Head Gesket Repair

sonofa · Oct 30, 2007

First off, I'm not totally stupid when it comes to engines, but I am a little bit, like mechanics could lie to me and I wouldn't know it. I'm driving a 2000 XJ sport 4.0HO.

I've been having problems with my XJ overheating lately. A couple weeks ago I took it into the mechanic by my work and he determined it was my thermostat. He replaced it and flushed the cooling system and charged me $180. As I was leaving he told me that I should get my water pump replaced too cause it was leaking, and he would do it for $500. I didn't have $500 and that also sounded a bit steep. I never know who to trust and I felt like he was trying to screw me.

Since then, I have been leaking small amounts of coolant whenever I stop the car. I've been watching the levels so that I can refill it, but the levels never seem to go down. This weekend my XJ started overheating again. I took it to another mechanic by my house and told him I needed my water pump replaced. He said he would do it for about $200. This gave me warm fuzzies since the other guy was going to charge $500.

However, this new mechanic called me and told me that there is nothing wrong with my water pump and that I have a crack in my head gasket. The cost to get it replaced and to machine the <whatever that thing is> was $1019.

I know that cracked head gasket is the worse case scenario, but $1000+ sounds really steep. Is this figure about right? Or am I getting screwed? Thanks.

5-90 · Oct 30, 2007

sonofa said:
First off, I'm not totally stupid when it comes to engines, but I am a little bit, like mechanics could lie to me and I wouldn't know it. I'm driving a 2000 XJ sport 4.0HO.

I've been having problems with my XJ overheating lately. A couple weeks ago I took it into the mechanic by my work and he determined it was my thermostat. He replaced it and flushed the cooling system and charged me $180. As I was leaving he told me that I should get my water pump replaced too cause it was leaking, and he would do it for $500. I didn't have $500 and that also sounded a bit steep. I never know who to trust and I felt like he was trying to screw me.

Since then, I have been leaking small amounts of coolant whenever I stop the car. I've been watching the levels so that I can refill it, but the levels never seem to go down. This weekend my XJ started overheating again. I took it to another mechanic by my house and told him I needed my water pump replaced. He said he would do it for about $200. This gave me warm fuzzies since the other guy was going to charge $500.

However, this new mechanic called me and told me that there is nothing wrong with my water pump and that I have a crack in my head gasket. The cost to get it replaced and to machine the <whatever that thing is> was $1019.

I know that cracked head gasket is the worse case scenario, but $1000+ sounds really steep. Is this figure about right? Or am I getting screwed? Thanks.

Before you pay anyone else anything else, take a few minutes to clean your engine bay. Drive it around for a day, then check the following locations...

1) Entire upper hose, including junctions at both ends.
2) Likewise lower hose.
3) The heater plumbing - should run from about where the thermostat is (at the front of the cylinder head) to the firewall. A pinhole in any of these hoses can cause trouble.
4) Check the radiator as well - they have been known to develop "pinhole steamer" leaks (on all models - not XJ-specific.) Any pinhole leak can usually be identified by whitish deposits around the hole, but cleaning the engine bay will help you spot the leak all the better.
5) Slide under, and check the underside of the water pump. There is a small 'weep hole' in the housing that allows coolant to drip out if the shaft seal gets blown. The only fix is replacement - but it's a fairly simple job.
6) Replace the radiator cap. They're cheap, they do wear out, and if they don't hold pressure (due to spring failure or a cracked seal,) they'll also cause overheating. I replace mine about every five years out of habit.

If none of these come up as issues, you may have a head gasket leak, but you may also have a cracked head (search up "0331 head" or "0331 club" for more information.) However, the causes I listed are rather more likely - and cheaper to fix (and most of them can be done yourself fairly easily.)

jk333 · Oct 30, 2007

about the whole head gasket thing: did you mean a cracked head? or a leaking head gasket? most of the time, you can tell if the head gasket is shot, by checking the oil. if it looks like a milkshake, then you know for sure. $1019 sounds resonable for a head gasket. when i had my whole overheating problem, i was quoted $1500 for a head gasket replacement. also, how many miles are on your rig?

sonofa · Oct 30, 2007

5-90 said:
Before you pay anyone else anything else, take a few minutes to clean your engine bay. Drive it around for a day, then check the following locations...

Thanks for the advise, but I can't drive it around for a day. I can drive it around for about 3 or 4 miles before it overheats. The mechanic told me that there was coolant leaking into my oil, but I will look into those other options as well.

5-90 · Oct 30, 2007

sonofa said:
Thanks for the advise, but I can't drive it around for a day. I can drive it around for about 3 or 4 miles before it overheats. The mechanic told me that there was coolant leaking into my oil, but I will look into those other options as well.

Coolant leaking into the oil is easy enough to check also - pull the dipstick and look at it. Also, take off the oil filler plug and shine a light into the hole. If you get something that looks like a mocha milkshake (or, perhaps, chocolate mousse?) from either source, it's likely a head gasket. All other coolant leaks would be external, and not mix with the engine oil.

Don't even need to drive it to do that.

Talyn · Oct 31, 2007

You most likely have a crack in the head. 2000-2003 4.0 heads are prone to it. Plus $1000 sounds a bit high for a head gasket change.

Head Gesket Repair

sonofa

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5-90

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jk333

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sonofa

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5-90

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Talyn

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