head gasket

[smeltdan]

just was told had leak starting in head gasket and i'm wondering how difficult it is to repair and where i would find out info to repair. garage man said it would cost from $400-600 there. would like to attempt to do myself.

[maxwedge]

This on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most difficult ,is about a 7-8 for an amateur. Tough to comment here without knowing your skill level and access to tools necessary to do this job.

[scoopy03]

Originally Posted by smeltdan

just was told had leak starting in head gasket and i'm wondering how difficult it is to repair and where i would find out info to repair. garage man said it would cost from $400-600 there. would like to attempt to do myself.

well you would need the manual to do the torque specs and you would need to have a torque stick. the specs have to been done to the factory specs. or they can be a little tighter. then would need the gasket set which is around 80-100 bucks. I just looked up a 2001 and it was 81.95 on www.partstrain.com and its 16.95 on same site for the head bolts which are recommended to get changed to while you're at it.

Quick calculation in doing it alone
Car Manual- 10-20
head gasket set 80-100
head bolts 15-25
torque stick 20-30
total 125-175 but not including fluids you should do while you're at it

also a shop vac would help to vacuum out the cylinders in the block.

so really if you wanted to just save the hassle have a mechanic do it although it is good to learn how to d-i-y. (I have done about 7 engines/almost complete engine jobs in the past 6 months )

[old_master]

Is it leaking oil or coolant? If it's leaking coolant, I would get a second opinion. It is extremely rare for head gaskets to leak coolant on the 4.3L V6. More likely to be the lower intake manifold gasket. An unscrupulous shop could recommend replacing the head gaskets, when all that is really necessary is the lower intake gaskets. Very substantial difference in cost.

[vtmecheng]

1. I agree with "old master" and had to replace my intake manifold gasket two years ago because of a coolant leek.

2. If you know the shop is really good and won't cut corners I say take it in. If this isn't the case you may want to do it yourself, if you are comfortable with this job.

If doing it yourself and you want to keep this truck for a long time there are a lot of things you can replace depending on the truck's condition. If you have a sticky lifter at startup it may good to replace the hydraulic valve lifters. With the heads off you may notice the valves are not looking too good so it may be time to get the heads machined and replace the valves. How long do you want to keep this truck?