Is this a reasonable price to replace a head gasket? (1 Viewer)

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Now I believe you even less.

MAF, distributor, AC compressor + clutch, Alternator, starter, igniter, coil, wire/cap kit, oil cooler, radiator, EGR valves, head rebuild parts (valves/springs/guides), VSVs, ALL hoses + clamps, short block (if bought), harmonic balancer, ALL sensors and more are the expensive parts from a dealership. Some are $500-1000 for each part.

Cheers
Then don't, you are just an internet random to me. I'm just posting what I bought and the cost of my build to help others out. Some items you listed are discontinued and sold on eBay for $130 (e.g. MAF)

Moreover why would you replace the oil cooler unless it was completely mangled somehow, thats $50 for gaskets, relief valves etc. Alternator is 180, Starter is 160, MAF is discontinued, Head machining and valve job $745, I mentioned I replaced my oil level sensor ($200) but no reason to replace knock sensors or O2 sensors that are perfectly fine, in either case knock sensors are like 175. All of these items are included in my build cost. No I didnt replace the $250 discontinued AC compressor, and no I didnt replace the $650 discontinued wiring harness.

You listed about $7000 in parts, many of which are discontinued, thanks for making my point.

I wish you were as right as you were passionate and if you want to continue trying to convince yourself how right you are then feel free to PM me as its just thread clutter at this point. Funny how it's always the people that do it as a "business" who are the most defensive and threatened LMAO
 
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You are the one who said you replaced EVERYTHING in the engine bay with DEALERSHIP parts.

MAF is not discontinued along with ALL the other parts you and others claim are NLA.

Cheers
Ok..please share with MUD where we can source an OEM engine harness for a 1994. For someone who runs a Landcruiser business and does so many rebuilds you would think they would know these things.
 
I am not going to argue with people on this forum who seem angry, combative and aggressive all the time.

I am also not going to argue about what is NLA and what is not.

There is a reason why guys like myself don’t spend much time helping people on the forum anymore.

Cheers
 
Okay, back to the topic at hand... LOL
I talked to the shop about how they diagnosed it. After they had plugged in the injector it started to idle fine. But it was very smokey after that. They said later on they moved the car and such, it continued to smoke pretty bad. The test they did, not sure of a name of the tool used. They have a tool that they stick in the radiator and would turn a different color if the exhaust leak went back into the cooling system. They said it would stay green, then it would turn to blue. They did not say they did a pressure test or anything else that @BILT4ME stated. They said the quote given for $8700 was a worse case scenario, the whole head to be rebuilt, fresh deck on the block if it has pitting because of the two different metals. When I go to get my rig they are going to give me some written quotes of other head jobs they have done. As in just do a HG, machine work and a few little items. I am only 9 min away from the shop, should I be worried about causing more damage to the rig IF the HG is bad.
 
should I be worried about causing more damage to the rig IF the HG is bad.

Yeah,

If you get too much liquid in a cylinder then it can cause the compression in that cylinder to get too high leading to lower end engine damage. This is called "hydrolocking".​
If you get coolant in the oil then it can cause corrosion damage on bearing surfaces, ie lower end damage.​

I'd try to avoid running it and would look at getting it fixed soon or take steps to avoid damage from coolant that's gotten into the wrong places.
 
Okay, back to the topic at hand... LOL
I talked to the shop about how they diagnosed it. After they had plugged in the injector it started to idle fine. But it was very smokey after that. They said later on they moved the car and such, it continued to smoke pretty bad. The test they did, not sure of a name of the tool used. They have a tool that they stick in the radiator and would turn a different color if the exhaust leak went back into the cooling system. They said it would stay green, then it would turn to blue. They did not say they did a pressure test or anything else that @BILT4ME stated. They said the quote given for $8700 was a worse case scenario, the whole head to be rebuilt, fresh deck on the block if it has pitting because of the two different metals. When I go to get my rig they are going to give me some written quotes of other head jobs they have done. As in just do a HG, machine work and a few little items. I am only 9 min away from the shop, should I be worried about causing more damage to the rig IF the HG is bad.
🤔 well a block test is a great way to find exhaust gas in the coolant system. Just weird that you mentioned HG and it failed? Anyways let’s stay on topic. If they pull the head and have it machined and rebuilt which you should make sure they do this if you’re going through the trouble. Now having block decked is a whole different story. They would have to pull your engine remove the pistons. Can’t imagine that’s part of a HG job. If you wanna chat feel free to PM me and we can talk I’m local and have rebuilt quite a few 1fz’s.
 
That's how most ls swaps begin with a blown head gasket
Don't i know it...... lots of good conversation in this thread!! yet my post adds nothing.... so here's my .02 as previously mentioned by others in the thread, verify in fact your head gasket is blown.... chemistry test in coolant/compression test.... create a spreadsheet and track your part prices there is a huge variance but stick with OEM unless there are trusted proven upgrades (ARP head studs for example) I know you mentioned you're in a time crunch, just remember schedule costs, there's a reason next day air is 10X what ground costs.... quality work is not as common as it once was, that being said vet who is doing the work and ensure they are up to the task, that initial quote of 8700 could be legit if it's done to the detail that you see in some of the threads in this section but if it's a remove machine replace with gaskets and no additional while you're in there's .............. run!! hope you get it sorted out and keep the thread updated....
 
