You can certainly justify 6-7K if you start looking for things to do just to make the most off of the job. If that is the job the customer wants, great! But if the rig is in good shape with no issues prior to a head gasket failure and the customer is not looking to engage in major work just because "it can be done now", I am not gonna bulk the job up just to make a little more off of it. I am gonna take care of the failure at hand, anything that contributed to the failure and any items found during inspection and repairs that might be actual pending failure points which the customer is unaware of and should reasonably be addressed at this point.
Anyone who wants to insinuate that I am less than a "professional" or that I am using substandard parts or doing a substandard job because I understand and care that my customers might not be made of money can **** right off.
Mark...
For someone who "doesnt really care that much" and has a signature based heavily on anti-internet arguing, you sure like to argue.
I never said anything about you, I talked about the way I do things - which is the right way, and your troll posts are not going to change that.
I do turn down a lot of work because I take a lot of pride in my work and cannot feel confident in a job unless it is done properly. I make sure my customers and I agree on everything beforehand, and if we dont - no big deal.
@Jacob80450 - a few things to expect if I were doing this job for you - a good shop will be similar. If a rig comes to my shop dirty, it gets degreased and pressure washed before it goes inside - no exceptions. If the head comes off, it is going to the machine shop. At an absolute minimum, it will need an inspection, resurfacing, valve seals, and a valve adjustment. If it has been overheated, there is a good chance the head is warped. Any more than .006" diagonally and the cams will not spin freely when torqued, so head gets replaced or you will have a broken cam in your future. I dont reuse TTY head bolts regardless of measurments. I dont leave a customers rig with broken electrical connectors and usually several break during this job on vehicles from the southwest. If a new engine harness is cheaper than my time to replace connectors and spice brittle wires, its getting a new engine harness (about $500 and an hour of labor to install at the time of an HG job). I dont re-use coolant and if there are any signs of sludge or green/red coolant mixing, it is getting flushed. Every time the motor gets opened up, it gets an oil change after. If the injectors have 245k on them, they are getting cleaned and flow matched and a new fuel filter. Every gasket and O ring I have to touch is getting replaced. Swollen or brittle hosees are getting replaced. If the radiator is brittle, its getting replaced. All vacuum and evap lines under the hood are getting replaced. If the customer lives in a non emissions area, we discuss desmogging. I am going to check your TPS sensor and adjust as neccesary. If the TB is worn out and will not return to the throttle stop, it is getting replaced. I dont upcharge my customers on parts and I dont charge extra time to replace items that I have to remove to do the job - most shops are the same but be sure to ask about it up front. Most of my customers have or are prepping for forced induction, so usually I pull the motor, reseal it, tig weld an oil return bung in and stud it. That only ends up being a few hours more than doing the head gasket in the truck and the savings on ARP head studs over oem head bolts is enough to cover that difference. This is also the time to do any transfer case upgrades you may want, as the whole drivetrain comes out together. These are all things to consider, if you plan to keep the rig forever and dont want to worry about driving cross country then take care of all of these things now. If there is a possiblity of you adding forced induction later, do studs now. If you have a leaky rear main, you may want to have the motor resealed now. If the front of the motor is leaking oil, the motor can stay in the truck but have them replace the crank seal and oil pump o-ring now. Make sure they are using all toyota parts.
