what a waste of 1500 USD on head gasket job

[RayBan GST]

i am really sad but i have to share this with you guys, i was having an over heating issues and some foam in the coolant and pushing coolant etc etc. so after days of checking we came to the fact that its my head gasket.

i bought a brand new gasket kit with bolts ( Graphite Ebay Head gasket) i bought new timing belts , new tensioners new pump new oil new coolant new spark plugs. new Everyhting and i gave them to my mechanic who asked 1200 USD for the job.

when we pulled the head yesterday to check , we found that my HG is in a very good shape and its not blown the only problem that one of the head bolts was loose.

what a waste of money and time. i should have checked the bolts.

advise to all please always check your head bolts if they are tight before doing what i have done. it was a 5 minutes job guys and this 5 minutes cost me 1500 USD.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

If only the world worked that way. Unfortunately we work in a flat rate world and it calls for 8.9 hours. So by them time you factor in gaskets and fluids it's a little high but not unrealistic.

 

[big_d]

I installed one on a customer's car over a year ago. He was on a budget, and I figured a graphite gasket is a graphite gasket, right?

The piece of shit lasted 165 miles before it blew out between cylinders two and three, filling both with coolant. I did everything by the books- the gasket just straight up failed.

It was one of those Evergreen Automotive gaskets. This is sad because every other seal and gasket in the kit was great- actually more durable than TopLine gaskets I've used which cost more money.

I run the same kit you describe on my beater dd talon, and I've put 10k miles on it so far. I agree all the gaskets in the kit seemed just as good as others I've used. I bolted the refreshed head down with arp's and copper sprayed the ebay head gasket also. It runs stock boost on a 14b and haven't had a problem yet. I also replaced the radiator with an ebay unit with no ill effects. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've had success with ebay gasket sets, and she has yet to develop a leak.

 

[Doubleot]

Because everything from ebay is junk. DUUUUUUHHH

Disagree. Strongly.

 

[99gst_racer]

Disagree. Strongly.

He was being sarcastic. Strongly.

 

[manny correa]

$1500!!!... dude you gotta "learn&know" your dsm at some point! its what really makes you a dsmer, these dam cars MAKE you the mechanic! willingly or un-willingly so man up, get a chiltons and have at it!

 

[AlteredCustoms]

We put a graphite gasket on our ls/vtec turbo integra held up nice under 16psi of boost but we turned it up to 22 and and cracked it right behind the exhaust manifold im not sure how well they run on a dsm but its probably about the same since most dsm have a higher compression

 

[jrohner]

I would be surprised if the bolt was just loose; it was probably stretched. I hope you used new bolts or head studs.

$1500 sounds insane, especially since that didn't include parts. It's 1/2 a days work. 1.5-2 hrs to remove the head, 2-2.5 to install, plus however long you end up spending cleaning gasket surfaces.

I used an ebay headgasket, and it only lasted a few days before it started pushing coolant. Then all of a sudden it totally blew out hardcore and exploded my radiator too.

 

[MidShipCivic]

It's actually not a bad idea to use copper coat on the headgasket and it won't hurt a thing.

i did not hear anyhting from you guys on the ebay graphite gasket , and i can see here that you have 2 different opinions on the sealant ??? which one is correct

Copper gasket spray is correct.

There is nothing correct about that you do not use anything between a cylinder head except for a flat surface and a new gasket.

Sprays and what ever are a hindrance and will not keep coolant or your gasket from falling apart you needn't try and make up for unevenness with a spray.

A flat surface head/block a new gasket is all that's needed, use that glitter stuff when you're a cosmetologist.

dsm but its probably about the same since most dsm have a higher compression

You have that backwards Honda's have higher compression ( there all motor cars remember?) than turbo DSM's 1g 7.8:1 / 2g 8.5:1 . VS 9.2:1 b18a / b18b.

 

[RayBan GST]

Thank you all for your comments

i have changed the head bolts with ajusa head bolts that came with the kit , i bought this kit for 52 USD from CNS ebay . the graphite head gaslet looks exactly like the OEM HG. i hope it will last as i am not pushing more than 16 psi. again guys please dont scare me about this gasket , its not that i want to cheap out on parts but really we DONT HAVE DSM PARTS HERE and that Graphite gasket on ebay was my last resort.


the 1500 USD was labor and parts ( HG Kit, Timing Belts. Pump, Oil, Coolant, Tensioners, Crank Sensor)

the mechanic is a filipino mechanic and he did not tell me anything about the loose head bolts until he finished the JOB, and i was WTF , he said its better just to do the whole job but he did not give me any explanation.

the car stayed with him for 3 days just to let you know. cause he said the machine shop needs 1-2 days to finish the head surface ( that was bullshit but i really did not have any other choice he is the only mechanic that can speak fair english) again fair english and not good english , i had to use signs with him and bring him pictures from the Catalouge to show him what iam talking about.

again thank you guys for your comments , next time i will do it myself even if it will cost me the engine, i can get a new engine for the price that i have just paid.

