Head gasket replacement costs?

Question

I have a 1991 SE-v6 Nissan truck with mauel trans. It ran great but the head gasket blew one day and I quickly stopped and had it towed home.
I assume head bolts can only be used once. I am being charged $600 for bolts only (from Nissan) not including labor.

Unfortuanately, I was in a position where I had little choice and every shop was trying to rip me off. Is this way to much? It's a relative doing the work out of his garage. How do I know that this was fair or is it clearly a rip off? If it is a rip off, is it worth small claims court?

You just can't trust anyone anymore.

Answer 1

You now know how the foreign car market makes a killing and why people get rid of 'em rather than repair 'em.

Your least expensive alternative would have been an engine swap with a remanufactured motor. Head gaskets don't "blow". The head slightly warps and this lets the gasses go one way and sometimes oil and coolant go the other. The heads need to be serviced tigether and this means pulling both off and sending them to a machine shop to be checked for warpage and cracks and reground or welded or thrown into recycling.

Swaping out a motor is faster than doing a "head job" but the added cost of the motor would balance the costs. The only difference is that the rebuilt motor has a warranty and the entire condition of the engine is "like new".

Torque to yield head bolts are one of those foreign car things. A few American cars now have them but the cost of the bolts isn't much more than maybe $200. These bolts are a aluminum product and this is why they are "disposable". They are likely to snap if retorqued or reused.

You are likely not the only person who regrets that infamous decision but then if you replace your cars every three to five years you will likely miss out on all the fun of major maintenance problems.

You need to stay on top of the cooling system service to prevent future repeat problems and don't use the A/C unless you have to. Most trucks, SUV's, need a small block eight cylinder to adequately run highway speeds with all accessories running full blast and fighting the increased wind drag due to lack of aerodynamics.

The V-6 is adequate only in the mid to smaller sized cars. The old inline six cylinder was more durable but is only seen these days in higher end cars like BMW and Mercedes.

Ask a local machine shop how much they would charge you to rebuild that particular engine so as to have some idea of what is fair or normal. Check with a shop that installs Jasper rebuilt motors and ask them what the engine alone costs and then what would the whole swap cost. Might aid future decisions.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Well are you running again? 17 year old trucks have there own problems age and wear of items not replaced durimg the cyl head removal process. Your timing belt must not be reused new water pump a good idea new valve cover gaskets. Hydraulic lifters kept up right in oil while work is being done or your in for rattle after it starts back up. Surfacing of the heads is very important. I don't see in the factory service manual anything about not reusing the head bolts other than there two leingth bolts used. Just a complete timing belt job and water pump fan belts can cost nearly $500 at a dealership. You did not state how many miles the truck had. Good luck

Answer 3

your best bet is to get prices from your local mechanic not the dealer