head gasket question

Okay, I did a search on previous threads and have yet to see my answer. I'll admit right now to having very little knowledge of what's under my hood and how it works. My last trip for an oil change my mechanic showed me where my Head Gasket was leaking. he said to take care of it we're looking upwards for 1000. he suggested some bars leak to temporarily take care of it. now, i can notice the green of my coolant, but it's yet to be leaking at an alarming rate. my big question is, are head gaskets universal? meaning, i have a 95 sunfire, could i put a head gasket from a honda (just using honda as a referrence) or do i have to have another pontiac part?

thanks for any help and advice.

No, you almost have to get the gasket for your specific model. There are too many different cylinder head designs and sizes to make a universal gasket.

I looked it up on the Advance Auto website and it'll cost about $30 for the gasket. You'll probably need other gaskets like the intake and exhaust too cause they get ruined easily.

Buy a haynes manual before jumping in. You can read and judge for yourself if you think you're capable of the repair.

Good Luck.

thanks for the advice!! if i'm only looking at 30 bucks for parts, i have to assume that shop charges are the killer?

Its quite a major job replacing a head gasket.
The gasket itself is easy to do, but getting to it is a major operation.
The average car will require a full days labour to pull the engine apart, and put it back together again.
Iv done it on a race car in only a few hours, but the average road car has more odds and ends around the cylinder head to remove, and working on a customers car requires a more care and time is taken to ensure the job is done right.


If you can do basic mechanical work, like fixing brakes, changing a cam belt etc, have knowledge of how an engine works, and have access to the right manual, and the right tools (you will need a torque wrench, and know how to use it, as well as a complete set of sockets) then you might be able to do the job in probobly 2 days.

You will need roughly about $100 worth of parts, as there are several gaskets that need replacing, and while your in there you should do things like the water pump and thermostat as well. (espcialy if you have a leaking gasket, as there may have been air bubles in the coolant, which will cause the water pump to cavitate, and damage itself).


Given the age of your car, and your apparent lack of automotive technical knowledge, I would recomend getting your mechanic to do the job for you.
If you are infact mechancialy minded, and have a mate who does know whats thier doing, and you can afford to have the car off the road for up to a week (things may go wrong) then you can certianly save yourself some money doing the job yourself.

i've got a couple of friends who could do the job, i'll talk with them before talking to my mechanic.

One more thing.....the head gasket blew for a reason. It's a good idea to find the source of the problem and fix it when the head is off. Whenever I have fixed one, I send the head out to a machine shop to have it checked for flat gasket surfaces and to be sure its free of cracks, leaks and other damage. It's not expensive and could save yourself from another blown gasket down the road.

i will do that! thanks.
when it was in the mechanic said that the headgasket in sufires aren't all that great, and that i was the third one in 2 months that they'll have to do. i was told that it's not in desperate need right now, but the way i see it is sink the grand into it to get done, and not wait to do serious damage to the rest of the engine!

One more thing.....the head gasket blew for a reason. It's a good idea to find the source of the problem and fix it when the head is off. Whenever I have fixed one, I send the head out to a machine shop to have it checked for flat gasket surfaces and to be sure its free of cracks, leaks and other damage. It's not expensive and could save yourself from another blown gasket down the road.

second that.

I almost guarantee that the head will need cut and since its already apart, any machine shop can try and pull a few inches across the valves to see how the sealing surfaces are....