Okay, back to the topic at hand... LOL
I talked to the shop about how they diagnosed it. After they had plugged in the injector it started to idle fine. But it was very smokey after that. They said later on they moved the car and such, it continued to smoke pretty bad. The test they did, not sure of a name of the tool used. They have a tool that they stick in the radiator and would turn a different color if the exhaust leak went back into the cooling system. They said it would stay green, then it would turn to blue. They did not say they did a pressure test or anything else that @BILT4ME stated. They said the quote given for $8700 was a worse case scenario, the whole head to be rebuilt, fresh deck on the block if it has pitting because of the two different metals. When I go to get my rig they are going to give me some written quotes of other head jobs they have done. As in just do a HG, machine work and a few little items. I am only 9 min away from the shop, should I be worried about causing more damage to the rig IF the HG is bad.
So they have a positive confirmation of exhaust cases in the coolant?

What were the results of the test?

Can they repeat the test in front of you?
 
So they have a positive confirmation of exhaust cases in the coolant?
Yes, that is what they said.
What were the results of the test?
The color of the liquid in this tool they use would turn from green to blue often when the rig was running. They would reset it and put it back in and some thing. They also said while it's running and take the coolant cap up, you can see bubbles and gurgles come up to the top.
Can they repeat the test in front of you?
I will ask them when I go to pick it up here shortly.
 
If you pull the dipstick, what does the oil look like? It should be clear and golden if it's fresh and jet black if it's due for replacement. Caramel coloring is a sign of coolant mixing with chocolate milk being the bad side with significant mixing. If you see smoke after running it for a bit, check if the exhaust smells sweet like coolant. The chem stick is just one test. You've got other checks that need to be verified.
 
Well I went and picked the rig up today. The shop told me that when they ran the test I was just over 2 gal of coolant low in my rig. They did preform the block test in front of me and i have some pictures that I will post here. They are certain it is a bad HG and that they seem to think its the coolant and that electrolysis is a common factor on why the 80s are blowing HG. They quote of $8700 was on the high side because they did a job for a lady who had a cracked head, so they provided a new one, and her block needed to be decked, but she didn't want to do that so they filled it in with some metal. So that price could go down. They also said they don't believe that my head is cracked or too damaged. They recommended a pressure test to really confirm if I have a bad HG. Which I think I might do to see.
 
Well I went and picked the rig up today. The shop told me that when they ran the test I was just over 2 gal of coolant low in my rig. They did preform the block test in front of me and i have some pictures that I will post here. They are certain it is a bad HG and that they seem to think its the coolant and that electrolysis is a common factor on why the 80s are blowing HG. They quote of $8700 was on the high side because they did a job for a lady who had a cracked head, so they provided a new one, and her block needed to be decked, but she didn't want to do that so they filled it in with some metal. So that price could go down. They also said they don't believe that my head is cracked or too damaged. They recommended a pressure test to really confirm if I have a bad HG. Which I think I might do to see.
2 GALLONS low on coolant?

Have you EVER checked your coolant levels? And I DON'T mean just looking at the overflow bottle. I mean pop the rad. cap and looking in the actual radiator.

Than, yes, you likely have a HG problem. If you didn't, you allowed it to get to that point.
 
The blue liquid is the start, and then the green to yellowish is the towards the end. The car was not already up to operating temperature. They drained some fluid out to do the test for me. After running for 10-15min that is how the liquid turned out.

IMG_7617.jpeg


IMG_7618.jpeg
 
2 GALLONS low on coolant?

Have you EVER checked your coolant levels? And I DON'T mean just looking at the overflow bottle. I mean pop the rad. cap and looking in the actual radiator.

Than, yes, you likely have a HG problem. If you didn't, you allowed it to get to that point.
s***, I guess not... They also recommended to do a flush every two years. I would also expect it to overheat if I was low on coolant. On the 10min drive home, the rig never got above 194 F. I'm unfortunately thinking that yes I do have a bad HG. Even if I decided to have them do it, they wouldn't be able to get me in till mid Dec early Jan. Then they would have it for a couple months, so I wouldn't get the rig back till like Feb or late Mar. Which is winter time lol.
 
2 GALLONS low on coolant?

Have you EVER checked your coolant levels? And I DON'T mean just looking at the overflow bottle. I mean pop the rad. cap and looking in the actual radiator.

Than, yes, you likely have a HG problem. If you didn't, you allowed it to get to that point.
Yeah, dang.

With rear heater, the system is only 3.5 gallons, so that's a lot of loss. You'd notice your oil level going up if it was leaking internally.

Otherwise if it had been low for a while, it's possible that could have lead to the overheating that killed the gasket.

Always check your fluids regularly!
 
Yeah, dang.

With rear heater, the system is only 3.5 gallons, so that's a lot of loss. You'd notice your oil level going up if it was leaking internally.

Otherwise if it had been low for a while, it's possible that could have lead to the overheating that killed the gasket.

Always check your fluids regularly!
****, I guess so... Have to start making sure I'm doing a better job at that. But since I've never seen the temperature gauge get to overheating temps, do you think the head and block are still fine?
 

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