Head gasket going?

[Hey-G]

Hey all, I'm trying to sell my car. We went for an inspection and the car was spotless. Now the only thing that was seen which was also news to me, was there is oil drops around the head gasket that can be seen from underneath. (very minimal). The mechanic says it's going to go and when it starts, it goes fast. I would like to know what the situation is. It's a 97 eclipse RS with 73,000 miles.

I did a search for prices, but would like to know in this thread. How much would a new headgasket cost seperately and with labor.
I'm assuming around 150$ for headgasket, +400$ labor?

 

[Hey-G]

sorry, i'm also curious. Most of the stories I am reading about the head gaskets are going at 150,000mile and up. I can honestly say my car has not been driven hard, so what would cause this to happen. The mechanic was a friend of the buyers, so i'm wondering if there's anything else that can cause very little oil around the headgasket bolts?

and if I'm notmistaken, this 'problem' will happen to any 420a engine right?

 

[Hey-G]

just to add more information we did a compression test, they're 176+- (7 turns each) for all 4 cylinders.

 

[Catoboli]

150 for a head gasket is an awful lot i have never bought parts for a 420a engien but ive bought both cometic and mitzu multi layered steel head gaskets made for high boost for my 4g63 and both were less than 100 bucks, unless your going to turbo charge your car which it dosent soundl ike you are id just ger a simple felpro head gasket, i got mine for my 4g63 for like 40 bucks from autozone, also 400 bucks for labor also sounds like a lot i can change my head gasket in 2 1/2 hours so i would assume a real mechanic could do it in about the same time. also just because your compression is perfect ddosent mean the head gasket isnt going bad it just means its still sealing the cylinders well but the oil passages might not be sealing well. honestly it dosnent really sound like you need to replace your head gasket. the oil might be coming from other places and it just looks like the head gasket. i would further investigate exactly where the oil is leaking from, (they make a uv die that u can put in your oil and it glows under a black lignt) also if the oil leaks arent bad i wouldnt rush out and fix it, i had what looked like leaking oil from my headgasket and i drove my car around for 6 months without it gettign any worse, my leaks were so small i wouldnt have to add oil between oil changes and never left a puddle, maybe a drop in my driveway now and then....

 

[RiceKiller_TSi]

You should clean the oil off with some degreaser and see where its coming from when it comes back. It may be coming from somewhere else. I have a feeling it isnt the headgasket from your posts. Check the seals on the head... CAS, valve cover, etc.

I dont' know about your engine exactly but the head bolts should be "underneath" the valve cover and they "should" have oil on them.

 

[Hey-G]

thx guys, anyways this guy is not going to buy my car, he's lowballing me hard. complaining about repair costs, when this is the only thing the mechanic said was 'wrong'. I just want to make sure that this mechanic even knew what he was talking about.

You should clean the oil off with some degreaser and see where its coming from when it comes back. It may be coming from somewhere else. I have a feeling it isnt the headgasket from your posts. Check the seals on the head... CAS, valve cover, etc.

I dont' know about your engine exactly but the head bolts should be "underneath" the valve cover and they "should" have oil on them.

the oil is around the bolts underneath the valve cover. He showed it to me from underneath the car when it was on the lift. Do you think any garage can help me find if it's leaking or going? or do I need to go to specific garages like satan?

Where does the oil usually accumulate if the head gasket is going?

 

[Catoboli]

ok so im not exactly familiar with what the 420a engien looks like but if it looks anything like my 4g63 then this sounds weird. if theres oil anywhere near the valve cover its not the head gasket when the head gasket leaks teh oil will usualy be around where the head meets the block i have a pic its a lil fuzzy but it might help, its a new head so its nice and clean where the block starts its a dark oily color, the oil will accumulate at this join. its under the exhasut manifold so its a good 5 inches further down from the valve cover, if i can find my phone ill go take a better pic for you.... ok my pic is too big so ill go take another one for you brb

 

[Catoboli]

here are some pics of where oil usualy acumulates from a bad head gasket the first pic the oil usualy accumulates right below the manifold the second is where that little thin piece of metal is (thats the headgasket) this is right neer the timing belt which u can see in the picture. the third again you can see the head gasket this is on the opposite side of the engine and thefourth is a pic of the third pic but further away. keep in mind the 420a engine is backwards that of the 4g63, honestly i dont think is your head gasket, i dont know how he showed you valve cove bolts from below the engien and on my car the only bolts below my valve cove bolts are the ones that bolt my exhaust manifold to my head and my intake manifold to my head on the other side of the engien

 

[Catoboli]

the site posted the pics differently than i uploaded the m the first one i talked about is the last pic you see and the second one i talked about is the second pic and the last 2 i talked about are pics 2 and 3

 

[RiceKiller_TSi]

the oil is around the bolts underneath the valve cover.

This is not unusual. Oil lubes the head and the bolts are "in" the head.

He showed it to me from underneath the car when it was on the lift. Do you think any garage can help me find if it's leaking or going? or do I need to go to specific garages like satan?
Where does the oil usually accumulate if the head gasket is going?

That doesn't make any sense. That mechanic must be papa and he needs a brand new bag. Underneath is the absolute worst way to see if the head gasket is leaking. When you drive a car oil can "blow" from anywhere leaking and make it appear that its coming from another seal. Like I stated before, maybe you should degrease the engine and see were that leak is coming from when I returns. Check your engine <b>constantly</b> after you clean it and you'll see whats up.

 

[Hey-G]

This is not unusual. Oil lubes the head and the bolts are "in" the head.




That doesn't make any sense. That mechanic must be papa and he needs a brand new bag. Underneath is the absolute worst way to see if the head gasket is leaking. When you drive a car oil can "blow" from anywhere leaking and make it appear that its coming from another seal. Like I stated before, maybe you should degrease the engine and see were that leak is coming from when I returns. Check your engine <b>constantly</b> after you clean it and you'll see whats up.

so the bolts are suppose to have oil around them? ie, it's expected or common?


as for the mechanic, he is a friend of the fathers. As for checking, the problem i'm going to have is the only way he showed me was the car was completely jacked up and we had to take a light under the car and directly to the engine, I don't see an easy way for me to check this, but I definaltey would like to find out what is going on.

I don't believe the mechanic is trying to "scam" me, but I think it is possible he may not be correct, althought I'm willing to accept if there is a head gasket problem. he quoted a 1500$ CDN job for the head gasket job.

 

[RiceKiller_TSi]

I don't believe the mechanic is trying to "scam" me,

. he quoted a 1500$ CDN job for the head gasket job.

WTF

so the bolts are suppose to have oil around them? ie, it's expected or common?

Maybe we aren't talking about the same thing here. I'm talking about "head bolts" not "valve cover" bolts. Do you have some pics you can post?

 

[Hey-G]

WTF



Maybe we aren't talking about the same thing here. I'm talking about "head bolts" not "valve cover" bolts. Do you have some pics you can post?

I'm going to take pics when I get it to my friends shop, i need to get it on a lift.

Now this kid is trying to sabotage my sale and telling everyone my car has problems. what a b*tch.