Estimate for repair after doin work myself...NEED HELP

[explorer76]

Ok, after I spent a few days workin on my truck replacing the head gasket after I blew one out, I couldnt get the engine to start. I ended up putting it in the shop to find out why. Come to find out, the mechanic unplugged the connection at the coil pack and plugged it back in, and the truck started. It was still running rough and so the mechanic took all morning to find out what the problem was.

Well, even tho a friend of mine and I replaced the head gaskets and other gaskets as we put the engine back together, looks like we didnt do something right (even tho we follwed the directions from my Haynes manual) and the mechanic says they need to replaced again. The radiator needs to be replaced and a transmission/radiator line as well, because under the pressure of overheating it blew holes in each.

The estimate I got was:
Cylinder head gasket (remove and replace) - $467.50
Radiator (remove and replace) - $49.50
Repair radiator line - $75.00
Machine work - $225.00
HazMat fee - $10.25

The shop I had my Ex towed to is also charging some HIGH prices for parts. I asked if I buy the parts elsewhere, would they still do the work. They said yes, but no warranty on parts, only labor.

My question is, do these charges sound about right, or I am getting ripped off? Would you pay them to do it or now that you know what is wrong, would you do the work yourself? It's not drivable, and I can't afford the towing charges to other shops for other estimates. Plus, I'm tight on money. Any ideas?

 

[jimbo74]

is that jsut labor costs or parts as well? not sure what they are actually going to do, but $600 for machining and replacing the left and right head gaskets doenst sound like a bad idea.....

take it somewhere else for a second opinion first though... and tell them it jsut runs rough, dont tell them you did the work yourself, it could be something really simple like an unplugged vacuum line and the shop is jsut trying t oscrew you.....

 

[explorer76]

The prices I posted are for labor only....

 

[IAmTodd]

Is anything still leaking? If there were holes in them, it would be leaking. Sounds like they're trying to pull one over on you.

 

[explorer76]

They called me and gave me the estimate over the phone and I got a ride over there and they showed me where they were leaking....so, I know I'm not getting ripped off there.

 

[explorer76]

been thinking about this to save some money....

I'm gonna buy the parts and bring them to the shop. The shop owner said that would be ok and they will still do the work, but they will offer no warrranty on parts, only labor. I know what's wrong with the vehicle from what he has shown me in person and whats on the estimate.
Should I go ahead and let them do the headwork and the machine work and replace the radiator and repair the radiator line myself? What would you do in this situation? I'm in a bind and need my vehicle running ASAP and don't have alot of money to spend.

 

[JTX]

Replacing the radiator and line yourself shouldnt be bad at all. How long did it take you and your buddy to change the head gasket?

 

[explorer76]

It took us about 2 days to get down to the head gasket, get it replaced and get the engine back together. We didn't get the heads machined or checked. We just visually checked them ourselves and didn't see any cracks or anything and they didn't look warped. So, I don't really understand why they need to be replaced again. They were replaced almost 2 weeks ago. Could we have not done something right, even tho we followed the Haynes Manual?

 

[explorer76]

I guess no one else can help?

Well, I think I'm gonna do the work myself. It will definately save myself some money. At least now I know "exactly" what is wrong with it.

 

[JTX]

I dont know **** about engine or else i would help ya out man. As far as the radiator and hose that shouldnt take you to long at all.

 

[explorer76]

Thanks for the offer for help....it would be nice to have a 2nd person to help me out with this, but I think I'll make do

 

[410Fortune]

Yeah your thinking is correct, even if your head needs to be rebuilt or machined it will still cost less then paying the $500 just to do the gasket, wowsers.
You can get the heads off in about an hour easy

 

[TheRookie]

Just a hint on head machining. You should ALWAYS take the heads to a machine shop and have them checked. "doesnt look warped" Is a too common statement. You cant see the level of warp a head will get. If they need to be machined a little then just do it. If not then cool. But its not worth doing this job twice guys. I bet thats your problem. Assuming you followed torque amounts and sequences

 

[explorer76]

Once I get the heads off, I plan on taking them to a shop to get checked out. What is the average cost of getting them looked at and machined if needed? I know it needs to be done, but trying to avoid spending ALOT of money and sure as h3ll dont want to get ripped off.

 

[TheRookie]

We all want to save money. Just remember the lesson you learned here as now you must do the job again. I honestly cant give you an average cost as I havent paid for machine work in some time.

 

[410Fortune]

$200-300 average, maybe less if they are in good shape

 

[explorer76]

Another question I have...

Once I get everything replace and put back together and my truck is running good, would it be a good idea to run Seafoam Deep Creep thru it to clean everything out?

 

[Rhett]

Me personally, I like to do 1 thing at a time, and keep it simple...

So for now, I would just want to get it running decently again, after getting the headwork done and re-gasketed.

Then, after I was sure everything was running ok, then I would consider Sea Foaming it. Do one thing at a time, it will help you in the long run. I'd run around with the truck for a few days to make sure she's doing ok.

 

[Jason94sport]

Is the X worth the $$ your paying to fix it? Ask yourself that.