live and learn

 

[clean96GST]

Thank you all for your comments

i have changed the head bolts with ajusa head bolts that came with the kit , i bought this kit for 52 USD from CNS ebay . the graphite head gaslet looks exactly like the OEM HG. i hope it will last as i am not pushing more than 16 psi. again guys please dont scare me about this gasket , its not that i want to cheap out on parts but really we DONT HAVE DSM PARTS HERE and that Graphite gasket on ebay was my last resort.


the 1500 USD was labor and parts ( HG Kit, Timing Belts. Pump, Oil, Coolant, Tensioners, Crank Sensor)

the mechanic is a filipino mechanic and he did not tell me anything about the loose head bolts until he finished the JOB, and i was WTF , he said its better just to do the whole job but he did not give me any explanation.

the car stayed with him for 3 days just to let you know. cause he said the machine shop needs 1-2 days to finish the head surface ( that was bullshit but i really did not have any other choice he is the only mechanic that can speak fair english) again fair english and not good english , i had to use signs with him and bring him pictures from the Catalouge to show him what iam talking about.

again thank you guys for your comments , next time i will do it myself even if it will cost me the engine, i can get a new engine for the price that i have just paid.

live and learn

I've had a similar situation, and the only thing I can take away from it is never taking my DSM to another mechanic. At least you won't make the same mistake again. Can't you just order an oem headgasket off an american site?

 

[dsm-onster]

If only the world worked that way. Unfortunately we work in a flat rate world and it calls for 8.9 hours. So by them time you factor in gaskets and fluids it's a little high but not unrealistic.

At $100 an hour, that's $500 too high! But you're right some in the world don't work that way. Looks like he hadn't done it before and wanted to overkill lots to guarantee he'll walk away with a profit, maybe

I don't have a nice shop or grease monkeys that help, but I've been doing headgasket jobs all up and down the easternshore, va and in the central va area for a long time. I don't quote based off the manual's estimated time. Mechanics that do that get no business around here. I'm willing to be fair for the sake of getting business alone. But I would feel bad too if I charged that much and someone gave it to me not knowing any different. At least I would make sure the job was done; like, oh, tightening the headbolts and all


I've had good success with the partsdinosaur.com itm head gasket. It is just a composite like oem mitsu slash felpro composite. It's lasted a ling time. And with healthy boost with arp head studs. At $16, you can't beat it. You can get the more proven felpro for 20ish at autozoo though.

 

[RayBan GST]

guys i dont know what to tell you but i really have a bad luck

today my car did not want to work , it will crank forever but wont start. can you imagine i took it back to the mechanic because i was sure that it has something to do with what he screwed.

guys crank sensor and cam sensor both were bad they were cracked and very crunchy , if you even touch them they will just break into pieces. , the mechanic said that the cam sensor is bad but the other crank is still working but one its final stage its very dry and has so many cracks.

after hours and hours of searching for these sensors i found them finally and guess how much

MD 300101 for 110 USD and this after giving me discount can you imagine
Md 300102 for 120 USD

i am getting pain guys from this dsm this damn HG job had cost me the price of a new engine

 

[jstgon]

You will make it through. I am sure someone on here has the sensors you need. You would have to wait for them to be shipped, but I would ask on here first. The same thing happened with my car the first time I put it back together. The crank sensor was bad. had to pay 80 bucks to find it out too!!! It happens. Just live and learn like you said. I would recommend getting a chilton's manual though. They really help. Good luck. Hopefully mine will be up this weekend! Then to get some miles on the fresh rebuild and off to the track before they close for the year!

 

[JusMX141]

this damn HG job had cost me the price of a new engine

The thing is even if you got a new engine you'd be using the same sensors, so you'd still be up shit creek without a paddle.

Another thing to consider is the condition of your low end. I recently tore my FWD TSi down to the bare block, and careful inspection revealed that me rebuilding this engine was a complete waste of time. Even with 130k on the engine, the rings were worn just .003" more than the new ones and all of the bearings showed absoultely ZERO wear.

Basically I'm rebuilding a low end that didn't need rebuilt....so if your low end is in good shape, chances are you're good to go for quite a while.

 

[clockworktoy]

Dam what a rip, ive done hg jobs for like 500 including parts, labor, and resurface. And about that hg I wouldn't trust an eBay one especially since an oem one is so cheap.

 

[KevinBoosted]

You live and you learn. I guess the only thing to say is take the time and try and learn how to do it yourself next time

 

[RayBan GST]

i hope that i will be good to go for a while after all this work , i bought the sensors and said to myself ( WHAT TO DO)

now my car is back on the road again but with so many new parts so i pray it wont let me down again.

i am driving it very slowly now until i make some miles on it then i will push it hard

thanks

 

[richardc475]

Did you re-torque the headstuds after the first heat cycle?

 

[dsm-onster]

AAAAHH! don't do that with torque-to-yield head bolts! He has a 7bolt.