Head Gasket Repair

[Grouseman]

Cruiserheads,

Yesterday I was talking to a guy that builds alot of engines and I said something about the LC having the head gasket failures. He said I have fixed numerous gasket leaks with Sodium Silicate. He says he has treated at least 20 cars, trucks, etc and it has worked on all of them.
He says mechanics will not tell you this because they want the repair job.

Thoughts?

Grouseman

 

[Sc0-]

The Killer App for Clunkers Breathes Fresh Life Into 'Liquid Glass' - WSJ.com

 

[d0ubledown]

^^ that'll fix it

 

[LCHardriver_02]

The article does state that it is typically used for sealing HG gaskets. I wonder how it is applied for that application??? Obviously in very small amounts.

 

[Grouseman]

My guy says he drains all the antifreeze out of the cooling system, puts water in , then the correct amount of SS, lets the engine get to regular temp, then turn off and leave alone for 24 hours. It has sealed at least 20+ for him. Just wondering if anybody has heard of this. I did do some research and they are others that use this method with 100% success rate. He also said that racing teams do this on a regular basis for their cars.

Remember Cruiserheads I am NOT selling anything here. Let's keep our minds open for a few minutes to something that we have not heard of before. It was hard for me to believe also.

Grouseman

 

[LCHardriver_02]

I was looking at alternatives to having to tear into my HG to fix a small leak too. I had not heard of this one, but did hear of this:
Head Gaskets Repair : Blown Head Gasket : Head Gasket Replacement : Cylinder Head Gasket : SteelSeal.com

I have not tried either but would be open to hearing if anyone has.

 

[justbecause]

i thought the HG was something that should be fixed before it fails to prevent further damage. but i recently read alot of threads saying that hte only thing that can be saved by doing it as PM is a tow charge...

so if you are going to run it till it breaks why not give it a shot??
-saved for later use-

 

[cruiserdan]

I suppose if you don't mind it failing at 10 o'clock on a January night 80 miles from nowhere, waiting is not a problem.

 

[justbecause]

I suppose if you don't mind it failing at 10 o'clock on a January night 80 miles from nowhere, waiting is not a problem.

Cdan do you have any info on the average cost of a HG job?

i have seen numbers everywhere from 800 to one guy talking about selling his before the HG goes b/c the head job would cost 3k.

i thought it was about $1200 is that a good ball park?

 

[foeix]

Cdan do you have any info on the average cost of a HG job?

i have seen numbers everywhere from 800 to one guy talking about selling his before the HG goes b/c the head job would cost 3k.

If it does blow I will not be selling it. My quote included 18hrs labor + machine work + parts + new radiator at a well respected Land Cruiser shop.

 

[cruiserdan]

The cost range is huge and will depend on multiple variables. Among them how deep you go and weather or not you are doing the job yourself.

The bare minimum parts outlay is ~260 bucks including oil, filter, coolant and some bandaids.

Machine work for the head will be 300-600 bucks and then you add whatever else you need to address or stuff you may break in the process.

If you pay a shop to do it count on at least a thousand bucks labor and possibly a whole lot more.

I can see 3 grand easy at a shop with some additional items being replaced.


D-

 

[Sc0-]

My machine work/head rebuild with touching up the valves was $350, +parts from CDan, +my labor, +a new radiator since my old one blew with the headgasket....

My labor was a weekend since I had a rebuilt head laying around...

 

[B Legit]

I am a little over half way done with mine, got parts from dan for a little over 3 hundred (Thanks Dan), will be into the machining for around 4 hundred, so for me it will cost a total of around 900 when all is said and done, but my head will be in top notch condition. If you wanted to make a potentially expensive bet that there was no damage to your head, and just slap on a new gasket, you could probably be rolling for 300 dollars with help from Dan. The only guy that I would pay to do it quoted me 1500 for labor alone, so you could add that 900 dollar figure onto that if you were dealing with an honest or competent mechanic. I can assure you that the next time I do this, I will be more prepared and less excited if that makes any sense.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

More sense than you know... well, you do know... My question is: If the gasket has not totally blown and is minorly leaking, do you still need to machine the head?

 

[cruiserdan]

More sense than you know... well, you do know... My question is: If the gasket has not totally blown and is minorly leaking, do you still need to machine the head?

The extent of gasket failure is not the determining factor, it's the condition of the mounting surface of the head.

On the other hand, the worse the gasket failure, the more likely there is damage to the head mounting surface.

 

[B Legit]

i hope they don't have to machine the head at all. I am paying them to do valve grind, seals, hot tank cleaning, and set valve lash. To me, the results from that work alone will make the job worth the time, money, and headache. Now if I get it all together and it runs like a one legged fat kid I will be singing a different tune. Keeping my fingers crossed that she runs well when all is said and done. I will post results with words of wisdom either way.

 

[B Legit]

Thats the tricky part about all this that nobody like to talk about. You never know what you will find when you pull everything apart. I found a piston head with some light combustion damage and the dreaded leaky freeze plug/ crack on the outside of the block. I am throwing every farm trick I know at the old girl to see what happens. If it doesn't run right, I will drive out of my buddies garage, into my driveway and think about how nice it will be to do an engine swap this summer.