Model: 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport
Engine: 4.0L
Transmission: Automatic
(First time poster)
Short story: Car suddenly began overheating, stalled at stoplight, and had towed to auto shop. They called and said bad news, it was the head gasket. there was no coolant in it, and was a lost cause, and should just total it and get a new vehicle because it would probably be a 5k-8k engine replacement. I need advice. I'm hoping they're wrong, take it somewhere else, get a better analysis. Tried googling information on XJ blown head gaskets, and feel like maybe if its just the gasket, and not the engine block, its possibly salvagable? I don't know enough to know what questions to ask when I "pick up" my vehicle to get it reevaluated. So I need ya'alls professional help.
Details:
(Past problems that will probably help with diagnosing current situation):
December it overheated fairly bad. I was in slow interstate traffic when engine began feeling "wobbly" and losing power and I noticed the temperature was going critical. I tried driving it to the offramp, and ended up stalling out at the stoplight. I was able to wait a few hours, and drive it home, which was nearby as the temps shot up, maybe 5 mins. Shop repaired it (I believe it was a waterpump / Hose issue?) but it idled rougher after that. Starting getting Check Engine light month or two after that, using the ignition light blinking code read out it was a code 51 [Oxygen Sensor Signal Lean]. Told there was probably a small leak, wouldn't hurt the engine, but might reduce power/efficiency a little.
About a month ago I helped a friend tow their sedan about 6 miles uphill to a repair station. I regrettably didn't check the temp gauge, but noticed after the fact when parked, coolant had leaked out or possibly boiled over, so it was possibly struggling with heat pulling a vehicle up a heavy hill incline. it wasn't enough that the coolant reservoir had an appreciable difference in its levels.
(Current Problem)
Car Overheated again. I've been barely driving it, probaby about 500 miles in 6 months. Today I drove about 20 minutes on interstate, 95 degree temps, AC on low. Did quick shopping, started driving home, and within 5 minutes it stalled out when idled at a stop light. Engine didn't seem to lose power/stability previous to this (AC wasn't kicking out cold air either, but it was the start of the drive thought nothing of it), but when I looked at the dash the needle had bottomed out past 260. We pushed it to a nearby parking lot, popped the hood, and the coolant was boiling over the reservoir and the radiator cap seemed to be hissing.
Waited an hour or so, turned the heater on, started the car for a brief moment. The driver side fan on the radiator turned on, but without gas it stalled again, was still reading 260 degrees. Left it till night, went back, checked coolant levels (reservoir was a little low, understandably, and I added a little), and drove it a few miles. Tried the run-the-heater trick but the air from the vents never went above blowing ambient. But the engine temperature crept from 180 to 260 within a few minutes again so I parked it before it went past 260. popped hood and checked the engine, and noticed that the coolant hadn't overexpanded this time, and the air near the radiator didn't seem as hot as it should be. So my guess was after the overheating from earlier, the cooling system was somehow shot and not working now. So I had it towed to the shop
Guy at shop says (sorry for misquoting, not a car guy, was groggy, and stressed) says its a problem with the head gasket, there was no coolant in it (he's charging me for coolant he tried adding), and that it wouldn't be worth repairing. Said engine swap would probably cost 5k-8k.
I know the system wasn't empty of coolant. it was boiling over and spilling onto the parking lot when it overheated, and when I drove it later that night it still had coolant, so I don't know what he means by that? He's charging me an hour of diagnosis time, so I don't think he's done a deep evaluation to actually check the gasket. made no mention of mixed oils in coolant, coolant in oils, or whatever you call pressure leaking from engine into cooling system, but he may just not share that info with customers thinking they wouldn't undestand.
My Question: Does a blown gasket sound correct? If not, what else? If so, what are the different levels of repair severity involved? If I call back, or when I pick up vehicle, what specific questions should I ask to help diagnose the issue further? What should I ask another potential autoshop if I call around? Frankly, what should I do?
I don't have a lot of car mechanical experience, but I am handy. I don't think I could do a major repair on my own, and would be afraid to without assistance, but I can do/diagnose small things. I am currently already facing a major monetary/job crisis, so money is extra tough atm, and I'm feeling a bit at wits end, and just really need some advice and help on this. Thanks ya'all.
