Head Gasket Replacement

[GrapeApe]

Hey guys. i have not had any particular test done to confirm i have a blown gasket, however with the research i have done i am leaning more towards that as being my issue causing the overheating. if i have to replace this my shop said around 2500-3000. just want to get opinions if this is fair or not. also if i choose to do the work myself has anyone done this before? how hard is it? how long does it take? just needing to get some ideas of what to expect. thanks guys.

[LionPT]

That price is high...I had my head gasket, water pump & timing belt replaced for around $1300.

[GrapeApe]

Ok. Thanks lion. I'll ask around for more info at the parts stores. As long as I keep water in it I can still drive it for a while, right? I mean it's not gonna cause further damage if I let it go will it? I just don't have the funds or time to do it myself right now.

[JoeX]

At that price you could find a lower mileage motor doo the timing belt, water pump and tensioner and swap it cheaper

[LionPT]

Originally Posted by GrapeApe

Ok. Thanks lion. I'll ask around for more info at the parts stores. As long as I keep water in it I can still drive it for a while, right? I mean it's not gonna cause further damage if I let it go will it? I just don't have the funds or time to do it myself right now.

It can do damage if it gets too hot, it depends on how bad it is.

[GrapeApe]

Originally Posted by LionPT

It can do damage if it gets too hot, it depends on how bad it is.

I know right now it needs about a half gallon a week. I keep a check on it every couple of days. I only use it to drive to work and back. About 10 miles round trip.

[GrapeApe]

Originally Posted by JoeX

At that price you could find a lower mileage motor doo the timing belt, water pump and tensioner and swap it cheaper

Yeah. I could. Again if I had the time and money.

[GrapeApe]

UPDATE: Upon the advice of a trusted source I tried something to help with the problem. It seemed to work. At least for a couple of days. Then the smell of burning coolant returned. I the opened the rad cap only to discover there was no pressure in the cooling system. Normally I would ease open the cap and let it hiss the pressure off. This time nothing. I'm close to calling it quits. I hate to get rid of such an underrated machine but I can't keep throwing money at it. Any help would be great guys.

Symptoms: it does not overheat, the coolant gets ran into the overflow tank and out onto the exhaust, the temp does run cool sometimes but under load it goes to normal temp, pretty much the three o'clock position on the gauge.

Tried: new thermostat, product to seal leaks.

Do not have money for: full diagnostic, head gasket work, too many more parts.

[Busted_PT]

Was it hot when you removed the cap? Also check the hose to the overflow that the end is tight fitting and there no holes in the hose. The cap should hold pressure and is responsible to allow the coolant to be sucked back into the system if there is no source for air to be sucked in from another source.

[Handy_Cruiser]

Yep.

You've got a blown head gasket. The worse part is the coolant in the exhaust. There's a chance this will eventually pit the cylinder walls. Then the engine will possibly smoke and use oil. There may be coolant in the oil pan as well. This can cause scoring of the mains and rob bearings.

If you could do the work yourself, you could likely fix the head gasket issue for under $500. And ironically, the hardest part would be the timing belt. Once that's out of the way, removal of the head is pretty straight forward. Once removed, the head is taken to a machine shop to be tested and rebuilt. The deck with be machined flat if slightly warped and the valves ground and reseated. Then it's just a matter of putting it all back together.

$3000 seems extremely high at a shop. I figure somewhere around $1,000 to $1,500 would be the right price where I live. But for a $2500 PT Cruiser, you would still have to do some soul searching before spending that much.

The cheapest answer would likely be a replacement engine from a salvage car. That's what a used car dealer would do to fix it. They'd just buy one of the extremely plentiful PT salvage engines for around $200 and have it installed for around $500. You might consider that too.