Head Gasket Replacement

Hey all,
Just got my taco back from the dealership. I brought it in about my heat blowing extremely hot and then going super cold. They did a few tests and they documented it in the receipt. They concluded it was a leaking head gasket. The truck has never over heated, so I’m assuming they’re not warped and I’m looking into replacing it. The dealership estimated $5500 for a head gasket, with $4500 of that being labor. Is this absurd? Or is this what I should expect to pay in general? $4500 for just a head gasket is the same as the worth of the truck…

TLDR; how much should a head gasket cost? Is $5,500 too much?

 

2002 model v6?

 

Real pisser is.....they may not do that great of job.

Some of these dealer mechanics are idiots........they've gotten use to the newer stuff.....where you swap the whole component out....
Not seasoned.....they just follow the pictures......
god forbid if they run into a seized bolt/nut.....

 

What if its not the head gasket at all......
.....might be a crack in the head between the valves.....very common on these....

If its never been overheated....I'd suspect mechanical failure somewhere.

 

Mileage on the engine??

Prices vary around the country depending where you live that could be a valid flat rate dealer labor price.

Dealer Labor prices are on the High side lots of overhead to support.

As prices have inflated like everything else.

Many smaller shops will suggest a used engine swap rather then repair head gaskets . You never really know if your heads are cracked till things are apart and inspected

The fact you took this to a dealer might mean you do not have the skill or place to do the job your self.

While the heads are off Time for a timing belt??

Check in your regional forum for a better idea of price.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. It’s got 220K miles on it, and a few shops have already mentioned just doing an engine swap… I’m just thinking it’s a lot of money for 230K miles. I think it might be time to throw in the towel on her and move on.

 

Huge dealer markup on there. I can take my engine out and bring it to a local engine rebuilder and do it for around 4k. That's the whole engine rebuild. Like O'silver said - they are not going to treat it like an independent mechanic or you might. My local dealer just wants to rip you off with a new pickup if you ask them cost on something like that. If you can save yourself the money and tear into it yourself.

 

touch base with @Logans2001, he recently did this job. It's not an easy job but can be done.
He has a couple threads on it but this has most of the content -
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/was-trouble-installing-cams-now-restarting-hg-job.787833/

 

Everyone’s situation is different.
If you just don’t have the time, mechanical experience, or physical capability I could understand wanting to just replace the motor. Whatever is worth it to you. I personally would not replace the motor yet at 230k. But I also really enjoy working on mine and I’m only 26.
I didn’t have the extra time to get my heads inspected for cracks or warping so I just bought two rebuilt ones as insurance. I also may have ended up spending a similar amount just to rebuild them anyways.
As far as cost, I got my head gasket kit for about $400 after tax and shipping on YotaShop. Both heads were about $900 after tax and shipping with a core return. So compare that to the quote they gave you. But like I said, everyones situation is different.

 

See i didnt have time to fart around on mine....
....I just bought a reman short block from someone in cali thats dozens of these a year...
$1000 there,.....4 banger....

and then new heads.....even shaving heads is risky these days.....the timing range is limited.....
$700 there.....

Then I had mexicans that eat engine blocks for breakfast....put humpty back together....
another $1700....

Not to mention another $1800 in goodies.....flex plate...engine mounts....headers...ect...
dont want to reuse half wore out stuff.....




Thing is the dealer can still jack up the price even more...
if he runs into questionable parts...he's going to cover his butt....it could get quite expensive......
And still seen em end up with a wiring short.......

They dont pay those mechanics by the hour....
they're paid book estimate flat rate......no matter how many hours it takes....
incentive to go fast and make mistakes....

 

Hey all. Sorry for being AFK, huge ice storm here in west Michigan life’s been crazy. I ended up trying out bars leaks head gasket sealer, it seems to have sealed it up and I did an exhaust kit test and she stayed blue! Core got clogged to hell tho. Flushed out the core maybe 5 times and added fresh coolant over the last few days. Just got back in from burping her again for a solid hour and ran through 4 gallons of gas (UltraGauge) and I was about to give up, but out of nowhere the heat shot up and I grabbed my temp reader gun and she was reading 150-160 out of the vents and I was sweating! Just earlier today it was reading 56 and it’s 15 outside. Safe to say tears of joy came out as I (temporarily) saved a lot of money, and now I have heat again.

 

I think I will attempt to replace the gasket, the dealer had the kit listed at $500 on their parts quote so I’m assuming it’ll be around $500. I’m going to tear apart the engine first over the summer, and see if she’s warped/cracked before I buy the kit. If she’s all good I’ll do it, if not then I’ll just swap the engine or idk maybe ask around on here when the time comes whats the play. Thanks for all the help guys and good suggestions. I definitely have been thinking about them.

 

I told them the radiator and core were already replaced, as well as all the hoses… they had new radiator, core, and hoses as part charges for the quote! Lol.

 

Doing the shocks and struts I ran into a million seized/rusted bolts. God forbid they do what I did and pull out the sawzall.

 

NEVER NEVER run barr's or any of that stuff without bypassing the heater core.....

also count on replacing your radiator too if its old and restricted.......sad but true......

if possible stick on an old radiator when ever you use that stuff....

also count on it slightly restricting cooling passages in the block....

you'll see when you pull everything apart eventually....

 

Fortunately my radiator is brand new’ she’s about 2 months old. I guess I should’ve bypassed the core tho, it never really occurred to me.