HeadGasket?

[muddpuppy]

I am looking for a daily driver something small good on gas. I am an avid do it my self kinda guy. Research by the tools geterdone.

Anyways alot of the cars I see for good prices all seem to have bad head gaskets. What is so hard about doing headgaskets? that scares people into giving the cars away? What all do I need to look out for and are they really that hard to change?

[Tyler23]

they cost alot to have repaired because there is alot to be taken off to get at the head gasket very labor intensive.. if you can do it yourself you can save alot of money

[Scott K]

They can be very labor intensive, and one other thing is sometimes the lower engine can be damaged as well, or heads can be cracked, or warped. You dont know the entire history of the engine, and dont know if it is worth the time and money to pull the heads and have them checked.

[Jeremy airjer W]

And the model of vehicle and particular engines can be cans of worms before you even start.

[muddpuppy]

hmmmmm not very encouraging. Are there tell tale signs of just a bad head or worse? outside of knocks and pings. Would it be easier to swap engines if the price is right?

[Scott K]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no, you dont know if the used engine has issues as well. Most of the time it will depend on the model, and the engine, some were common for just bad gaskets, some cracked heads, some would do major damage with just the smallest amount of coolant in the oil.

[Tom7227]

My kid's 99 Grand Am was overheating. Bad head gasket. By the time the guy pulled it apart it looked like someone had poured 5 gallons of peanut better in the motor. She dropped about $600 on a used motor and bought a rosary since that's all the dough she had.