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BLOWN HEAD GASKET

18K views 34 replies 22 participants last post by  Mckenzie93 
#1 ·
Well.... the news was broken out to me by my mechanic today and I'm in shock now. My #6 cylendar has a blown head gasket :(

In the past few months I've had my coolant overheat on me several times when idling but lately I've been having it alot more often, the worst was once I had it on the highway and had to pull over as it shot to red zone. I bleeded the system many times but air kept getting in there. I had a new rad put in a couple of months ago since the old one was cracked. I told them to do a pressure test today on the cooling system but they also conducted some tests that check the chemical mixture of the coolant which showed evidence of a head gasket problem.

I was going to have my car in next week to get a set of headers made (if any of you guys remember my atempt to get a GB going) but I have to scrap that project out as well as scrap my other projects I had coming like rims, shocks and springs :(

THe mechanic quoted me $1500-$2000 CND to do the job ($935-$1250 USD) to do the job. He's already done 6 G2 Legend engines before with the same problem. Does this quote sound fair?

Since I have to rip apart the engine, I might as well do some internal work. What parts do you guys recommend in respect to pistons, rods, etc? Is it worth doing a port and polish job? Where is the best place to get these parts? I want to build this engine up strong dammit!

Those of you who had a blown head gasket, was it also on your #6 cylender? My mechanic told me most of the ones he worked on was the same cylender.

What other suggestions do you guys think I should do while the engine is opened up? Should I do a complete overhaul? My mechanic did not recoomend that as the entire bottom end is strong and has no problesm with it so I probably just want to replace parts on the top end.

Any help/advice would help!

G <--- in a state of shock
 
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#2 ·
Please get a second opinion. That seems a little high for a head gasket, figuring I bought my Type II engine for $800. Parts to do a head gasket job couldn't possibly be more than $200. so call around, you'll probably get a better deal. If not, then try to talk the mechanic down at least a little bit. hope I help a little. my condolenses to your Legend.
 
#3 ·
Sorry to hear that...:(

My head gasket job cost me 13 hours labour, $500 for the acura head gasket kit, and a pair of aftermarket O2 sensors ($420), so all together about $1700CDN.... but that was with those stupid O2 sensors that went bad after the job was done. My mechanics shop rate was also $54 an hour.. and I do recomend taking it to a person who has done the job before, because my mechanic said that there was alot involved in the job. His book said 10 hours labour, but it took him alot longer then that. Also, it ended up being that my block was cracked..:( , so that sucked too. If you are going to get any hting done, get a port and polish and make sure you get a proper one done. I talked to a shop that quoted me like $700... and then I talked to a specialty engine shop that quoted me close to $2000, and that included every possible apect of the job... phone around TO and you will find out what I mean...

I wish you good luck on the repair:)
 
#4 ·
Shiznit! I bought a Japanese car because it was supposed to be more reliable. I have already put hundreds of dollars into fixing it already, and there is more to be done in the near future. Now I'm looking at $1300 possibly for a new head gasket? Ugh. I heard someone complaining of smoke coming out of the tailpipe and it being indicative of this problem. I have a little bit of smoke coming out now, but it's pretty light. I assumed this was normal until now. This is horrible. It seems these 6-speed coupes break pretty easily.

For instance, I have some kind of rattle underneath my car that the dealer said would cost $500 to fix... There is also this annoying "whinny" when I let out the clutch pedal at idle. Anyone else have this?

Godfather, I'm very sorry to hear this. I'm sorry I don't have any recommendations at this time. Good luck.

And to think, I had a 91 Camaro with 100,000+ miles and it went through inspection with no problems and ran wonderfully.

Sincerely,
J520
 
#6 ·
jason520 said:


For instance, I have some kind of rattle underneath my car that the dealer said would cost $500 to fix... There is also this annoying "whinny" when I let out the clutch pedal at idle. Anyone else have this?

And to think, I had a 91 Camaro with 100,000+ miles and it went through inspection with no problems and ran wonderfully.

Ok...
Like any car, it is on only as good as the last owner..HG blowing mainly come from an oversight - overheating normally is the culprit.
I ran over 230k on my motor and didn't blow my HG...but I decided to do the swap since I was swapping the AT. AND it was still running strong (drove it ALL OVER THE PLACE!! Did a 1200 mile to Memphis 2 months before the swap.!

