How much does it cost to replace a head gasket?

and is it worth buing a vehicel in good condition with a leaking gasket?

Cost depends on the vehicle, but if you're having it done expect somewhere in the vicinity of $800 to $2000 bucks with a likely cost of $1000-$1500.

The other question is why is it leaking... and that might add more cost depending on the answer.

I'd personally avoid a car with a leaking head gasket unless the price was pretty darn cheap.

Thoran...I'm not sure what you're thinking there.

A set of GASKETS only cost about $15.00.

The HEAD might cost that much, but not the gasket.

And the gasket is usually pretty easy to replace.

My mechanic charges $125.00 to replace leaking head gaskets. (It's normal wear and tear for vehicles, so it's not a case of the car being bad unless it's NOT a gasket at all...)

But if you are so inclined, you can get a Chilton manual on the car in question to help you know what to remove to get to the gasket and change it.

Whether it's worth it to you to do it yourself or you've got all kinds of parts sitting on top of it so it's easier in the long run to let a mechanic do it is up to you and what mechanical abilities you possess. ;)

Thoran, it is pretty damn cheap

Lady Sedai, thanks, that sounds pretty good, the leaking gasket is the only mechanichal fault with the vehicle, and because of that it is being sold majorly cheap, if everything goes well i think i'll buy it tomorrow.

There's some important things to consider with a leaking head gasket, and some of it depends on the vehicle. In terms of the complexity of the engine: On a four cylinder, there's just the one head gasket, but you may need a set of gaskets for the water pump depending on the design. If it's an OHC (overhead cam), you have to be careful of the timing chain/belt when reinstalling the head. If it's not an OHC, you'll likely have to deal with pushrods or other valve linkages. Either way, you also have intake and exhaust manifolds and gaskets to deal with, tho these are pretty straightforward on a four banger.
On a six or eight, you're going to have need of more gaskets for the intake manifold and exhaust manifolds, as well as the consideration of doing both head gaskets at the same time. As long as you're tearing it down, you might as well do both sides.
Underlying all this is the really critical part: Why did the gasket fail in the first place? Often it's because of a warped head which is easily addressed by having the head shaved before reassembly. occasionally you'll find a cracked head, usually between valve seats, and this must be repaired or replaced, period. If the failure has allowed coolant into the crankcase, you've got the potential for some serious problems. This isn't to say that a blown head gasket is a disaster, but you should check it out carefully and know what you're facing before you drop some cash on a potential dead end.

Go get it quoted... just don't be surprised when it's more than $125 bucks. ;) I'll eat the last gasket I installed if you can find a shop who'll do it for less than $500US.

As I said... it depends on the vehicle... but replacing the head gasket isn't a one hour job even if you're driving a Model T ford, you've got to pull the top end of the engine apart and usually a lot of other stuff just to get to it.

I did it an 89 Lebaron turbo I owned back in the olden days... and it took me a couple days of screwing around and about $700 by the time I was done (turned out the head was warped & cracked).

I replaced a leaking intake manifold gasket on my 96 Z28 and it cost me under a hundred bucks but it took me a weekend. Just so you know... replacing the intake gasket is a LOT easier than changing head gaskets.

I had the head gastets replaced on both my 2000 legacy gt and my wife's 97 outback. My car cost $1300, my wife's car cost $1500.

It's not just the 50 to 100 bucks for the gasket... its all the other gaskets and seals that should be replaced along with it, and other wear items that also should be replaced while you have the top end apart... and mostly all the labor.

Good luck, but don't trust to hope... it has forsaken the land of auto repair. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ 08-25-2004, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

my dad offered to do the head gasket on my omni for just the cost of parts, but our mechanic said $500-$600 if hte head isn't damaged.

What is the
Make?
Model?
Year?
Engine?
Any Add ons-Turbo, etc?

The main reason for the gasket to be leaking to start with should be the first answer your looking for. Usually, they blow due to. Improper maintenance. The engine ran too hot. The engine has excessive miles on it.

If it's a standard 4 cyl motor with an aluminum head, run from it. If it's a solid engine, chances are it's repairable.

Gasket sets range from 10-30 bucks. I do most of my own at the craft shop. Their fixed rate is $200 for an inline engine, and $300 for any V type engine. Keep in mind, if it's a V type, you will want to repalce both at the same time.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

A couple of things you need to keep in mind.

1. The gasket itself is generally the cheapest part of the job, but depending on the make/model/engine it can range from a 4hr job to a 12hr job.

2. Anytime the head(s) is removed you need to plane the head surface to make sure the gasket seals properly. Any shop worth it's weight in motor oil will not guarantee the job unless the head(s) is re-surfaced and the head bolts are replaced.

3. Depending on the amount of time it's been leaking, you may have a considerable amount of damage done to other parts. The tell tale sign of a bad head gasket is anti freeze in the oil and vice versa and a lot of white steam from the exhaust (antifreeze burning in the combustion chamber.) Anti Freeze and cam/crank bearings do not mix well together at all.

If it's been leaking for some time, you've reduced the life of the engine quite considerably and would do well to re-evaluate just how much you are willing to spend on this vehicle.

Also, if it's a very high mileage engine, the engine itself may not be up to the increased pressures of a new head gasket and may start blowing out seals, gaskets, piston rings, crank rods etc...

EDIT: I've personally seen vehicles were the engine needs to removed from the vehicle to change the head gaskets, so even though the gasket may be cheap, the job itself might not be.

[ 08-25-2004, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: Animal ]

He he, I work in a gas station and earlier this summer a woman asked me to check her engine oil, I did and noticed the whole engine was covered in oil, I told her cause I thougt maybe the cap had come loose... but oh no...
"the head gasket is leaking and has been for some time..." was her answer, I told her to get it fixed but she didn't seem to care much... sigh...