I have an 02 max with about 75k miles and the head gasket failed.

The car never overheated. It ran rough about a month ago for a minute or two and the check engine light came on. It was turned off for a few minutes and then ran fine until this weekend - when it sputtered and white smoke (steam) poured out the tailpipe. The only sign in hindsight was small amounts of coolant disappearing over the last few months.

It was towed to mechanic this afternoon and he said it will be about $2,000 to replace the head gasket. I know it is big job because the first step in the FSM is remove the engine.

He has not given me a full quote because he only had time to diagnose the problem, but I have the following questions....

1) What is a fair price? - Basically I want to know how man man hours and materials.
2) What should it include? new water pump?........machine heads even though it never overheated
3) What damage was done to the car? Does coolant flowing out the exhaust have any effect of the catalytic converter? Any emissions issues?
4) Anything not mentioned above

This is a commuter car - never driven hard and has been well maintained.

Thanks

 

For that kind of money you could swap out the engine for a used low mile engine and not have to worry about any of the other repairs that go along with a blown headgasket.

 

Yep, if you are willing to spend two grand for a head gasket replacement you may as well buy a low mileage engine and come out even if not cheaper.

 

and a SC/TC while your at it. Thats ridiculous.


Find an engine in the yard and be done with it

 

What is SC/TC???

How hard is it to find a used engine? What would it cost?

Would I trust an engine that I have no history of vs this one?

 

SC/TC - Supercharge, Turbocharge. You just have to look around for the engine. Car-part.com, junkyards, etc. You might be able to carfax the engine to verify miles, etc.

 

$2000 is a rip. If i was a mechanic i'd only charge maybe $800. H/G are a pain in the *** to do, but they're fairly straight forward.

 

I was thinking super charger/ turbo charger - but I want basic transportation.

I checked car-parts.com and the engines were about 1,000. The mileage really doesn't effect the price that much.

There is one with 25k miles for an I35 - is that a drop in replacement for a maxima?

The lowest mileage maxima is 45k miles.

Does a leaking gasket really ruin the engine?

If I bought an engine - what would the labor be to swap it?

What is my old engine worth?

Thanks for all your input!

 

i added in the red

 

Any VQ35 will work. 350z VQ35s need some special mods with the mounts. But this has already been covered in another thread not only 3 discussions down. I35s are identical to 5.5 maximas in terms of engine & drivetrain.

 

btw how much smoke is coming out? its kinda had to see a head gasket fail so soon in a max .

 

yeah i if i didn't know better i'd bet he was talking about his 2nd gen acura legend haha

 

I had head gasket failure before (on a Chevy 3.1L engine) - local shop did it for $500.

 

PM me, I know where TWO 2000 motors are RIGHT NOW!!!!

 

Get a second opinion. Have another shop do a block test on your engine.
I find it unlikely that you have at blown head gasket at 75K, specially w/o overheating.

 

The car has the systems of a blown gasket - small amounts of missing coolant over the last few months, and when it broke loose - white smoke out the tail pipe - but never overheated. The mechanic did the pressure tests and he came to the same conclusion (he was hoping it was something else too).

I am not driving the car. It was towed to the mechanic so it would be another tow.

A new engine is 1,000 with 1,000 labor - so either way I am out 2,000. I would maybe get a car with 40k less miles but would not know the history.

My 94 maxima was sold with 150k miles on it, and the 00 max has about 175k and is still running strong. I am hoping it will 'stay cheap' until the kid goes to college

Hopefully the 02 max will be "costly breakdown" free after this! I agree it is rare - but stuff happens.

 

In my opinion, if the head gasket is blown I don't think it is a rip off. Is it cost effective? No, a swap would probably make more sense. But I think to drop the motor from the car and remove all the timing and stuff and get the heads off, flycut them to make sure they are flat (if there was overheating) then reassemble and put the engine back. 2k is a reasonable price for all that work.

 

Could you break down your costing on that, to how you got to only $800, with parts and machining?

 

no

 

Do I risk not having them flycut because it never ran hot (and I live in Phoenix where it is 115 in the summer!) Is it expensive?

2k is a lot of money, but when mechanics charge hundreds to change a starter/radiator/ect (which I do myself), I can almost see 2K for this. I assume all the brake lines, AC, PS, tranny need to be disconnected.

As far as a swap. I know this engine was driven by a grandma who took it to the dealer for every scheduled change. Then it was ours and everything was kept up (but my girfriend isn't the best on getting it in for oil changes).

Do I swap for an engine I know nothing about? Is my old engine scrap metal? Somebody will just fix it and sell it for $1,000 - it doesn't matter if the engine has 50k or 100k the prices are close if it is 'grade a' on the car-parts.com.

