rodneycahill

Thanks mate. I am just not sure I want to gamble $1200 to find out it was more than the gasket! Perhaps I should do the job myself, and reduce the size of the wager. My local mechanic quoted me $3600 for a brand new short block. If I plan to keep the car for a long while, I'd like to go that way, but then, the transmission has 140k on it. I guess I will keep driving it around town untill I get a word from God what to do!

Well, its been two months since the subie overheated, and it is still running! As long as I don't try to drive it over the mountain to the city, she stays on normal temp and doesn't loose coolant. So I am beginning to think maybe it is just a head gasket failure. If it were a crack in the head or block, I suppose that it would not be running so well. Does anyone agree or disagree? I am weighing up the decision to a) replace the gaskets, and replace the motor with a rebuild. Is it true you can replace the head gaskets yourself, without removing the engine?

If I get the head gaskets replaced, should I will ask the mechanic to pressure test the block for cracks? How much extra should I pay for this? Should I get a second opinion?

How do you diagnose the difference between a failed head gasket and a cracked block, without removing the heads? The car will drive around town fine. The temperature gage will stay at normal under normal driving. When I open it up to climb the nearby mountain range, it then gets hot. One mechanic interpreted this as a cracked cylinder "If it were a head gasket it would loose coolant under normal conditions....under load your cylinders get hot and the crack opens up.." Is this a valid conclusion? Are there any other methods to investigate?

Nice work, I aint got the gonads for that job. My 87 22r Toyota long block was tough enough. I might just have to suck it up and take the $3500. I could be missing out on $500-1000 by not doing the head gasket and a needed brake job (say $1500), and then selling it for $5500-6000, but I would be kicking myself if I had to go through with an entire replacement motor and possibly end up worse off. Plus Id have to go into CC debt to do the job, and thats a little sketchy. Still I've got a little nagging want to do the head job and see that the block is good. Ahhh, spending to much time on this decision!! Time to flick on channel 401 and watch some Aussie Rules and down a couple of coldies. Thanks for all your comments folks, maybe I'll see you on a Yoda or Honda website one day. One last thing, I was punching the gas pretty hard over a little hilly windy contry shortcut when it first blew. Pretending to be a rally champ and showing off to some mates in the car, silly bugger!

Im leaning that way. I figure I can: a. Invest $1500 in a head gasket and sell it for $5500 - Profit = $4000 b. Invest $3000 in a new motor and sell it for $6500 - Profit = $3500 c. Sell it now and save myself the drama - Profit = $3500 It is just hard to stomach giving what was a $6000 car away for $3500.

Yeah the system lost coolant when it got hot. Not sure where from though. I should also mention that I took it into the dealer and they detected 440ppm of hydrocarbons in the coolant, ie. blown head gasket (and/or possibly cracked block). So, Im just trying to figure out the odds of any lower end damage. Would you think that say, 30% of head gasket failures are also cracked blocks? Thanks

The thermostat stuck and the car got hot for 5 minutes. I refilled coolant, it stabilized then got hot again on a hill climb. It now drives around town fine, but will get hot if I thrash it. Mechanic 1 said head gasket - $1200 Mechanic 2 said "Ive done three 97 DOHC and the block is always cracked when I go to repalce the head gasket, you should get a replacement engine. Overheating symptoms also suggest cylinder damage" - $3000 Do I beleive 1 and throw $1200 into a $6500 car? Do I beleive 2 and offload the car as is for $3500?:-\ Thanks