Cracked head gasket

[Chini42]

i work at a dealership and my car has been going through ALOT of coolant lately(i have to fill it up after 1-2 hours of driving). i had one of the techs look at it and he found a cracked head gasket. he quoted me for about $1100 all together. $800 of that was for labor. my question is how hard would it be to do it myself (im fairly mechanically inclined and follow directions well)? if i cant do it myself how long would it be until the engine just dies on me? it already has 117,000 miles on it. im going to college and about to buy a new car so moneyy is very tight, and i really want to keep the X for the winter (getting a '03 Mach 1 and live in Michigan). any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

p.s.
its a '94 4.0L XLT

 

[Maniak]

I wouldn't call it hard.. just anoying.. lots of things to take out of the way.. I think the hardest part was putting in the head headbolts.. There is one that you must use a wobble or u-joint on.. but your are trying to use a torque wrench at the same time...

for example.. it is easier to pull the exhaust manifolds away from the block which it is still on the truck.. that means take out the inner fenderwells.. not hard.. just extra time..

total time for us to do it was 13 hours.. that was too people.. taking out time..

If you have been working on the motor often and have learned where to put your hands and how to get a wrench to reach places it may take less time.. but figure 13 hours or so.

~Mark