 

Dude, find some orger grease monkeys in ur area and give them food, beer and $100 each and they'd prob do head gasket, engine swap or both.... go, make some org friends

 

Straight edge and feeler gauge will tell the tale when the heads are on the bench.

 

Lots of smoke this weekend (incident #2) - had my own fog machine.

The car started to run rough as daughter drove 2 miles to work (but she only made it about 1.5 miles). She parked the car and left it. She didn't notice smoke but was looking at gauges and worried about getting it parked so it could have been missed.
I arrived 6 hours later. The car started on the second try and was idling fine. I was looking at the engine when billowing smoke out the tail pipe caught my eye. If the wind was blowing the other way I may have missed it (but my girlfriend in the car saw it in the mirrors). This was the only time we saw smoke but they may have missed it while driving.

Incident #1, a month ago, I arrived about 15 minutes after it started to run rough after 10 miles of freeway driving. It started fine and ran normal until this weekend.

 

Im pretty sure $800 is just for the labor

 

Correct. A Gasket set is no more than $150.

 

I got the details today - still 2,000.

Includes:
antifreeze change ($15)
spark plugs (80)
oil change (30).
machine heads (100???)
gaskets (100????? plus RTV silicone) or maybe he needs the gasket kit for $250 (minus the 30% for the wholesale price)
http://www.courtesyparts.com/maxima-...1958_1960.html

The material costs are my rough estimates from experience or googling, so roughly about 1600 labor and 400 parts.

 

you should get this fixed. I mean if you don't want to run the engine replacement route. Lots of people ignore HG problems, i mean your car will still drive, but eventually you'll start overheating and the heads will start warping and terrible things like that.

$1600 for labor is still steep though but its oh well.

 

The car was only driven a few minutes when there were symptons of running rough and the CEL (time to get off the road and turn it off).

I guess the big question I should have asked in the beginning - "how many man hours does it take to pull the engine, replace head gasket, and replace the engine on a 5th gen maxima".

If there is 20 hours of work, then I know I am paying about $80/hr. If it is 10 hours, then 160........

I just don't want to get soaked - like when the stealership wanted to charge me $240 to put in coils, and then $120 to change the spark plugs . Almost $400 for 45 minutes of work and you don't even get dirty! Don't get me started on what they wanted to charge for parts!!

 

But hey I heard of this thing called Steel Seal where it will seal your broken head gasket by pouring it into your radiator.

I have never used this before but some mechanic guys in Youtube promote it, and it seems pretty cheap so it might be worth a shot before spending $2K on some guy to just replace a little piece gasket. (And some other goodies)

 

What about machine shop labor, valves, guides and seals (if needed)?

 

i didn't realize my hypothetical estimate would be critically broken down by everyone. if you guys think the $2000 he's paying is a good deal, then just say so.

 

Why not call the guy who quoted you and ask him?

 

Can you elaborate why you think it's a (in your words) rip off?

How long does it take to do?
How much will parts cost?
How much will machining cost?

 

This stuff works good. Only as a temp fix though. I used it on my old corolla before I sold it. Works like a charm but I'm pretty sure it only lasts for 3-6 months.

 

What do you think that mechanic is going to do

 

This forum is my second opinion. He could put 10 or 20 hours on the bill and I wouldn't know which is a realistic number for an experienced person.

I looked at the FSM and the first step was "remove engine" - so I knew it was out of my ability. I changed the timing belt on my 94 max, and the water pump a few years later - but removing engines is nothing I want to tackle.

But if I can make $1600? in 2? days I may consider changing careers

 

Which head gasket is it? Didn't see where you said.

 

Businesses have costs, 24/7. $1600 is gross, unless he's using borrowed tools, in your driveway, with no warranty or insurance....and not paying any taxes or withholdings, which means he isn't being honest.

Do you want a dishonest guy taking your engine apart? I doubt it.

Anyhoo, I'm sure he's quoted the book time, and I see no reason why he wouldn't show you that...or ask at a different garage.
He won't know the actual time to do YOURS until it's done. Each one is a little different, and presents it's own challenges.

Cheers.

 

Part of my job is quoting so I know costs more than I would like too

The work has begun on the car - so no turning back now.

Thanks for everyone's input - hopefully the next time one of my maxima's goes down it will be an simple and cheap fix in my garage!

 

What I hate is if they tell you it takes 2 hours and you tell them you're gonna wait, they make sure you wait around 2 hours, even if they're done in an hour. I'm already gonna pay ya, so why waste time?