I had a shop that I have dealt with for years that replaced a leaking head gasket on my 01 CLs. They billed me for all kinds of stuff (water pump, timing belt, crank angle sensor) without asking permission.

The car never overheated and one of the mechanics told me that the gasket leaked but they decided to have the machine shop re do the heads (valves and all that stuff) for over $1000K because the car had 108K on it. Since the car did not overheat and the gasket seal failed it was rather presumptuous of them to redo the heads.

When I complained about the timing belt as it had been replaced over the summer and wanted to see the form I signed authorizing all that work and also wanted the name of the machine shop they asked me what I wanted and I indicated a refund on the timing belt. They were very happy to comply and slapped me on the back and told me what a friend I was.

Now I wonder if the heads were even done at all and that they just flat out ripped me off. I am taking the car to an Acura dealer for an unrelated issue on Wendesday. If the dealer pulls the valve cover can they tell if the head has been worked on recently??

 

You are wasting your time man. Thats what i think.

 

If the head was machined the right way, they must have cleaned it up too. remove the oil cap and see how clean/dirty it looks on the inside and if you see any sludge.

i can understand your reasoning though. i'd have thought the same thing.