I have a 96 tl 3.2 with about 180k. In the last 15k I have had a new water pump and radiator and rad cap put on. In the last 2500 miles I had a t-stat installed. My car has been overheating, when I first start it up it goes to the red for a minute then it goes down to normal. It had did this for about 2 weeks. During this wierd episode the heat in the car would get hot when the gauge was fine then get cold when it began to overheat. Now it stars off the same but the temp gauge goes up and down while I'm driving, mine you on the highway going 75mph. Then when I get off it overheats and won't go down. I have a little white smoke coming out but that could be because its so cold now. I bleed the system one day and it worked for about 50 miles, now its back to the same thing. Has anyone else had a HG blow with these symptons. I would think if the head gasket was bad it would overheat and not come back down at all. Also the heater should not blow cold air. Could it be something is being blocked. Also the fans seem to work. Any responses would help, thanks. Also what is the labor hours on a HG replacement?

 

HG is an expensive job... and it is just due to the labor... it can cost as much as a new engine and the swap... from my past experience a BHG symptoms have sporradic temp fluctuations... did you check your oil??? is it milky??? if you want to know for sure, go get a compression test... that would tell you if you have a BHG or not... otherwise i would check another part of your cooling system... i had a legend that overheated on me and thought it was BHG... turned out to be a leak in one of the hoses...

 

W/ engine cold, remove radiator cap and start engine. If you see a geyser or even substantial bubbling, you have a bad HG.

good luck

 

It sounds very similar when my HG went. I have a 96 3.2 - it had a little over 100k when the HG went. The labor is expensive because it takes a lot of time. The gaskets are expensive because Fel-Pro & Dana Victor do not make aftermarket HG's for the 3.2.

 

Definitely HG, I ended up blowing my motor by driving on it. FIX OR REPLACE ASAP!

~Cheers~

 

i was told today by my mechanic that he wont replace my head gasket on this particular engine because my cylinder seals could be the problem with the overheating, so he would only replace the entire engine with a new or used model. Basically quoting me a $4000 job. At the time I figured he must know what he is talking about because the shop specializes in Hondas and Acuras. Now the more I read and think about it isn't there ways to check for this ahead of time. Like a compression test? Has anyone heard of this? Any feedback would help before I give up on my car.

 

Compression test should show that cylinder 6 is low. That's where most HGs blow because it's the furthest from the radiator.

~Cheers~

 

Sounds to me like he is trying to soak you for a more expensive job. I would take it to another shop & see what they say. I had my HG's replaced 52,000 miles ago & it is running like a champ.

 

didnt you sell it?