Took my car into the dealership with a blown engine head gasket, I'm waiting to hear back quotes on repair vs replacement. Does anyone out there know what this should cost in the NY/NJ region?

Also I'd like to know for longevity is it better to replace than repair?

Thanks

TL.Driver

 

There is a reason the head gasket failed, and when that is determined and the remedy suggested, that will help determine the solution. Does the head need machine work, valve work while head is off, only 1 head affected, etc. It will most always be less expensive to do the repair compared to an engine replacement, unless severe damage has been done.

Can't help you with the cost, as once again that will be determined after inspection, but let's say it's not going to be cheap.
Actually the dealership should be able to give you ballpark numbers for the base repair, not including any added work/problems.

 

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I have been down your road 3 years ago with damage to a head on a honda.

HERE is a place I purchased an Entire Rebuilt Head unit, Cams valves the entire head is shipped to you for about $300 I had myself a new head and you actually get a core charge credit when returning the old head.....

Its a Performance shop out of Texas.....I have to get you the number ......I cannot find it now...BUT it is a good place to get parts..

I then gave the head to a mechanic and purchased a head gasket from them as well .....

nice parts.

 

what happened that it blew a head gasket??
overheated from radiator took a rock hit and cooant all ran out?
ran out of oil when pan damaged?
or accidental overrev with missed shift?

 

i got it fixed, only 1 head was damaged, cost me a bundle but the car runs great

 

YOu never answered how it happened.

also, include price so other members that this happened to will have a ball park figure.

 

Yeah I'm curious too so I can try to avoid what caused it to blow if possible.

 

Headgaskets blow for the usual reasons. Overheating and Detonation/pinging, assuming it's not some factory defect. Those are the only two things you can prevent.

 

With the engine being all aluminum. For a HG to blow it would have to have been SERIOUSLY overheated or prolonged detonation/ping and with the TL having a knock sensor to retard timing that seems like a slim chance. I have never heard of a HG blowing up on a honda....

 

The question was why do head gaskets blow and what can be done to prevent it. The TL is very prone to detonation on 91 octane. We don't have a lot of head gasket failures but this is still a contributor. The knock sensor can only do so much, mine shows knock retard during the summer months and the occasional ping can be heard. 11:1 compression and 91 octane aren't a good combo. On a NA TL, the damage done from detonation is cumulative. A single detonation event is not likely to cause trouble. It would be from years of detonation. For FI TLs, obviously the damage is done very quickly and unfortunately for a single event, the pistons give before the head gaskets. Sometimes it's nice having the head gaskets as the fuse in the system.

Aluminum heads warp much easier than iron heads and at a lower temperature. This is the primary cause of blown head gaskets in our cars.

Head gasket failure really isn't a concern unless the engine is abused. We don't have factory defects like some cars such as incompatible coolant eating the gasket away, head bolts that stretch and let the heads lift, blowing the gaskets, or weak gaskets that blow at the first sign of detonation.

 

One minor suggestion, whoever did probably changed the oil and coolant but change the oil again in a few hundred miles (no need to change the oil filter). Unless the engine is disassembled there's still ~1/2 quart of oil you can't drain all the oil with the drainplug and there's probably some anti-freeze mixed in. Not much but the newer anti-freezes are not good for the oil.

As to why it failed I agree with others, overheating is the top culprit especially on AL motor. Who replaced the gasket?

A couple important replacement steps is to get the block and head mating surfaces as clean as possible (few ways to do that, I did this wrong once and had to redo not fun) and check the head and block for flatness. If they're warped then the new gasket may not last long either, and need to be re-machined on a mill.

As far as Honda/Acura's go, not a common or systematic problem on modern Honda engines. Decades ago E and some C motors had OEM head gasket problems but I haven't heard of any J or K motor problem.

Expensive but hopefully your last replacement.

 

I would say that's unnecessary seeing that this job was completed 2 years ago.

 

aluminum warping earlier than cast iron block = easy to blow gasket but since engines are now pretty much all aluminum a minor overheat should not be an issue. driving the car extended period with no coolant would be.

as for the pinging on the 3rd gen, That is most likely attributed to Acura getting more aggressive with the engine management software to gain slightly more power. I routinely drive my 02 CLS in temps in excess of 100F during the summer and the engine has never given me troubles even though 91 is all we get here. I just do not drive the car as aggressively when it gets hot...