Engine: 4.0L
Transmission: Automatic
(First time poster)
Short story: Car suddenly began overheating, stalled at stoplight, and had towed to auto shop. They called and said bad news, it was the head gasket. there was no coolant in it, and was a lost cause, and should just total it and get a new vehicle because it would probably be a 5k-8k engine replacement. I need advice. I'm hoping they're wrong, take it somewhere else, get a better analysis. Tried googling information on XJ blown head gaskets, and feel like maybe if its just the gasket, and not the engine block, its possibly salvagable? I don't know enough to know what questions to ask when I "pick up" my vehicle to get it reevaluated. So I need ya'alls professional help.
Details:
(Past problems that will probably help with diagnosing current situation):
December it overheated fairly bad. I was in slow interstate traffic when engine began feeling "wobbly" and losing power and I noticed the temperature was going critical. I tried driving it to the offramp, and ended up stalling out at the stoplight. I was able to wait a few hours, and drive it home, which was nearby as the temps shot up, maybe 5 mins. Shop repaired it (I believe it was a waterpump / Hose issue?) but it idled rougher after that. Starting getting Check Engine light month or two after that, using the ignition light blinking code read out it was a code 51 [Oxygen Sensor Signal Lean]. Told there was probably a small leak, wouldn't hurt the engine, but might reduce power/efficiency a little.
About a month ago I helped a friend tow their sedan about 6 miles uphill to a repair station. I regrettably didn't check the temp gauge, but noticed after the fact when parked, coolant had leaked out or possibly boiled over, so it was possibly struggling with heat pulling a vehicle up a heavy hill incline. it wasn't enough that the coolant reservoir had an appreciable difference in its levels.
(Current Problem)
Car Overheated again. I've been barely driving it, probaby about 500 miles in 6 months. Today I drove about 20 minutes on interstate, 95 degree temps, AC on low. Did quick shopping, started driving home, and within 5 minutes it stalled out when idled at a stop light. Engine didn't seem to lose power/stability previous to this (AC wasn't kicking out cold air either, but it was the start of the drive thought nothing of it), but when I looked at the dash the needle had bottomed out past 260. We pushed it to a nearby parking lot, popped the hood, and the coolant was boiling over the reservoir and the radiator cap seemed to be hissing.
Waited an hour or so, turned the heater on, started the car for a brief moment. The driver side fan on the radiator turned on, but without gas it stalled again, was still reading 260 degrees. Left it till night, went back, checked coolant levels (reservoir was a little low, understandably, and I added a little), and drove it a few miles. Tried the run-the-heater trick but the air from the vents never went above blowing ambient. But the engine temperature crept from 180 to 260 within a few minutes again so I parked it before it went past 260. popped hood and checked the engine, and noticed that the coolant hadn't overexpanded this time, and the air near the radiator didn't seem as hot as it should be. So my guess was after the overheating from earlier, the cooling system was somehow shot and not working now. So I had it towed to the shop
Guy at shop says (sorry for misquoting, not a car guy, was groggy, and stressed) says its a problem with the head gasket, there was no coolant in it (he's charging me for coolant he tried adding), and that it wouldn't be worth repairing. Said engine swap would probably cost 5k-8k.
I know the system wasn't empty of coolant. it was boiling over and spilling onto the parking lot when it overheated, and when I drove it later that night it still had coolant, so I don't know what he means by that? He's charging me an hour of diagnosis time, so I don't think he's done a deep evaluation to actually check the gasket. made no mention of mixed oils in coolant, coolant in oils, or whatever you call pressure leaking from engine into cooling system, but he may just not share that info with customers thinking they wouldn't undestand.
My Question: Does a blown gasket sound correct? If not, what else? If so, what are the different levels of repair severity involved? If I call back, or when I pick up vehicle, what specific questions should I ask to help diagnose the issue further? What should I ask another potential autoshop if I call around? Frankly, what should I do?
I don't have a lot of car mechanical experience, but I am handy. I don't think I could do a major repair on my own, and would be afraid to without assistance, but I can do/diagnose small things. I am currently already facing a major monetary/job crisis, so money is extra tough atm, and I'm feeling a bit at wits end, and just really need some advice and help on this. Thanks ya'all.