Take free car with head gasket issue?

[Newbster]

Hi, im able to get a free 1989 Toyota Corolla with 167k miles on it. White smokes comes out of the exhaust. Research online tells me that white smoke means antifreeze is leaking into the cylinder from a blown head gasket. My question to you would be is it worth taking? Some people online say to just not fix it and ride it out, saying it might last another 20k miles or so. Or I can fix the head gasket, but I dont know how much life is left in it. Everything else runs fine on it. What should I do?

[sickcallawayc12]

A head gasket isn't an easy fix from my experience, gotta remove the cylinder head and almost anything connected to it. Good project if you wanna learn about engines. I wouldn't use it as a primary daily driver. How long has the gasket been blown?

[Newbster]

Soon after it was blown, the driver stopped driving it, and it sat in the driveway. Do you think the head gasket is something I can fix myself (Im a noob, but am willing to learn). Time is not an issue, im willing to put many hours of learning and experience into it. How much money would it cost to fix it manually myself, versus repair shop?

[sickcallawayc12]

Well my old 97 saturn sl2 had a blown cylinder head which pretty much involves the same stuff you gotta do. The labor alone was a grand total plus 400 for the head and 100 for new gaskets (mine you gotta replace almost all of em). Your car is 8 years older so i'm sure it's a little cheaper and easier. I think they took around 10-14 hours, i was told doing it myself would only be like 6-7 straight thru and knowing where to go proper tools yada yada yada. It won't be that bad to do yourself. All it is really is removing the top part of the engine and the stuff attatched, headers, manifold, hoses, wiring, etc. Keep in mind all this is based off of what i learned with my saturn though. being an 89 you probably have less to do.