Replace head gasket or motor?
Thread Starter
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Replace head gasket or motor?
Let me start off by saying that I have search the forums up and down and have found some useful info but I'm looking for a little more help.
So this past weekend on my way to work I noticed my temp gauge was reading all the way hot. After inspection I found out that my radiator had a crack in it and I made the huge mistake of driving my car in this condition (although I was driving slow) On my way home the temp gauge was reading all the way hot. When I came to a stop light my VSA light came on and my engine cut off. No smoke or anything was visible at this time. I restarted my engine and pulled into a gas station ~50 ft away. When I restarted my car white smoke started coming from the engine.
I took my my car to the shop after testing it they said the head gasket is blown. They're recommending to swap the engine as opposed to replacing the HG. Do y'all think that replacing the whole motor is necessary? Or can I just get away with head gasket repair? I know there is the possibility of more problems arising from the HG repair but how likely is this?
Oh yeah, I drive an 05 TL and the motor has ~110000 miles on it with no other major mechanical issues. In total, I probably drive my car about 50 miles while the temp gauge was reading hot.
Thanks in advance
So this past weekend on my way to work I noticed my temp gauge was reading all the way hot. After inspection I found out that my radiator had a crack in it and I made the huge mistake of driving my car in this condition (although I was driving slow) On my way home the temp gauge was reading all the way hot. When I came to a stop light my VSA light came on and my engine cut off. No smoke or anything was visible at this time. I restarted my engine and pulled into a gas station ~50 ft away. When I restarted my car white smoke started coming from the engine.
I took my my car to the shop after testing it they said the head gasket is blown. They're recommending to swap the engine as opposed to replacing the HG. Do y'all think that replacing the whole motor is necessary? Or can I just get away with head gasket repair? I know there is the possibility of more problems arising from the HG repair but how likely is this?
Oh yeah, I drive an 05 TL and the motor has ~110000 miles on it with no other major mechanical issues. In total, I probably drive my car about 50 miles while the temp gauge was reading hot.
Thanks in advance
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,015
Likes: 107
Yeah never a good idea but was the white smoke coming from the exhaust? If so then yeah sounds like a blown HG. The engine is still young but running it very hot like that could have warped the heads and who knows what else could be suspect from running too hot. How does the oil look? If coolant mixed in the oil then you definitely would need another engine
It's a tossup. If head gaskets replaced, there's labor to remove the heads, have the heads checked for flatness,
block check for flatness and labor to install components. If heads are found to be bad, then more money for heads
or to have them machined. If block bad, no question, need a replacement engine, then additional labor.
Depending on your location, low mileage engines <100k miles can be had for $500/$1000, then add labor.
block check for flatness and labor to install components. If heads are found to be bad, then more money for heads
or to have them machined. If block bad, no question, need a replacement engine, then additional labor.
Depending on your location, low mileage engines <100k miles can be had for $500/$1000, then add labor.
Last edited by Turbonut; Mar 23, 2017 at 08:07 PM.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 486
Likes: 65
From: St Louis, Missouri
Really depends on how much you want to spend and you need to make sure the block wasn't cracked in the process. You can source a J32a3 crate motor all day long with decent miles for less than 1K. How much did they quote you?
