Suneet

Well I've had a coolant leak and I've noticed the puddles I've been leaving in parking lots, so today when taking the car in for an oil change I had the mechanic do a pressure test, and guess what, I have a leaking gasket.

Mechanic told me that it would cost about $2grand to replace the gasket, including labor and getting the gasket resurfaced etc, or it would cost 5-6K to get a remanufactured engine.

What?

Mechanic called me and told me, asked me if I wanted to go ahead with any of the other services given this knowledge. I told him to just do an oil change and a tranny fluid drain to buy me some time to figure out what I'm going to do.

I've put too much money into this car now... has anyone else experienced this problem? I'm going to pick the car up later today, so I can ask more questions if there are any that I should ask..

19psi

a head gasket isn't the end of the world. it's basically a t belt job, plus removal of one head. resurface head, replace gasket, reinstall t belt. sounds easier than it is, but find a good mechanic who will do it on the side and you'll be good. most mechanics do stuff on the side for half of what their shop charges. for example, i'd do it for $800 plus parts if you were here in ky.

steveski

That is a real bummer Suneet - $2k sounds like a lot of money but then again I am not a mechanic. Man, what caused that seriously? Overheating the aluminum block/heads?

PK_Celsior

iTrader: (18)

yup the only time i know a head gasket goes out. if it from overheating. thats why i always keep an eye on my temp gauge. i have 200k miles on my 95LS400 and haven't had a problem yet. the only problem i see right now is the leaking valve gasket cover. but yes sorry to hear 2k is a lot of money. the 1999 camry had a head gasket problem. so they updated us with the newer head gasket and valve gasket cost us 2k too

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

get a new mech, and a second opinion, a pressure leak doesnt necessarily mean a leaking headgasket, ive NEVER heard of a 1uz blowing a head gasket w/o FI. hell I have an issue wiht leaking coolant hoses ive even got the hoses just not the time to replace them.

a new motor can be had for a few hundred bucks used and installed for around 2-3grand.

got ur txt btw, il hit u up later

steveski

I recently changed the thermostat to a unit that fails open. If it really works then I should never overheat unless I get a radiator puncture or something.

Suneet - what about Lexkost and Pure? They are brains! They gotta know somebody that can fix it for less??????????

Suneet

He said he could visibly see fluid coming from the head gasket and it had caked down and around it.

The only time I remember the car overheating was about 7 years ago when I didn't really know anything about cars.. The car was extremely low on coolant fluid, and I saw the temp needle spike WAY up. I pulled over, learned that I needed to add coolant fluid, and then did so. Can't imagine that incident affecting the engine now?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

no, prolly had nothing to do with it.

take the car to a different mech and have them put some UV dye in the coolant and find the exact spot of the leak.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Dude, if your headgasket was leaking, you would have oil mixing with antifreeze. Do you? I'm willing to bet you have a leaking water pump, not headgasket.

Och

iTrader: (3)

And if it is the headgasket, it should cost you $800-1,200 to replace, not $2,000.

Neofate

iTrader: (1)

All I can do is concur with what has been said. --

Price quoted is way too high.

Doesn't sound right by symptoms, unless it is just a 'small' leak.. (Though head gasket problems are usually pretty evident regardless and don't take long to become serious).

Do bring it to someone else entirely, and get a second opinion.

Worst case, you spend 1200 bucks with a good indie.. While that is alot of money, things happen. But make darn sure that is what it is.. Some mech's will 'operate' on a car with the wrong diagnosis and end up replacing a perfectly fine headgasket and on the 'side' fixing the real issue. -oops..

Hope it works out..

19psi

one thing it might be is your heater valve leaking coolant. this coolant tends to run down the pass. side head and down the back ofhte block and on the exh. manifold.
to someone underneath, it may look liek the HG leaking if they don't look higher.
it is pretty rare to see a hg fail on one of these.

Suneet

So I spoke to the mechanic.. he told me it would be a $2K job to replace the gasket because of the labor involved of taking it out,and the head would need to be machined to make sure the surface is perfectly flat.

He also told me that he didn't think it was a good idea to fix just the gasket-- he said that given the age of the motor (212K miles), that I should just replace with a newer motor.

He found another 1UZ from Japan and quoted me $4800 installed.

I'll take it to another place for a second opinion, but I don't even know where to go.

Suneet

How would I know that I have oil mixing with anti-freeze? I sure don't see it in the overflow resevoir or anything...

SW07ES

You need to get a second and possibly third opinion. INTERNAL head gasket leaks on the LS400 are extremely rare. You'd have coolant mixing with the oil if the there was an INTERNAL head gasket leak and the coolant would NOT leak out into the ground.

Since you have coolant leaking onto the ground you might have an EXTERNAL head gasket leak. External leaks are far less serious because the coolant does not mix with the oil so the engine doesn't get damaged from lack of good lubrication.

However, I think it's possible you don't even have an external head gasket leak because you would have noticed some steam coming from under the hood when the engine is at operating temperature or at least smelled coolant
everytime you lifted the hood.

If at least one other shop confirms the leak is an external head gasket leak and the leak is small (a tablespoon or less of coolant leaks per day) you could probably seal it using a high silicate content antifreeze and Bar's stop leak. That's how I stopped an external head gasket leak 6 years ago on a Toyota 20R engine and it has worked all this time. Just be sure to change high silicate antifreezes every year or else there is a danger you could clog the radiator.

To check for coolant in the oil, simply drain the oil and let it sit in the drain pan overnight and then in the morning look for water beads in the oil. A bad internal head gasket leak will make the oil look like a chocolate milkshake.