Head Gasket

[7window]

If you the blow the head gasket on a car is it safe to say that after rebuild the car won't retain its original condition. In other words there will be more problems down the road related to head gasket. 200000 miles on the car.

 

[Pinepig]

Depends on how bad you smoked it, gasket blew and pulled over, towed home/shop. Meh big deal. Blew the gasket drove it till it died and the oil sump was half full of water, yeah your going to have problems down the road.

 

[Eli]

No, that is not a safe assumption. There's no reason why you should have any head gasket related problems down the road, as long as the shop does a good job - checks for warpage before reinstalling the head.

 

[7window]

No, that is not a safe assumption. There's no reason why you should have any head gasket related problems down the road, as long as the shop does a good job - checks for warpage before reinstalling the head.

How come the work warranty only range from 1 months to 3 months the most and have a lot of disclaimer?

 

[Vette73]

How come the work warranty only range from 1 months to 3 months the most and have a lot of disclaimer?

Because after I install it and you leave I have no idea if you are going to take care of the car or beat the snot out of it.

If something is going to go wrong due to my work it usually will happen real quick.

 

[7window]

Because after I install it and you leave I have no idea if you are going to take care of the car or beat the snot out of it.

If something is going to go wrong due to my work it usually will happen real quick.

Fair enough. Would you say then if I drive the car in 2days and never develop a problem that it is back in the original state?

I spoke to a couple of certified mechanics and they told me that head gasket is a complex job that is hard to guarantee.
Even if you don't beat the car it has a potential of having problems.

 

[Vette73]

Fair enough. Would you say then if I drive the car in 2days and never develop a problem that it is back in the original state?

Hard to say. When I did engine work like full builds or head work I always told my customer to drive it normal but also to put some miles on it. That way if anything went bad or caused a issue I could try and fix it before it got worse.

I never had one come back but I always wanted to make sure the work was done well. Every car that had major work like that done to it puts a big bullseye on my rep and I had my own shop at the end of my auto days so that meant a lot. Word of mouth was 99% of my customers after the first couple months.

 

[7window]

Hard to say. When I did engine work like full builds or head work I always told my customer to drive it normal but also to put some miles on it. That way if anything went bad or caused a issue I could try and fix it before it got worse.

I never had one come back but I always wanted to make sure the work was done well. Every car that had major work like that done to it puts a big bullseye on my rep and I had my own shop at the end of my auto days so that meant a lot. Word of mouth was 99% of my customers after the first couple months.

I spoke to a couple of certified mechanics and they told me that head gasket is a complex job that is hard to guarantee.
Even if you don't beat the car it has a potential of having problems.
Even told me to sign a bunch of waiver. As a customer I don't feel like paying $800-2000 and two months later I develop the same problem. It doesn't sound like peace of mind to me. One advice me to get a new motor the other one told me to get rid of the car.

 

[boomerang]

Get rid of the car. You're not going to be happy unless you do.

 

[bruceb]

With head gasket problems, a lot can go wrong besides just the gasket.
Biggest issues could be:

Cracked / warped cylinder head

Possible cracked engine block (very rare)

Crankshaft bearings can be damaged depending on
how much coolant got in and how long motor was
run after it did get in.

In a car like yours, with that kind of mileage, compression
may be down due to wear, so a full engine rebuild would be
best, but most costly. Benefit: You get a motor that would go
another 200K miles.

And with any head gasket job, be sure cooling system is flushed
and filled with fresh antifreeze, new water pump, t-stat, rad cap.

 

[WackyDan]

With head gasket problems, a lot can go wrong besides just the gasket.
Biggest issues could be:

Cracked / warped cylinder head

Possible cracked engine block (very rare)

Crankshaft bearings can be damaged depending on
how much coolant got in and how long motor was
run after it did get in.

In a car like yours, with that kind of mileage, compression
may be down due to wear, so a full engine rebuild would be
best, but most costly. Benefit: You get a motor that would go
another 200K miles.

And with any head gasket job, be sure cooling system is flushed
and filled with fresh antifreeze, new water pump, t-stat, rad cap.

* and oil change.

I didn't catch a head gasket failure in time, and ended up filling my oil pan with coolant. Needless to say, my whole bottom end was trashed.

Draining your oil and looking at it would be an indicator as too how much damage may be done already... It isn't a great indicator, but one thing to consider looking at.

 

[5150MyU]

At 200k what are you expecting out of the car.
Slap a head gasket on it and wait for the water pump,heater core,or radiator to start leaking.
As for a complex job -what is the vehicle?

 

[bruceb]

I did not mention the oil change as that would be considered routine by any mechanic doing that type of repair.

