Ahh...glad to see those with more mechanical XP than I mentioning things I did not.
When asked about *just* the price if it was *just* the valve gasket, I wouldn't think it so expensive.
But then, my experience with them is a tad limited.
I changed mine of my old '73 Chevy C10 truck and it was a breeze. Took a couple of hours (because I cleaned the inside of the cover before reassembling
) and I never had any more problems with it in that respect. I had to remove the 4-cyl carb and the breather assembly to get to the heads, but it really was no big deal for me.
Now, my Sunfire would be more of a pain. No carb, but a great deal of other things laying on top if the head. I *can* do the job myself and save myself about $100.00, but it's not worth the effort of my swearing and possibly not being able to put things back where they go.
However, I did not consider the other things that can cause head gasket leakage excepting the 'normal wear and tear' - meaning eventually, even if the engine is fine, those gaskets will wear out and need replacement.
I never thought of it being much more difficult (in the case of a turbo, for instance) until reading it here and remembering my Hyndai Excel. I'd have not touched *that* one with a ten foot pole, LOL! Wires and hoses EVERYwhere.
It looked like they poured my engine into a mold that was all of one piece. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Anyhoo...good luck, dear, on discovering whether this is a good deal or not for you. [img]smile.gif[/img]