price for replacing headgasket

[2fas4u]

hi, anyone here know how much it would cost to replace blown headgasket on a MR2 turbo, 1990 model. cheers.

[Mike-]

best to call a mechanic and ask him

[AE82 FXGT]

Are you paying someone to do it or are you doing it yourself and just want to know how much the parts are?

[Rob]

I would say a Head gasket would cost around $150-200

Machining $100 +
Maybe 6 hours labour if they've done a few at around $65 per/hr
Any decent mechanic will replace seals and ask if you want your cambelt /tensioners/idlers and waterpump replaced

In the end you could be looking around $1000 worst case I'd say

[Mr Revhead]

rrp is $140inc gst on 1990 3sgte headgasket.

[2fas4u]

cheers guys and MR REVhEAD, how much would your service department charge for the whole job and how long would it take if i get it done at Rutherford and Bond? cheers.

just that my radiator overflow bottle is always boiling and it's overheating quite a bit after a drive through the motorway and it seems to be drinking quite abit of coolant and water a week. that is not thrashing or anything, just nana driving. i even had a radiator cap flew off and dissapeared.

funny thing is that there appears to be no milkiness on the oil dipstick or oil cap.

on the side note, the MR2's radiator overflow bottle seems to sink quite far down and has that long gooseneck and hard to make out the FULL mark in low light, so i bought a rectangular more shallower overflow bottle and was wondering before i go ahead with the replacement, is it ok to do that or will be a problem. i notice that with the original setup, there's a breather tube that just hangs there next to the factory overflow bottle and another tube that actually reaches down to the bottom of the bottle.

just that i don't wanna have to fork out 300 to flush radiator and change thermo stat and that's quoted by RUTHERFORD AND BOND and then face with having to do headgasket.

[Alex B]

Make sure you have a BHG before you get it replaced wont you...

[2fas4u]

BHG= Big Head Gasket???

[Brick]

blown head gasket?

[2fas4u]

never experienced a BHG before, but if my Headgasket suddenly blow off while driving down the road, would the car suddenly stop?

even turning the heater on hot on full doesnt always help.

[Brick]

never experienced a BHG before, but if my Headgasket suddenly blow off while driving down the road, would the car suddenly stop?

even turning the heater on hot on full doesnt always help.

haha it wont just "blow off"
but it shouldnt cause it to stop unless it over heaps and seizers

[2fas4u]

oh good, cos the last SW20 MR2 i had i blew the clutch and smoke flew out towards the front like a torpedo and left nasty odours leaving me nowhere. that one never had overheatin probs. this one didnt have overheating probs in the first week i had it.

[bluemaumau]

Make sure you have a BHG before you get it replaced wont you...

he means ud better check and see if it is actually blown otherwise your just wasting your coin.

[2fas4u]

any test that's at least 90% accurate in telling me whether it is blown headgasket?

[Alex B]

Compression test/leakdown test.

[2fas4u]

alrighty, now in regards to replacing the gooseneck coolant overflow tank with a rectangular shallower overflow bottle. will that be safe to do or is it going to cause damage?

[Akane]

Compression test/leakdown test.

Don't believe in compression tests, leakdown tests is only good for rings.

I got my headgasket for $90 odd dollars RRP @ Giltrap Toyota.
I did the headgasket myself, which takes about a few hours, but there are incidents which takes 8hrs+ if done by a toyota mechanic where don't have the belt covers / on CT26 rusty turbo bolts.

GLHF.

[RedMist]

any test that's at least 90% accurate in telling me whether it is blown headgasket?

Most good mechanics will have a test for the rad water that will detect hydrocarbons.

In addition you do realize that by driving the car with a BHG you are causing substancially more damage.? Pitting to the cylinder walls, pistons, rings, damage to the valves, warping of the head. Get it fixed as soon as you possibly can.

[Mr Revhead]

yeah $90 is the price for one gasket... theres 3 types at 3 different prices


get a teekay test, thats what redmist is talking about.


btw $300 is about right, thats a thermostat $50ish, about about 2.5 hours

[2fas4u]

i get told conflicting stories, one side says do compression leak test and the other side says, they are useless and only good for rings...so how can i get an accurate answer cos i sure hell dont wanna spend a grand doing it to find it wasnt caused by blown headgasket.