How much $$$ for a head gasket?

I dont have the time to do the job myself, not sure Id want to anyway... but the story goes, Im told I need a head gasket. driving home from work a few weeks ago steam was pouring out the hood, I looked down and the temp was pegged.. So I pull over right away and get a tow home.

I finally get the money together to have it fixed, I thought it was the radiator. Had it towed to the shop and the mechanic calls me later, says its the head gasket. $500 just for labor, $150 for the gasket set and thats if the head is now warped.

So, Ive done all my own work for decades, within reason. Ive never had to mess with a head before so I dont know what a head gasket job should cost.

I do know I looked up the FelPro head gasket SET on Autozone, and its not $150, its $60.

So I wonder if this guy just threw $500 at me because he doesnt want to mess with it.


Should have mentioned, 1995 Cherokee sport AT/AC

Feedback please-
Thanks,
Andrew

4.0 inline 6?, v-6? dont forget that the gasket price he quoted you is the "shop price", not autozone price. yea i've done a head gasket on a toyota a few years ago, but to no avail. the head was warped. if you didnt warp yours it shouldnt be that bad to do. just make sure you have a good torque wrench to tighten the bolts down to spec. i would have to say keeping the gaskets from moving around is the hardest part, that or getting the correct torque on the bolts. (if ya dont have the torque wrench).
if you decide to do it yopurself, do it on a day that you dont have anything else to do, (saturday or sunday, or what ever your "week-end" is).

good luck!!

Is the coolant milky?

It could have just been the radaitor, and he's just tossing the head gasket issue out there to you so you can give him some business.

Always a possibility.

Do it yourself, its not that difficult at all, especially if you pull the head with the intake and exhaust manifolds still on the head. You can pull the head off with the manifolds attached yourself, but when re-installing it on the new gasket, its best to have either a hoist, or a helper... you dont want to score the new gasket.
I just did this on my 90. It took me a whole weekend, but i had to get my head machined, and wait over night for another head gasket ( i screwed my first one up trying to install the head). That was definetely the hardest part in my opinion, getting the head back on without screwing up the head gasket. With a hoist it would be simple, but with just two sets of hands, it was hard untill we got some help on this forum.
Dont pay to get it done, do it yourself and will cost all but about a hundred bucks!

Blaine has a point, get a second shop to look at it. just dont tell then about the first shop.

cracked-butt said:

Blaine has a point, get a second shop to look at it. just dont tell then about the first shop.

Click to expand...

Thats what Ill do.


The real answer I was looking for is what should it cost...

Thanks for all the tips on doing it myself, but as I stated in the original post that is not my intention, just wanted to know if the $500 labor was excessive.

Ill just call around and see what the other shops say, since no one appears to have a clue.

Thanks and have a great weekend-
Andrew

Shop cost will be $60-90 per hour, so at $75 they are estimating 6.67 hours, which sounds about right.

ehall said:

Shop cost will be $60-90 per hour, so at $75 they are estimating 6.67 hours, which sounds about right.

Click to expand...

Thanks, that was a big help!

Andrew

if you've always done your own work, do some now. Before you take it to another shop pull the plugs and examine them. If your not sure what you're looking for, get a repair manual and somewhere in it there will be color pics of what spark plugs look like when they have had coolant on them. If they all look good, go to your local parts store and rent a compression gauge and test your compression.
If you believe your radiator is the problem, find a local radiator shop to pressure test the radiator.

Does your rig blow white smoke or water out of the tailpipe? Have you blown any hoses recently?

A busted head gasket is easy to spot, if you know what you are looking for. Do some work yourself and maybe you can save some money.

It is possible it was smoking just from the radiator blowing its load! (don't even comment)

Without coolant, your temp will rise.

Although it's POSSIBLE that overheating your jeep severly could have damaged something, it's unlikely on these older cast iron heads.....now the newer aluminum ones, it's possible.

When my radiator was bad (wasn't leaking coolant but did have a pressure leak) my temp was always hot.....hell I was driving 60-70 mph on the highway back last May for about an hour with the temp nearly pegged in the red and I didn't have any problems after that! Although they say no real problems can happen until your water jackets are empty....so perhaps the coolant saved me.

Regardless to say getting a GOOD all-metal 3 core radiator (CSF) cured my running hot problem. The AutoZone radiators are junk!!

So without investigating further, I'd say replace the radiator and see how it does....

Take the other suggestions too about checking the spark plugs' color, as well as checking the oil for coolant....doing a compression check on the motor, and perhaps on the radiator as well.

Also check your water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing, and all radiator and heater hoses for leaks as well.

Good luck.

The thing that is screwing me the most is the winter weather (cold, wet) here as of late. Not too bad the last few days, but starting to get cold again. If it were summer time, I think I would be inclined to stand and stare at the engine for a few hours a day until I figured out what I was doing. Not being able to feel the tools in your hands... sux a$$. Ive got no garage.

Thanks for the follow ups... I am still trying to debate what to do with it. I dont really want to heep it cause its a good vehicle, everything on it is working good.

Andrew

RogerTango said:

The thing that is screwing me the most is the winter weather (cold, wet) here as of late. Not too bad the last few days, but starting to get cold again. If it were summer time, I think I would be inclined to stand and stare at the engine for a few hours a day until I figured out what I was doing. Not being able to feel the tools in your hands... sux a$$. Ive got no garage.

Thanks for the follow ups... I am still trying to debate what to do with it. I dont really want to heep it cause its a good vehicle, everything on it is working good.

Andrew

Click to expand...

I have no garage either ... it would have sucked to do it outside especially in this weather. I just asked my buddie if i could use his, and i was set. He also offered the extra set of hands when needed.

I just had to replace the cylinder head and head gasket on my Mazda. Also replaced the water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses, and belts. What a PITA that was! I would have gladly paid someone $500 to do it.

Compared to the Mazda, replacing a head gasket on the Jeep would be a piece of cake.