Head gasket pricing

[99LGT2.5ltd]

About a month ago, i was driving my subaru when it randomly overheated on me, spewing coolant out of the reservoir. No biggie, just pull over and turn it on and off a few times to flush the overflowing coolant reservoir down. Unfortunately this problem kept happening and with shorter times inbetween. I replaced my thermostat twice, and rad cap. There were no leaks at all, except for when it overheated on me (overflowing the reservoir).

 

I finally brought it into a shop this past weekend, and they told me it was for sure a head gasket leak after doing tests on it.

 

Here is the part I'm unsure of.. They priced me for parts (~$750), labor(~$1500), and milling(~$200) "if things go well." Come on! Labor being that expensive? I told the guy his mechanic must have one arm if he's that slow. But he said it's so expensive because they need to drop out the entire engine for access to get it done.

 

I tried the subaru dealership that afternoon, and they priced me at about $500 parts, $400 milling, and $1100 for labor. What's going on here? Why is this so expensive? Anywhere else i've read for a head gasket job on a subaru, it's been closer to $1500 overall!

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[blackfang]

It is so expensive because are comparing different places. The reason a dealer charges more for it is..

A. You can't do it and have to rely on them doing the work using oem parts unlike an aftermarket shop that uses junk.

B. It is very easy to screw it up, many shops can't do it and they probably know this. So they demand is higher as is the cost.

 

I know in my area, many smaller shops won't touch it. Some shops have seriously screwed it up so bad that while the customer thought they got a better deal, they ended up buying engines after the fact. That turned out to be double the cost. When it comes to engine repairs like that, cheaper doesn't mean better.

[Aczwild]

Where are you located? And mine was done in a day and cost me about $500

[blackfang]

Where are you located? And mine was done in a day and cost me about $500

You either

A) did it yourself

 

or

 

B) had a hookup

 

No shop that knows what they are doing and worth their weight would do a head gasket job on a Subaru for $500 including parts and labor.

 

In order to do it correctly the parts alone should be atleast 300-400 bucks. That includes all the seals and gaskets you will be replacing when you take them off while doing the job. Now some people may re-use the old seals/gaskets but are just asking for trouble later own and wonder why they have oil leaks:lol:

[ovni]

Subaru Dealer priced me $1575:confused: for my 2005 GT Ltd including head gaskets and seals kit, spark plug kit, engine oil and filter, machine shop labor and labor.

[99LGT2.5ltd]

Wow! I wish my dealership offered me that.. I'm in the Okanagan of BC, Canada.

I went ahead and ended up paying $2566.45 for the whole job at a different local shop. Should be fixed mid-late this week.

$490 parts + $375 new head bolts (dealership didn't offer the head bolts.. stupid)

$200 milling

$1100 labor

+too much $tax.

[Kaos22B]

Wow! I wish my dealership offered me that.. I'm in the Okanagan of BC, Canada.

I went ahead and ended up paying $2566.45 for the whole job at a different local shop. Should be fixed mid-late this week.

$490 parts + $375 new head bolts (dealership didn't offer the head bolts.. stupid)

$200 milling

$1100 labor

+too much $tax.

OMG

You could have had a used 2.5 NA longblock shipped to you for less than 1/2 that!

I feel your pain Sorry

[99LGT2.5ltd]

A whole new block?? Wouldn't i be paying about the same in the end for having that all installed though?

[Kaos22B]

A whole new block?? Wouldn't i be paying about the same in the end for having that all installed though?

With your guys? Probably!

[99LGT2.5ltd]

It's not even my guys. All of the places around here were asking at least $2000+!

Must just be my location.. Wish I lived in the US when it comes to car needs.

[LongHiway]

I paid about that (USD) for a '97 OB 5 years ago so, considering inflation and all, I'd say a good price. It was my wifes DD so, I don't know if there were tell tales signs of a leak before the gasket just blew out. It was a $ toss up between a re-build and a new engine.

[rubberman]

It's not even my guys. All of the places around here were asking at least $2000+!

Must just be my location.. Wish I lived in the US when it comes to car needs.

 

Just an idea...

I'm not sure how much you have worked on cars before, but I replaced the head gaskets in my 00 Outback about a year ago without ever having done anything like that before. Subaru engines are really easy to work on compared to other types. Before you take it to a shop, it would be worth calling a few local friends that have worked on cars/engines some and do some reading on nasioc, Hanes manual, etc. The info is there on how to do it. I needed an extra person around to help with physically handling the heads when I removed them, but other than that it was pretty much pulling bolts, etc. Any local machine shop can mill the surfaces for you to be sure they are flat. The rest is just getting the gasket kit from Subaru and going ahead and swapping other parts while you are in there (timing belt & tensioner, water pump, oil pump seals, belts, hoses, etc). Best part of doing it myself was picking up some new tools for the job since I was saving so much money overall.

[fishbone]

Would this price be the same for a 2005+ Legacy? Over 2K seems astronomical to me, I might have a gasket issue that should be under warranty but wondering how much the actual cost would be.

[LongHiway]

If the leak has not prevented the cylinders from getting lubricated, you might not have to tear the block apart and then re-hone / mill the cylinder walls.

 

I have no experience with little leaks.

[rubberman]

If the leak has not prevented the cylinders from getting lubricated, you might not have to tear the block apart and then re-hone / mill the cylinder walls.

 

I have no experience with little leaks.

 

If you catch the small leaks early enough then things should be ok. I started smelling antifreeze inside the car since the fan was on vent. It only cost me a few hundred $ for the OE parts (engine gasket set, new belts, hoses, timing belt, water pump). A local machine shop can mill the heads for $100-$150. I reused the head bolts with no problems (this isn't a racing motor and reusing them one time is fine - they don't elongate that much). Did all the work in my garage using a manual and learned everything along the way. Over 1 year and 25k+ miles later with no problems.