LABOR COST Question on 97 Corolla

[micmonty]

Hi Guys,

My 1997 Corolla overheated and the mechanic said I needed a new radiator. I got a brand new radiator and thermostat installed for $225. The day after I took it home it overheated again. Now he says that its probably a blown head gasket. He gave me an estimate for $800-900 to install.

The car only cost me $1200 to begin with and if it do this repair it would cost me about $1100 to drive it again

I'm wondering if anyone knows the labor cost of replacing a head gasket and if anyone had a head gasket for sale. I checked Ebay and they are going for around 30-60 bucks. My guys said the parts will cost around $180!! May I please have somebody telling me the truth.

Thanks

[Bitter]

i think you also need to replace the headboilts as theyre TTY fastners which can only be torqued once. so that adds to the cost. also its a good time to replace the timing belt, tensioner, and water pump. now, how did he determine its the head gasket?

[micmonty]

This mechanic is friends of the family so a lot of times I get stuff fixed for free or for just cost of parts. BUT this mechanic is one of those (hitting a square peg in a round hole) types of people. Very rough with cars and finds quick ways out instead of fixing the car properly the first time. again I don't have a lot of money so I usually have no other option then letting him do his work.

He replaced the radiator last Saturday and now his logic is the Head Gasket. Should I buy the head gasket on Ebay for like 60 bucks?

[diver9000]

I wouldnt take my car back to him again. He made a fast buck off of you and he hoped it was the problem. Did it overheat while driving or while sitting at an idle? Reason: if you are driving and it steadily increases in temp, then yeah its most likely the rad. If you sit idle or in slow traffic, then its probably the thermostat. Check your oil, if your headgasket is bad usually you will see water in the oil. The oil will look milky. Take your plugs out one at a time and see if you have any water or steam on them. You can also do a compression test and that will usually tell you if you have blown headgasket. If your heater core is clogged that can sometimes cause an engine to overheat. You dont necessarily have to be using the heater, the water still passes through the heater core when the water cirulates. I would check this stuff first. You can do a pressure test on the radiator and that will tell you where the leak is coming from as well.

[94_Rolla_Guy]

I paid $56 for my headgasket at the dealer and $42 for aftermarket bolts the dealer ones were like $54 this is in CDN dollars

Check into the headgasket again as it may be ok... (What diver9000 said) other than that a rad and thermostat for $225 doesn't sound too bad