Head Gasket

[flyfishn]

Atfter my oil change today, my mechanic said my Rad was down a bit. He said he has heard of a number of head gaskets going. He said this could be why the fluid is down. What is the average cost of a head gasket job?

Thanks

[Mr. Flibble]

Check to see if there is water in your oil - also check to see if there is oil in your rad fluid. Both are indicators of a leaky head gasket. (I don't know how much head gasket work costs in a Deli).

[after oil]

Atfter my oil change today, my mechanic said my Rad was down a bit. He said he has heard of a number of head gaskets going. He said this could be why the fluid is down. What is the average cost of a head gasket job?

Thanks

whoa whoa
thats a huge jump from rad down to blown head gasket. theres a million other reasons why your rad could be down, just a few off the top of my head:
not filled enough
leaky hose
leaky water pump
faulty rad cap
leaky thermostat housing
cracked overflow tank

and more and more...

head gasket is a pretty big job, especially if youre paying a dud $80 an hour

please investigate further before you agree to a head gasket job.

[Green1]

The rad being low is much more likely to be a leaky hose/connection than a head gasket. Unless you're having some other issues you aren't disclosing?

As for cost... 2 to 4 thousand probably to have a head gasket done.

Some easy tests for head/head gasket problems:
- "sniffer" test (checks for oil in the coolant (in smaller quantities than you can see))
- rock hard rad-hoses when engine is running (more of a "big" sign than a little one)
- for "big" problems there's a real simple check, with a cold engine loosen the rad cap and start the vehicle... if you're cleaning coolant off the headliner you have a head/headgasket problem. if everything is good the coolant should stay put. (be ready to shut off the engine quickly, trust me, this one is MESSY if it fails!)

[MardyDelica]

hi, try to check it first dont pay attention of your mechanic see if really loosing lots of anti freeze.
probably you never check your anti freeze since you buy it from me.
check it first before you go further. you got new radiator i put in it.
if you loose not thats much i would say its normal.
monitor first before doing such kind of diagnose
some have problem with head gasket if they dont change radiator.
all delica L300 come from japan has a clog radiator. that why i change all of them when it arrived here to prevent that damage.
your is brand new. call me if you need help
cheers;
Mardy

[flyfishn]

Hey thanks for all the advice. Don't worry, I am not jumping onto this.
I figure that when the coolant was topped up that maybe there was an airlock. Also. I figure if it is down a bit....no big deal.
My wifes Voyager leaves all kinds of stains in the driveway, absolutely nothing so far from the Deli at all.

I will monitor it closely.

[jrman]

Had similar problem. Was losing 0.5L every 2 weeks for a while. Thought maybe Head Gasget - but no other symptoms. Had pressure test which exposed upper rad hose leak - now all is well even after some long mountain hill climbs!!!! If you watch the temps - have good condition cooling system (rad / T-stat / water pump / rad cap), you should be ok to keep the temps down. Temps are the killer for Head Gasket.
Good luck.
SS

[Firesong]

Some of you may be skeptical of the next bit I type.

Hopefully you don't have a blown headgasket.
If you do get ahold of these people:
http://www.rxauto.com/

Amazing stuff.
Dan, a friend of mine with a lemon of a Toyota Surf blew
his headgasket hard. He's dumped so much money into it
that I would have tossed it away a long time ago. I came across
the site and checked out the video. Told him to call them
and give it a try.
The guy used to be an instructor/teacher and specialized
in the field of ceramics. Someone mentioned/asked if it
would work for cracked heads etc. That's the history.

Anyway It took A week and a half for it to come from the US to Saskatoon
Sk. Cost about 140$ I think. They prefer that if you are unsure
about doing it to call them and they will walk you through it
on the phone. If it doesn't work money back. The repair
is permanent until you take the head off. And yes, you can
repair the head, replace the gasket or what have you at your
leisure. But if you decide not to, the result is permanent.

Dan's surf is still a POS but it doesn't have a cracked head/gasket
problem any more. Go watch the video on their website and
feel free to ask me any questions. His surf was done about 4
weeks ago. He's not the brightest bulb in the neighborhood but
we got it done.

James - Firesong

[Erebus]

Head gaskets have been more of an issue on some Toyotas than on the Mitsus.

If you had a blown head gasket, you'd most likely be seeing clouds of white smoke from your tailpipe.

[flyfishn]

Well I did the "remove raditor test". Nothing happend. OOOOOOO me so happy. I will continue to monitor, but I have seen nary a drip nor stain under my Deli.

Thanks all for replying.

[delillama]

after dealing with a cracked head last summer on the alaska highway, this is what i would recommend right away, have your radiator serviced, a complete flush to ensure all the lines are clean. the cracked head on the 92 delica was a direct cause of plugged radiator.