad again because the actual problem wasn't fixed.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

First of all, get a competent mechanic. If the head gasket was bad any competent mechanic would have known it from the first diagnosis. My question to you is if it's economically worthwhile to spend all that money on an 11+year old car? You can do it yourself with the proper tools and equipment if you want to make it a project car to learn on otherwise take it to a qualified tech at a Toyota dealer and get an evaluation of the problem and estimate of cost. The ineptness of the first mechanic may have caused the head gasket damage due to warpage or hairline cracks in the cylinders. I'd be thinking about a law suit against him! Sorry if I seem too gruff, but I hate to hear of people being taken for a ride, wasting hard earned money, and the so called mechanic still hasn't diagnosed the problem correctly. It sounds like he was learning at your expense! Good luck.

if you are going to do this yourself go to your toyota dealer and buy the shop manual. these so called manuals at the parts store WILL leave you left for dead in a lot of areas.

you might want to ask the service manager if he will give you a deal on the one they use so they can upgrade the one the shop uses. thats how it works at our shop.

and also use TOYOTA gaskets and seals, you get what you pay for.

Cool, thanks guys for the info. Any more feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Trying to learn as much about my car as possible.

quick question. when you replace the head gasket do you need the resurface the head??? my camry v6 having the same problem.
thank you

allways, and have it pressure checked for cracks. they will sometimes crack in the bowl area under the valve. this could be repaired as long as the crack (if any) isn't under the valve seat

quick question. when you replace the head gasket do you need the resurface the head??? my camry v6 having the same problem.
thank you

The service manual says that you should remove all gasket material from the block contact surface, clean the combustion chambers with a wire brush, clean the head with a soft brush and solvent, clean all the guide bushings, check for cracks with dye penetrating oil and check for flatness. Doesn't say anything about needing or being able to resurface the head.

is the gasket surface flat? how did you check it?
I would just hate to se you do this all over again.
anything over .004 should be milled. are the areas around the coolant passages corroded? the surface of the block and head should be cleaned carfully with a razorblade and not a scotch bright woopie wheel on a die grinder. GOOD LUCK!