Head Gasket

[x_skaven_x]

Hey guys I think my head gasket is blown. I was driving around today when all of a sudden my temp soared up and my light came on. I just put Anti-freeze in it today so I figured maybe my oil was low so i go under the hood and checked my oil... Well it was about half way up my dip-stick and a nice brown goo.

The car is a 92 GP LE. Any ideas how much this will cost to fix? (In Canadian currency)

[GTP Dad]

First of all what size engine do you have? and Do you plan to do the work yourself? If you do the work yourself it will cost you about 8 to 10 hours, about $175C for bolts and gaskets, antifreeze and oil. If you have someone do it for you it will probably cost about $933C to $1632C depending on the labor rate. You don't want to drive this car since the water in the oil will kill the bearings. It is also possible that if this is a 3.1 or 3.8 NA engine that the lower intake manifold gasket is gone. Costs about $700C to repair if someone does it for you. Before jumping to conclusions, do a compression check on the engine. If the compression is good it is probably just the lower intake gasket that has gone bad.

[x_skaven_x]

how do i do a compression test

[GTP Dad]

You will need to rent or purchase a compression tester. Remove all the plugs and thread the tester into one of the spark plug holes. Turn the engine over and read the guage after it pumps to its highest level. Right the number down and repeat for all cylinders. If you have good compression the numbers shouldn't vary more than 10 pounds across the board. A compression of 100 pounds or greater on all cylinders it considered acceptable. If you find one cylinder low it may indicate a bad valve but if it is a blow gasket more than one cylinder on the same bank should read low. Could be as much as 40 psi lower than a good cylinder if not more. No compression at all could be a hole in the piston, major burnt valve or a cracked head. Good Luck!