 

[7window]

So I had a mechanic "expert" fix my car. Btw it is a 92 240sx. The guy has a race car 240sx that he build from the ground up so I took my car to him. After 2 days working on it he calls me and tells me that after putting it back together the water was shooting out of the radiator like a broken fire hydrant. He mentioned that he took the head to a machine shop and it was in good shape. So apparently this mechanic is quack. He doesn't know what he was doing. What could be the problem? The car is not even cranking right. It turns very slow. I have no idea what he did. Before I had him work on it at least the car started and it was running.

Before I took the car to him the symptoms:
1. car ran rough
2. overheating after 10 min of city driving but it will stop and go back to normal when its on the highway.
3. milky stiff on dipstik
4. smoked for 10 minutes.
5. plugs cracked.

 

[Vette73]

Was the water pump and Thermostat replaced when he did the work? If not do that first.

 

[7window]

Was the water pump and Thermostat replaced when he did the work? If not do that first.

water pump and thermostat replaced. brand new

 

[SuperSix]

If you had coolant in the oil and ran it for a few days, the bearings may already be damaged. Antifreeze destroys bearings. That's assuming you had the correct mix of antifreeze and water.

WIth 200k, I would probably get a new ride, especially with the symptoms you describe above. The broad temp fluctuations aren't good, you probably have an iron block and aluminum cylinder head, and the constant variations in temp causes issues, due to the dissimilar materials expanding at different rates. Cracked plugs indicates extremely high cylinder temps. I will bet the head is warped at this point.

 

[5150MyU]

Gotta love those headgaskets that pay 11+ hours-Not so much "complex" but more like PITA.

 

[7window]

If you had coolant in the oil and ran it for a few days, the bearings may already be damaged. Antifreeze destroys bearings. That's assuming you had the correct mix of antifreeze and water.

WIth 200k, I would probably get a new ride, especially with the symptoms you describe above. The broad temp fluctuations aren't good, you probably have an iron block and aluminum cylinder head, and the constant variations in temp causes issues, due to the dissimilar materials expanding at different rates. Cracked plugs indicates extremely high cylinder temps. I will bet the head is warped at this point.

the head was sent to an independent shop and was declared good.

 

[SuperSix]

the head was sent to an independent shop and was declared good.

Unless you saw a receipt, he may have said that to cover his ass.

Turning over slowly could be that the timing is WAY off (may have put the timing belt on with camshaft clocked wrong, but it would probably backfire.

Or he could have run down the battery working on it.

He probably poked a hole int he radiator when he was replacing the head gasket.

 

[T2urtle]

you have a 240sx, where those stock motors are always being trashed. Mainly because people doing motor swaps. I would of just gotten a lower mileage whole motor and paid to swap it in. Most KA24DE motors i've seen run about $500-750. This swap is pretty direct with a lot of room so $1000 for the swap. Maybe have the guys put in some new parts while its out of the engine and get it all said and done for $2000.

like everyone is saying replacing a head gasket is a little more then just replacing the gasket. Like checking the head to see if its still straight and the pistons. New head bolts are very pricey. Along with figureing out why it overheated and blew.

Maybe the radiator was the reason why your gasket blew.

 

[7window]

you have a 240sx, where those stock motors are always being trashed. Mainly because people doing motor swaps. I would of just gotten a lower mileage whole motor and paid to swap it in. Most KA24DE motors i've seen run about $500-750. This swap is pretty direct with a lot of room so $1000 for the swap. Maybe have the guys put in some new parts while its out of the engine and get it all said and done for $2000.

like everyone is saying replacing a head gasket is a little more then just replacing the gasket. Like checking the head to see if its still straight and the pistons. New head bolts are very pricey. Along with figureing out why it overheated and blew.

Maybe the radiator was the reason why your gasket blew.

No its not the rad. Where do you find the motors? How do you know what the mileage? Pretty much the same situation.. very risky. What if the motor I got is also trash. The warranty on used motor is only 6 months.

anyone know the price for a rebuild?
I've look into this option.

 

[HarryLui]

Before I took the car to him the symptoms:
1. car ran rough
2. overheating after 10 min of city driving but it will stop and go back to normal when its on the highway.
3. milky stiff on dipstik
4. smoked for 10 minutes.
5. plugs cracked.

How many miles did you drive the car in this state?

There are usually other cause that made the head gasket go. How do you know it's not the radiator?

Have you look at the radiator since the mechanic says it's leaking?

 

[7window]

How many miles did you drive the car in this state?

There are usually other cause that made the head gasket go. How do you know it's not the radiator?

Have you look at the radiator since the mechanic says it's leaking?

If I understand you correctly as you quoted me. I would say I drove it for 2 days with a lot of stops because it was heating up. That was just to and from work which is 14 miles.

The rad is fine and its not leaking. The rad was just replaced.

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

If you're looking for a replacement motor, www.car-part.com would be a good resource. I used it to find two doors and a headlight for my car, ended up getting two rust-free doors (in Michigan!) and a headlight for $295.

They typically list the mileage on the engine when it was pulled, and this site indexes junkyards across the U.S. which themselves use the software to organize their inventory. It's a pretty slick setup.