I would like to buy a K-car (Dodge Aries or Plymouth Reliant) but I know these cars have a tendency to blow their head gaskets. Someone tried to scare me off by saying it would cost $2000 to change the gasket. I don't think this is realistic. It's a 4 cylinder engine so it has only one gasket, and these old cars are much easier to work on than newer ones. How much would it cost to change the head gasket on such a car?How much to change the head gasket on a K-car?
An honest, experienced answer is call around to all your local shops and get price quotes. Because some shops are cheaper than others. You can purchase the head gasket kit yourself and save the extra money that a shop would charge you on mark up.
Also, since you have the head off you want to get the head pressure tested and checked for cracks. They also need to check valve facing and head face surface.
Have them do a complete tune up and oil change at the time of the head gasket replacement. Because some coolant can get down into the cylinders and the oil pan. Purchase the tune up parts and filters the same time you get the kit!
Remember, shop around and be smart with your money!
I hope this answer helps you in the long run!How much to change the head gasket on a K-car?
I have just completed this job on a 1990 Acclaim 2,5 turbo the head gasket was 40 dollars from Carquest and the head bolt kit is like 90 dollars from ARP sourced through summit racing. These 2.5 motors are the same engine as the 2.2 except the block is taller to accomidate longer throw crankshaft and longer rods. These motors are known for this problem but reasonable to fix. The heads warp and the gaskets fail between the cylinder bores. Another commonly found issue is the two head bolts on the left side of the motor come loose and just require re torquing after a couple of heat cycles. I think a machinist would %26quot;magniflux%26quot; or examine your head for like 150 dollars. The job took all day for me and the biggest part was removing all the accessories like the air conditioner and the turbo. These cars do not have torque to yield head bolts so the replacement is a judgement call for you. These cars have little or no value unfortunately but provide a good ride for minimal bucks.How much to change the head gasket on a K-car?
First of all, these are really old cars that were very prone to rust. Where do you plan to find one? The gasket is not all that hard as they go, but there are usually head problems as well. Expect a job like this to be in the $7-800 range from an independent shop.