Your rattle is probably your heat shield over your cat = FREE - $5.00, NOT $500!!

the whinny, well, how many miles on your clutch?
That could be a part of your normal wear and tear.

You made a good move, just take care of your ride.....gotta pay the cost to be the boss ;)
 
#7 ·
The Don,

My sincere condolences about the Legend.
It's expensive, but it's like, you gotta do it, you need a car. :(

Either way, let me know how it all turns out.
This aint the death of a Legend.
It's the renewal of............

Take it easy.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the support guys!

I have one important quesiton, how safe is it to drive around with a blown head gasket? I've probably been driving with it for the last couple of months, so what is two more weeks or so of driving going to do? My mechanic told me I can still drive, but he highly recommends doing the repair soon. He mentioned as long as I watch the temperature it should not progress much further. I know I can be risking a cracked head but I cannot afford to get the car right away into the shop for this operation. It is a necessity which I will have to be very careful until I put it in.

Just for forther information, I have 222,000 km (140,000 mi) on this engine which I purchased it at 196,000km (122,000 mi) last May. I babied the car since I got it but damnit! who knows how the previous owner neglected her!

Well, I'm going to have to spend a couple of weeks doing research, ordering parts and finding a good deal, yet a very good mechanic. My mechanic has done head gasket jobs on at least 6 G2 Legends so he can do it with his eyes closed, but I don't know if he's ever port n polished before.

I'll keep you guys posted.

G
 
#9 · (Edited)
Damn that sux, I think if you decide to ride it is to make sure you got enough coolant to last your trip. Unplugging the spark plug from that cylinder could help free up the pounding in that area. But I think driving it is a bad idea unless you were stranded in a mil of nowhere and needing to get home cuz a leak in a system means the coolant could boil at a lower temp and loses its cooling efficiency and so your entire engine block is cooking at a higher temp. That's just my intuition so hopefully someone can confirm that around here.
PS I recall that most HG problems are from cylinder #3, passenger/firewall side.
 
#13 ·
Badass, all I can say is brace yourself and be ready....Sorry, but thats the way it is, because in all reality, are you ready..., cars aren't made to last forever and 230,000 miles, well,..... translate that in human years, its about 95 and the only reason your car is still going is because you love it so. Man, I sure hate to say this, *sigh* *sigh* your car....I can't. Here's some encouragement dude, when the engine dies buy another one (type II) put your mods on it and ride the car another 10yrs man.....its all good :) :)

Unlike us humans we can revive our cars when they die if we aren't ready to part with'em thats the nice thing about machines.

So tell me what contributes to a blown head gasket??
 
#14 ·
Sorry to hear about that. I know how u feel b/c in my previous posts I had the same discussion. It turned out now that I have 2 cracked rads (yes, even the new rad I ordered). I did get quotes from 2 places about the cracked HG. One said 1,200.00 and the other one said 1,000.00. I wish & ur Legend the best :(.

Latin...................
 
#15 ·
dude its no big deal, just park the car and start to tear the head off. bag and label all bolts so you remeber. the head gasket is like 50 bucks, u might as well replace the timming belt water pump and tensioner pulley while your at it. it will take time but cost you nothing, but parts. i have to do it again to the beast ive got a smal headgasket leak again too, but its all good.


try some alumaseal first.


~Hybrid
 
#16 ·
Thanks guys, the more info I get the better prepared I am going into this job.

Dv8 said:
dude its no big deal, just park the car and start to tear the head off. bag and label all bolts so you remeber. the head gasket is like 50 bucks, u might as well replace the timming belt water pump and tensioner pulley while your at it. it will take time but cost you nothing, but parts. i have to do it again to the beast ive got a smal headgasket leak again too, but its all good.

try some alumaseal first.

~Hybrid
I was looking at my service manual and yes, I can do it myself but I do not have the facility to do so. I live in a condominium and therefore park my car in a shared garage complex. If I had a house it would be great as I can have a table with all the parts lying there labelled as you said and work on it wheenver I feel like. Sure it'll take me a long time, but I'm sure my buddy would also give me a hand. But because I don't have the facility to do this at, I have to resort to a mechanic.

BTW.. I replaced the timing belt/water pump/etc about 2 months ago, damN I wish I knew this problem existed back then so it would save me a couple of $$.

