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Old 08-25-2004, 07:39 PM   #11
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Wow, it's gonna suck to be her! "I didn't think it was important!"
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Old 08-25-2004, 07:58 PM   #12
Animal
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All too often, people don't mainten their vehicles properly, and then get upset when they have to pay a huge repair bill.

Change oil and air filter every 3 months, tranny and differential oil every year, rotate the tires every year, coolant every 2 years and flush the brake and power steering fluid every 2 years as well. Add to that a complete and proper tune up on a yearly basis and your vehicle will last a good, long time. Take the time to completely wash your vehicle including the underside every week, and your vehicle will retain it's value quite well.
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Old 08-25-2004, 08:08 PM   #13
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Ah, yes, Animal. But, you forget. These things require a form of energy and intelligence. Much of which most people claim to have none of.
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Old 08-25-2004, 09:12 PM   #14
Lady Sedai
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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]
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Old 08-25-2004, 09:56 PM   #15
Felix The Assassin
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Quote:
Originally posted by Animal:
Add to that a complete and proper tune up on a yearly basis and your vehicle will last a good, long time.
Sheez Animal, and I thought I still had another 60K to go before the reccomended 100K tune-up. What's up with that?
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Old 08-25-2004, 11:10 PM   #16
Bungleau
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Hmmm... I had a car a while ago (1980 Datsun 310) that taught me about head gaskets. The first one blew when the fan fuse went... the aluminum head warped shortly thereafter. The second one went when a little teeny tiny three inch hose in the middle of the engine (I kid you not!) sprung a leak, drained the coolant, and warped the cylinder head. The third one happened with a new engine when I wasn't smart enough to replace that $#%@#$% three inch hose... leakage and warped cylinder head resulted. By the time the fourth one happened, I committed suicide.

The first one, my old man paid for. It was $500, a long time ago.

The second one, I did. The first one was too recent a memory, and he wasn't going to pay another $500. Took two weeks with the Chilton's manual opened up.

The third one took two days.

The fourth one took two hours.

So yes, it could be done in an hour. But at a cost of only $125? I don't think we're talking about the same thing.

What I learned the hard way was that what I called the head gasket was actually the valve cover gasket... replacement of which could certainly be done in an hour for $125. The valve cover sits on the cylinder head, which sits on the engine block. The layout varies, depending on the engine, but the premise is the same. The head gasket is the one between the cylinder head and the engine block.

IMNSHO, anyone with a blown head gasket is probably not driving around. There's a whole lot going through the block and the head, including oil, coolant, and other stuff, I'm sure. I know about the first two, because when the coolant gets into the oil, the oil turns a nice milky white and you're screwed. Literally. Another side effect is that coolant gets into the cylinders, mucks with the gasoline, and prevents it from burning properly during the engine's cycles.

And the final piece of the equation is that if you're replacing the head gasket, odds are that you're going to have to have the head machined to make sure it's still even. If it's not (like on my Datsun, God bless 'em for making the head out of freaking aluminum foil), when you put that leaky head back on, all the fluids are just going to shoot out again anyway and force you to restart it.

So, to answer the original question, a head gasket is expensive, while a valve cover gasket is not. I wouldn't worry about the valve cover gasket (although I might make replacing it a requirement for sale, which I'd offer to pay for), but I'd steer away from a head gasket.

Your best bet is to take the car to a mechanic you trust and have them check out the vehicle for you. I wish I had done that before I bought my Mercury Tracer some three cars ago... the first time my mechanic saw it, he asked me when it was in the accident. The seller never told me... [img]graemlins/madhell.gif[/img]
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Old 08-25-2004, 11:15 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bungleau:
Your best bet is to take the car to a mechanic you trust and have them check out the vehicle for you. I wish I had done that before I bought my Mercury Tracer some three cars ago... the first time my mechanic saw it, he asked me when it was in the accident. The seller never told me... [img]graemlins/madhell.gif[/img]
Wow, thats really uncool. And illegal, I think. Probably too late for you to be compensated, though. Bad deal, man!
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Old 08-26-2004, 12:27 AM   #18
Animal
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Quote:
Originally posted by Felix The Assassin:
quote:
Originally posted by Animal:
Add to that a complete and proper tune up on a yearly basis and your vehicle will last a good, long time.
Sheez Animal, and I thought I still had another 60K to go before the reccomended 100K tune-up. What's up with that? [/QUOTE]Planned obselesencse (sp?) Of course the manufacturer doesn't want your car to last more than 10 years, otherwise they lose another potential sale.

By all means stick with the 100K tune-up schedule, and buy another car at 200K. Get regulary, yearly tune-ups and an aggressive maintenance plan and it will pay dividend's when it comes to longevity.

Of course, what do I know? [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img]

[ 08-26-2004, 12:28 AM: Message edited by: Animal ]
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Old 08-26-2004, 12:44 AM   #19
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Well, who better to answer that question, than yourself? What do you know?? [img]tongue.gif[/img]
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Old 08-26-2004, 01:17 AM   #20
Felix The Assassin
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I'm not knocking or mocking ya.
What I drive may be different than others. I honestly don't drive the same more than 5 years. I trade when the warranty fades. This one is an 01, and I will order the 06 model next Spring.

This one has an aluminum V-6 in er, and I don't think she'll last 200K. But who knows.

I do drive it like I stole it. So, new brake pads every 20K, rotors and fluid change 40K, oil every 5k, Mobil 1 only. K&N filter cleaned quarterly, etc. I do change coolant yearly, but I do drive hard.

I do agree with a lot of your post, especailly on an auto that is not OBDII speced. There is also a lot that will debate oil, some say 3, 5, 7, or even 10 with synthetic. I know how I drive, so every 5 using synthetic.

I rotate tires every 5K, and rebalance every 10K. Now if I could just get them to last longer.

[ 08-26-2004, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: Felix The Assassin ]
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The Last Shot

Honor The Fallen

Jesus died for our sins, and American Soldiers died for our freedom.




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