how much?

**bydo** · 2-2-04, 6:50

how much should it cost to replace a head gasket? the guy is giving me a qoute tomorrow and i wanna see if it is a good deal.
the post about my slipping clutch a while back i'm going to give you an update... after a while it just wasnt slipping but popping out of fifth gear! so aamco has to replace it under warranty. aamco is the one who said i had a blown head gasket i had a huge cloud of white smoke behind me when ever i drove)... how bad would it be if i drove it around and what causes the head gasket to blow?

**mx6GT91** · 2-2-04, 7:54

It also depends on the weather. If its pretty cold out some white smoke is ok. If its pretty hot out and you can see the white smoke you might have a problem

I dont really know whats a good price though

**bydo** · 2-2-04, 8:01

o this isnt smoke because its cold because this is cloud of smoke that englufs the car behind me.

besides i look at the other cars and there smoke trail isnt even a quarter as big

el norm · 2-2-04, 11:14

weird i remember when i played spy hunter the smoke behind you was a good thing, come to think of it so was oil... hmm everything is so confusing...

2-2-04, 12:37

usually if a headgasket is blown, it is highly recommended to get the head professionally inspected, to make sure it isnt warped, or any micro fractures or cracks. if its as bad as you describe, you could expect some damage to have been done to the head by now

**drsjr1980** · 2-2-04, 14:00

White smoke is usually water or coolant being burned, almost always because of a bad head gasket. I had blue smoke, which is usually burning oil for a number of reasons. I switched to a thicker oil (from 10W30 to 20W50) and the smoke went away. Make sure the smoke is white and go from there. Like QuiCKSHiFT said though, if it's been doing this for a while, there may be head damage, ie; warpage or stress cracks.

**bydo** · 2-3-04, 9:01

yeah i'm burning coolant. later on today i'm going to call them and get a price estimate and i guess i'll go from there.

**johniebgoode** · 2-3-04, 10:24

Check your oil and coolant for cross contamination. The coolant will look sludgy slime or the oil will appear like a malted chocolate milk shake. Make sure that the head is pulled and properly inspected for warpage or cracks, otherwise any work done will be in vain.
The R&R of a head gasket is labor intensive. So, therefore it depends on the shop that you choose to do your work. I'd suggest a trustworthy local independent mechanic. The price could be $300- 600, depending on severity.

**bydo** · 2-3-04, 16:42

well aamco has it right now because their replacing some parts on my transmission because they installed something incorrectly and i was supposed to get a qoute today for the head gasket job but the keep beating around the bush.... they have been telling me for a week now o i'll tell you the price when tomorrow but tomorrow never comes i guess... this is what makes me not trust mechanics they can never just be straight up it makes me wonder if they even checked the head gaskets out...

so i should tell them to pull the head and properly inspect it for warpage or cracks.

Quote:

Check your oil and coolant for cross contamination. The coolant will look sludgy slime or the oil will appear like a malted chocolate milk shake.

before i had a giant cloud of smoke coming out of the back i noticed i was losing coolant so i checked the resevoir for leaks and other stuff and i kept an eye on it and never saw any cross contamination
thanks for the info and the round about price range i'll keep you guys udpated they said that my transmission will be done tomorrow because the part just came in today so i should be getting a qoute from them tomorrow for the head gasket job

**bydo** · 2-4-04, 18:21

well i called aamco and they said they would call me back later (this was 6 hours ago)

but i did get a couple qoutes

from mazda- $900
napa service center- $600-700
another place- $600-700
another place-$1000-1100

**bydo** · 2-5-04, 12:38

alright aamco gave me a qoute at "around 600"

but this guy at a mechanic shop that i went to said that he could cut the price down if i let him take it home and do it. now i'm asking if i should let him do it (does he need any special tools that he could only get at a shop?) or should i just let a shop do it?