kaspergbge

My antifreeze is leaking into my Head Gasket, so the shop told me I needed a new head gasket. He also said that he did not know if my head was cracked and in order for him to find out he has to take the engine apart and put it through the machine. He said it will costs $600 just for that. Does that seem right? I just don't want to get ripped off.

Also, if a new head gasket is all I need, are they easy to repair and am I able to do it myself with directions.

wa1hog

Unless you have had experence working on engines, Dont attempt it. You need special tools and experence to attempt to replace a head gasket.

I just had the same problem expect it turned out to be my intake manafold gasket and not the head gasket. Was you SES light on before this happened. Mine was on for a few months. Finally the gasket gave outt and sucked my antifreeze into the engine.
$400 later it was fixed

86 Corsica 3.1

ctellis156

yeah thats about right, i paid near 7oo for it in my 95 corsica a few years ago

jsgold

Our 91 Corsica blew a head gasket several years ago, and turned out to have a cracked head as well. Problem was, the shop would only put a NEW head on it, not refurbished or used. Head cost alone was $465. Labor ran in excess of 800 dollars. If I had known all of that I would have taken it elsewhere but it was too late. Be sure of your options on a new head, or a rebuilt one. Most of the time it is simply the gasket, but you never know. If the shop you are dealing with is top notch, 600 bucks is not that bad. I remember taking a car to a shop where the labor was cheap, and got a lousy job on a head gasket replacement(the shop had a great owner/mechanic but he let a real inexperianced kid work on it). Nearly lost my motor in <24 hrs as all the oil leaked out and most coolant... Just be sure ahead of time what you will be facing IF it is cracked. While I do most of my own work, head gaskets and major work is better left to the experianced. The fellow I use now when i need to has a machine shop that can fix, rebuild heads. Good luck.