Welp I blew a head gasket on Thursday. The shop I normally go to quoted me $2800 and I about crapped myself. Called around and got a good quote of $1500 if it's only the gaskets, that's replacing all top end gaskets too, and $2000 if it needs new heads. He even said if I went with new heads I could get performance heads (don't know which ones currently) for not much more. He also said he'd inspect all the internals and make sure everything looked good. My question here is, the mechanic also said there's a risk of something on the bottom end getting messed up a few months down the road like timing chain for instance, after doing a repair like this. How likely do you guys think this is? The car is in good shape and I take care of it. It didn't overheat, I figured it was the head gasket as soon as I got home because it had a bit, and I mean and tiny bit of white smoke and I could smell antifreeze. I guess I'm wondering if there's anything else at this point I should look out for.

On a side note, the real sad part is I haven't even romped on it in a while. The gasket just kind of went....

 

How many miles are on the engine?
I wouldn't waste money on aftermarket heads unless you do a full build with a cam and headers etc. Heads alone won't do much and doing a full package gets pretty expensive so you'd be in it way more than the car is worth.
If that doesn't bother you and you want a fast car then now's the time to do a build but to do it right you'll sped at least double what you are looking at now and probably more.
If you can get away with just gaskets and a re-seal to save it that's what I'd do although a few other things should be done like a new timing chain,waterpump and probably some new lifters to prolong engine life as long as the engine is out and apart.

 

It's got 172k on it but I'm the second owner, first was an old couple so it's been taken care of. I don't really have the money to put more into it, this repair is putting me in a pinch as it is. The mechanic did say sometimes not too long after a repair like this the timing chain could go or something but I feel like that would add a lot more $$ to the repair than I have. It has LT headers and some other bolt on's so aside from the heads I guess and cam is the next thing I'd need. Those were in my plans eventually but I can't afford them right now.

Also, I find it strange the head gasket(s) went when they did. It was a 70 degree day and the temp was completely normal on the car. I'm in MO and we haven't had any hot days yet and I always keep an eye on my gauges and it's never gotten above normal. In the summer if I'm in a lot of traffic it will get a bit warmer but nothing in the "worry about" range.

 

Something sounds fishy with that mechanic. Not saying it doesn't happen, but if the chain is in good condition it's not going to go just because you changed the head gaskets. And in all honesty, the chain doesn't even need touched to do the head gaskets on this engine, though with that mileage it wouldn't hurt to check it and replace as needed.

That being said, this is one of those jobs you don't want to cut corners or you'll be doing it twice. New gaskets from the head up and new head bolts or studs. Have the heads checked, I believe you shouldn't be able to fit any more than a .002 feeler gauge between the head and straight edge. Honestly, if you have the space, you could do this job yourself. The only special tools needed are a torque wrench. Other than that, it's all basic hand tools.

Verify it's the head gaskets first. Check oil for milkshake look or buy a tester kit, usually run about $30

 

I had a different shop confirm my suspicions on the head gaskets. The guy I'm going to however said he'd check everything, all the internals etc. I had a friend I know well vouch for him. He seemed very nice and knowledgeable. I think he was just saying with the age on the car there's a chance other things could be on their way, let's hope not. He's also going to have the heads checked at a different shop to make sure they're still good. He also said he'd being doing new gaskets from the head up as well as new bolts since they "stretch" when you torque them. I might as him how much for a new chain while he's at it but that's not exactly right there as you're taking off the heads so it would probably add a bit more. Again I'm just kind of stunned the gasket went under normal driving on a not hot day and the car hasn't even gotten hot. I mean I know it's not impossible but it just seems weird that heat doesn't seem to be involved at least from what I can tell.

 

Well it has a lot of miles on it and aluminum heads on an iron block so it may have just been the mileage and many years of heat cycles finally took it's toll.

 

did coolant get in the oil? what color is the oil?

 

To ne the first shop did not want to do the job. The $1500 could be a decent price from some one who has done these before.

A refreshed top end on a high miles motor can wake a tired motor wake up. New/rebuilt heads can restore 10% HP due to valve sealing. Sometime guys get a heavy foot and the motor is a little more snappy and that is enough to push something that is close to breaking over the edge. Its more true with adding HP. I would give you the same warning.

The only thing I don't understand is the claim he will check all the internals. He is removing and tearing the whole motor down? There is no secret way to verify piston clearance or bearing clearance. Even pulling the timing chain cover to verify the chain slop is above and beyond on a $1500 job.

IMO do the $1500 head gasket job and drive it like it still have 179k on it. Or buy a reman long block and start fresh.

 

A little but it hasn't seen much running time since it happened. It's not billowing smoke yet either but it is producing some white smoke, smells like coolant.

It's not that they didn't want the job it's that I didn't want to pay nearly $3k lol. I got a recommendation from a guy I know who takes all his stuff to this other shop I'm going to who vouched for him and the guy sounded very knowledgeable when I talked to him. We discussed different things about the motor. I don't think he meant he's going to tear down the whole thing and inspect every last thing internally, he just meant he'll check everything he can see, ergo cylinder walls, valves, etc. He said if the heads were gone it would probably be a better deal to just get new ones rather than having the old ones machined, said he could do it for the same price or probably even cheaper but he'll let me know when he actually looks at it Monday.

 

The reason I said the first guy did not want the job was because he way over bid it. Mechanics have books that tell them how long a job should take I believe the head gasket R&R is 12 hours. Assume about $350 in parts and to have the machine shop check the heads. The rest is labor. A lot of shop want to call themselves full service so they have to quote every job. Quoting $200 per hour is a good way to be sure they customer moves along. On the other hand just under $100 per hour is a reasonable rate.

The hours given assume a trained mechanic and a lift, torch's and all other needed tools. As a mechanic does the same job over and over he get faster. When you see a $200/hr I assume he is worried about making time or his shop schedule is not setup to tie up a lift for a day and a half. When you see some one quoting a job at normal rate, most likely the guy has done several LT1 and he thinks he can beat rate on the job.