4.0 ohv v-6 needs head gaskets,help!

[joe doe]

well it seems ive had this long enough that it needs a head gasket on the passenger side .
of course we will do both sides and every gasket in between but here lies the questions.
i see head gasket kits on ebay very cheap ..like 65.00 bucks including the bolts.
now autozone has a head gasket kit (all fel pro)for like 160.00 and another kit for 200.00(dont know the difference yet)
now i havent called ford yet either .
i guess what i,m asking is ...should i go with the fel pro kit?
i think if i try to save money and use a ebay kit i,m gonna regret it right?lol...

so who has used what with good results?
and what all needs to be replaced during this job?
i see the kits come with valve seals too...are these usually replaced during a head gasket install?
i have a trusted mechanic who will do this for me .
he said its about a 500.00 dollar labor charge .i just bring my own parts and he just charges labor .
this sound like a fair price to you??never had to do one of these befor .
any and all help is appreciated.thanks.

and this comes just after a 311.00 inspection bill too.new lower ball joints,new front brake pads,oil change and trans fluid change.

cheaper to keep her?2000 ex sport with 4.0 ohv engine with 126,000 on the clock.

 

[joe doe]

bump

 

[coonerboy]

I would go with the Fel-Pro kit. As with aything else, you get what you pay for. This is something you don't want to do twice.

I would also have him do the valve stem seals. The heads will be off the truck, on a bench anyways and they are included in the kit. Yes, do the seals.

$500 for labor seems very reasonable to me. I am sure he knows this but just make sure your mechanic checks the heads for warpage as well.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Check on Rockauto.com for your gasket set- you might get FelPro quality for a lot less...

 

[joe doe]

thanks guys .....
not 100%sure its the head .i thought it looked like it might be so i gave the mechanic a heads up and he said yeah the head gasket when i picked it up.
i wanna have a better look at it .
the stuff is washing down the passenger side of the motor .if its just the intake gasket i can save some money .but not knowing if they looked properly makes me wonder about this .

what about this dye you can put in your fluid?which ones can be seen without a black light??
is this a good idea to do ?
what about additives like bars leaks or similar?i read some stories of guys getting away with just doing the bars leaks thing .