What do you guys think of Paeco internal parts? They claim their head gaskets can outlast the car, is this true? Also how are their pistons? I want to build this engine up really strong A) so it lasts B) so it can compliment a future NOS application.

G
 
G
#17 ·
Damn.. sorry to hear about your poblems.. I need to get my 60K service done and my heads check out as intructed by my dealer.. Wow.. Badass you have 230,000... damn Mabey save up for another engine to keep the coupe up to speed..


Eveything will work out Godfather... :fingers crossed::)
 
#18 ·
baddasslegend92 said:
mY LEGEN HAS ABOUT 230,000 MILES ON IT ....i AM SO SCARED SOMTHINGS ABOUT TO HAPPEN TO IT ...ITS RUNNING VERY WELL BUT THE MILES!!!!!! WHAT YALL THINK I SHOULD DO????:confused:
I would do exactly what Leon did. Start looking for a type II before your up against the wall with no ride.
 
#20 ·
Nathan_Rd said:
Damn that sux, I think if you decide to ride it is to make sure you got enough coolant to last your trip. Unplugging the spark plug from that cylinder could help free up the pounding in that area. But I think driving it is a bad idea unless you were stranded in a mil of nowhere and needing to get home cuz a leak in a system means the coolant could boil at a lower temp and loses its cooling efficiency and so your entire engine block is cooking at a higher temp. That's just my intuition so hopefully someone can confirm that around here.
PS I recall that most HG problems are from cylinder #3, passenger/firewall side.
Just got some of my overheating problems diagnosed. Failure of my headgasket on cyl #3. I was quoted around $1500 for the job....seems to be pretty fair. Apperently most occasional overheating relates back to a HG as its cause. A leaking HG will force coolant out of your radiator and into your overflow tank. By displacing this coolant your temp gauge will rise or fall.
 
#21 ·
That's exactly what happens in my case with the overflow tank filling up. Eventually it'll get sucked back into the cooling system again.

I'm still driving around but watching my temperature. Gotta be careful when idling, that's when it likes to go up in temperature. Usually when that happens I just rev the engine at about 3000-4000 RPM and it'll instantly drop back to normal.

I'm still saving up for an entire engine rebuild with all performance parts with some port and polishing.

G
 
#23 ·
It prolly develop hot spots inside the motor if you continue driving with a bad HG. It could draw air into the cooling system where bubbles can only do so much to carry heat away from the engine(cavitation effect?). Your temp gauge can only see so much and could be deceiving as certain parts of the engine can develop hotspots. It's just my intuition and I may be wrong. btw, I only thought the reservoir gets fuller since a hole in the coolant system will only suck in air as the system cools, not the reservoir coolant. Maybe you HG seal itself airtight when the block cools down.:confused:
 
#24 ·
One recommendation I can make is have the HG replaced when the time comes to replace the timing belt and H2O pump. The labor involved when performing all three should be reduced (my wrench did the HG labor for free when changing the TB.) Any fluctuation in the temp gauge should not be taken lightly. If you live in an urban area, find a garage you know has specialized Acura experience. Not only do they have specific knowledge of your symptoms, they are more likely to appreciate what you have and treat you and your ride with respect. Coming from one high mileage type II (152K) to others, I wish y'all well.
 
#25 ·
All I can say is if your mechanic did the HG labour for free.... you got a smoking deal and your mechanic lost money. I got my mechanic to do just the timing belt in the summer, and he charged me 4 hrs labour. I had the same mechanic do my HG, and he quoted me ten hours, but it took him close to 15 hours just for the actual job, and this did not include the time it took him to dick around with all the problems after the job was done. My mechanic said he would never do a HG job again for that price on this car....
 
#26 ·
best idea...

take your car to the nearest highschool with an Automechanics class. now before you say "aww those hacks" listen im in a mechanics class and i will say we take car of the cars we fix. plus its next to free. all things need are the parts. now you dont have the factory warranty but if you dont have 1300 to put down it, this would be your best bet. probably 50-100 bucks (this is what my teacher charges for non-class related people). it will take a little longer than the dealer but you gotta, remember your dealing with kids with a class that doesn't last 8 hours a day.

if not this solution i hope you find out what to do soon good luck. look for a Helms and try to do it yourself.

peace and good luck on finding out how to get this job done.

one...
 
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