Estimated cost of a cracked block and/or head gasket repair on 94 Ford Explorer?

Question

Can someone give me a ruff estimate for the cost of replacing a cracked block and/or a head gasket on a 94 explorer.

The reason is I was driving home from work tonight and my truck was overheating and then stopped running. I thought I could make it home and made a really stupid and expensive mistake.
I'm having it towed and praying it is only the radiator but probably not from what Ive read on here.

Answer 1

Expensive. A new motor may be cheaper.

Answer 2

Ouch ! Well, depending on the mileage on your 94 Ford Explorer, and how it looks, it could cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth. A cracked block might require the entire replacement of your engine (even a rebuilt is big money.) A head gasket is a little better, but it still is going to be expensive, mostly in labor costs. You have heavy choices to make. It is going to take some money just to have the engine checked out and be diagnosed.

Here is a question answered by a mechanic on Answers.com about a 1989 car; but you get the idea of a ballpark figure for this kind of repair work:

"A. Okay Dave, ballpark is the best I can do. A large factor is the shops labor rate which can vary widely depending on the part of the country you're in. I use the average rate of $65.00 an hour for my estimates in this venue. The parts prices I use are the list prices that I get from my suppliers, which will also vary. Also the parts required can affect the cost of the job as well. Incidentals such as anti-freeze, oil and filter, new hardware, etc... can increase the cost as well.

The labor to replace the head gasket is 7.0 hours. At $65.00 an hour that comes to $455.00 for labor. The cost of the head set, which includes the head gasket and all the other gaskets and seals to perform the job, is $187.88. That brings the total up to $642.88. There is usually a $10.00 shop supply/disposal fee added to each job as well. With new anti-freeze and oil and filter, you're in the $700.00 area "

Answer 3

If it's a cracked block then the engine must be replaced. A cracked block cannot be repaired, unless it's cracked on the outside somewhere which is very unlikely. If it's a blown head gasket it will be an expensive repair as this is a big job. The assocciated gaskets can run nearly $200.00 in all, and then you have to think about labor, which will also be expensive due to the involvement of such a task. You might want to look for a used engine as this could be cheaper and can probably be done faster than the gassket repair. All told the repair shouldn't cost more than $600.00 and that's inflated dealership prices, anybody tries to charge more than that, tell them to stop ripping people off. Good luck my friend.

Answer 4

It probably won't be cheap, but know that all cars shut off when they get too hot, that is normal. It is a simple matter that it gets so hot inside the engine that the fuel ignites spontaneously and in so doing it combusts prematurely and so it is no longer able to push the piston down, and the engine cuts off.

I would pray because it can't hurt, and what you did isn't good for the engine but the good news is that it's probably something far less expensive than you're thinking. What's going to cost is the tow and the parts and the labor, depending what it is you're still looking at several hundred dollars (I could not tell you how much, maybe 400 but 600-800 I don't know maybe less or more) but I am 78% sure your engine is still ok.

Answer 5

Hello !

I do fix motors and my best advice is ... bring a mechanic to look at your car, but bring only one than will do free estimates and is very well recommended. Best source will be a mechanic that a good friend of yours trust.

It's hard to tell if it is a cracked head or cracked block. A cracked head/gasket is the most common.

A head job would cost you at least $500 ... so check for your self if it's worth the repair, or if you will put a new motor in, or got another one.

Answer 6

If your block is cracked your pretty much have to rebuild the motor. I'd think about how much the vehicle is worth to you before you dump a bunch of money into it. If its just the radiator then you'll be alright it isn't that expensive, but if the head gasket is blown or the block is cracked, you could end up paying more to fix it than its worth.

Answer 7

Well if its the head gasket and your can do it yourself it might be only $100 where as a shop could easily charge you $400-$600, if its a cracked block your engine is shot and your need a new one which could be $1500 or more for a shop to do it.

Answer 8

Since you used the word "warped", I suppose you mean a "warped cylinder head", because there is no such thing as a head gasket being warped. I wouldn't be surprised that they are going to have a charge in your total bill of around $1,500 for the labor, but then you will have a charge for resurfacing your cylinder head, and I have no idea of what is charged for that in today's economy. (I'm what you call an old-timer). They are limited as to how much metal they can shave off, so if it is badly warped you will have to go to a junk yard and get one.

Answer 9

a cracked block means replacing the engine, a rebuilt one runs $1800.00 -$2,000.00 installed, a cracked head is highly unlikely since it stopped running it means the bearings got hot with no oil and spun and its over for that motor.

Answer 10

well if it a crack block, you, be looking at a new block,, that go, from 600 to 1000, depend where you get it....,, so let hope it the head gastes..., they be around 300, for a full set of gastet, pluse labor