[Felix]

Well I just brough my car in for an oil change and had them take a look at it, because I was loosing alot of anti freeze, I've noticed a loss in power but used some stp fuel injection cleaner and some stp octane hp restorer (i think thats what its called) well, the mechanic told me my drivers side head gasket is leaking...... I'm not too sure what all this means but my dads telling me either 1. to call the place I bought it from and complain cause I've only had the car for 6 months or 2. Start looking for a new car.. I would really appreciate some help from you guys cause I don't wanna get rid of my baby...... I refuse to drop down to a pos car because of some head gasket leaking, could you guys tell me maybe like how much it costs or some stuff..... I'm really worried cause I've done alot with that car and I really don't want to start off fresh...

Thanx in advance guys,

Spyder

 

[Lafrad]

I had a head gasget blow on my 3.5L last fall (I didn't change the water pump in time..... it was squeaking.. but I was lazy). Cost $1500 to get both new head gasgets, a valve-job (cut all 24 valves) and a cut off the heads.. also had the timing belt, water pump, Timing belt tensioner and all gasgets from the block up replaced. It sucked, but it runs better now (valves all are 'new' and compression is up a tad).

 

[Lafrad]

oh.. in conclusion.. you can probably change just the driver's side head gasget for $500 or less if you do minimal work.... very minimal. (pop off valve cover, remove intake manifold, remove head, clean it up, put new gasget in, reassemble.)
probably about $1000 to do both sides (recommended) for that easy-to-work-on 3.3L.

Do it yerself for about half those costs.

[ February 11, 2002: Message edited by: Lafrad ]

 

[Felix]

I don't know anything about engines, I didn't even know what a head gasket was for..... so I wouldn't be able to change it, what do you think would be cheaper.... to start looking for a new car or fix it?

Spyder

 

[Lafrad]

well, you can't really sell that car for much with a f**ked up head gasget. I think it would be worth it to get 2 new head gasgets... if you have about $200 extra, it would REALLY be worth it to get a valve-job and head resurfacing (cut the heads it sometimes it called). it will give the engine some more pep, get ya better gas mileage, run cooler and emit less emmisions.
If you feel that you can get a decent price for the car tho, go for getting another one.

 

[Felix]

So this will only cost $200?? Cause if its that much I will get it done, but will that fix my head gasket problem? my girlfriends father and grandfather know alot about engines and cars, I could possibly ask them about it, but I would need to know how much it costs all together, the head gasket isn't blown but i could bring it back to the place I bought it from and trade it in for a new car.....

Spyder

 

[Lafrad]

ah... ok... the head gasget is the seal between the combustion chamber (where the piston moves) and the Cylender heads (where the valves reside). this gasget is generally made of a very strong fiberous compound with Metal rings around the cylender holes, due to the fact that it needs to take ALOT of pressure. Because the cylender heads need to be cooled by the antifreeze, there are passages through the gasget that allow the antifreeze to flow from the engine to the head and vice versa. When a head gasget blows, 2 things can go wrong. the pressure from the cylender pushes through the gasget and ends up putting exhaust gasses in the coolant system. that is what happended to mine. the engine would push the antifreeze out of top of the engine and the engine would proceeded to overheat.
the other option (your problem) is the pressure from the coolant system pushes a hole in the gasget, squirting little bits of anti-freeze into the cylender, which is burned and expelled out the tailpipe. you will slowly loose antifreeze this way and run the risk of damaging you oxygen sensors and catalatic converters.

Hope this helps
Lafrad

 

[Lafrad]

nono... it will be between $500 and $1000... the $200 extra was for the valve-job.
Another thing is: a leaking headgasget = blown head gasget.

if you can do it yourself, you can do if for as little as
$75 - head gasget set
$29.99 - head bolts
$100-200 for misc parts.
so roughly $200 if you do it yourself.

but again.. you have it apart by then, so do a valvejob and cut the heads.

 

[Felix]

ok thanks, I'll have to talk to my girlfriends dad about that and see if they know how to do that, if they don't how long before anything bad will happen that will stop my car from running ( or even ) will it do anything bad to my engine that will stop my car from running properly.... cause I'm really not in the mood to shell out 1g for a car I paid 5.5g with a 2.4g down payment on... I just bought the thing 6 months ago, is this normal, cause it had a sticker on then engine compartment that said it had been checked with some neon liquid or something...... I'm in a bad mood but thanks for clearing this up... I just hope either he can help me fix it, or that I find another intrepid that I can get......

Spyder

 

[Lafrad]

well, make sure you have water/anti-freeze on hand.. check to make sure that you don't get any air in your cooling system.... drive with a light foot.. shouldn't give you too much trouble.... but I wouldnt count on it to take you to florida or anything. (us WI'ers only wish we could go there now)

 

[Felix]

heh nods, hopefully I can find a good car without spending too much money...... thanks again for the help ( and boy oh boy do I wish I was in florida )

spyder

 

[Mopar4U]

Originally posted by *Agent Felix* Spyder:
ok thanks, I'll have to talk to my girlfriends dad about that and see if they know how to do that, if they don't how long before anything bad will happen that will stop my car from running ( or even ) will it do anything bad to my engine that will stop my car from running properly.... cause I'm really not in the mood to shell out 1g for a car I paid 5.5g with a 2.4g down payment on... I just bought the thing 6 months ago, is this normal, cause it had a sticker on then engine compartment that said it had been checked with some neon liquid or something...... I'm in a bad mood but thanks for clearing this up... I just hope either he can help me fix it, or that I find another intrepid that I can get......

Spyder

The neon liquid is for yor Air Conditioning system. Get the car fixed right. You'll loose your ass if you try to trade it back or sell it broken. You can try complaining to the dealership you got it from but I wouldn't think you would get to far with them. Maybe you can get them to pay for parts and you pay for labor. Try to work with them. Good Luck

 

[adaptabl]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Chrysler. Get used to spending big bucks on a regular basis for service.

 

[silver ghost]

3.3's aren't too bad to work on. Heads aren't that much of a ***** to do on them. I'd want to be sure that the headgaskets were leaking before shelling out the cash unnecessarily. You should contact the selling dealer and question them abouit this. Check your paperwork and see if there was any kind of warranty on the powertrain (engine). If they are a reputable dealer and they want to keep a customer they may help you out.

OR

Sell it and buy a 3.5 liter!

 

[Felix]

Well I did talk to her dad, but he said I could buy this leak stuff because the leak is on the outside, not in the engine because the mechanic was able to see it with a flashlight... so he said to get this stuff you pour into your radiator and if that doesn't work then I gotta get it fixed.... I pray that this works.....


Spyder

 

[Mopar4U]

Originally posted by adaptabl:
Welcome to the wonderful world of Chrysler. Get used to spending big bucks on a regular basis for service.

That's a bunch of bullshit. Not true.

 

[moparman]

Spyder, I'd get it fixed. You don't have to go to the dealer, any good mechanic can change a gasket for a reasonable price.

Adap- I've had great luck with my mopars, so has my family. We've never had a bad one(going back to the 40's !!!). Can't say that about any other brands we've owned (except my Opels, bullet-proof). I hope your luck changes.