How much would it cost to fix a blown head gasket on a 77 chevy truck with a 350 or a 86 chevy with a 350?

Question

I am looking at buying one of the two trucks and both have a blown head gasket. I am buying them for cheap because of the problem but they are overall good looking trucks. I will ask how they blew the head gaskets out but need some info on how something like that happens and how much and if I would be able to do it myself. Thanks.

Answer 1

do it yourself, drain the oil - take off the valve cover - take off the heads - replace gasket - put head on - put valve cover on - replace oil, this will take a while a pro 3 hours u 4-5 it depends wat the mech. charges per hr. about $100 usually hence 300 bucks plus gasket. do it urself hint the gasket is the rubber-like thing between parts they are extremely delicate. when u do it its likely that u break the valve gasket too do but 1 of those b4 u do it

Answer 2

200-300 to have someone do it on the side... They are very easy repairs and will only cost you about 100 in parts and 3 or 4 hours of labor......

Head gaskets blow from overuse...... Each heat cycle(as the engine gets hot) the cast iron expands, then it cools and shrinks.... the gasket can fatigue from being compressed and having the pressure released thousands and thousands of times over the engines life.... Other things that can cause bad headgaskets are extreme overheating and warpage of the cylinder head or deck surface

Answer 3

HOW?? Could be any number or reasons. Anything from Poor maintenance from the owner (Anti freeze gets corrosive over time) to haveing been replaced before and not done correctly or Just one of those things that happens 1000"s of times a year. How much? Parts....$300 +/- and a good weekend. Go to Autozone or Advance Auto and buy a repair manual for $10-$15. Find a good shade tree, read the manual and have a good time fixing your truck and knowing YOU DID IT!!. Your not a "DUMMY". you can do almost anything if you put your mind to it. I've ben a ASE mechanic for 25 years. Telling some one how to do it by e-mail will take all day. I bet there are mechanics in your area that would be thrilled to know that someone is tapping their brains for ideas and tips. Especialy the older mechanics, makes them feel useful again. Remember...smile, read and think.

Answer 4

You're taking a big chance. Half the cars that people think just have blown head gaskets have cracked heads or worn out engines It would probably run around $500 to get both sides changed. It's not something you do yourself without having an experienced partner to give you tips the first time.