blown head gasket

P

patricklcm

Member

:

2002 Mazda Protege5

• Aug 5, 2011

• #1

overheated my car and blew my head gasket. overheated it 4 times in the past 6 weeks actually, have been taking it to a shop, then CEL came on. took it to another shop, as i was getting frustrated with the first one's inability to solve the problem. this new shop tells me i blew my head gasket, so coolant is leaking into the 3rd cylinder. to replace the head gasket alone would be $2400. the mechanic is telling me that putting a brand new head gasket on a car with as high mileage as mine (little under 135K) could cause problems down the road (he explained it to me, don't exactly remember what he said though), so he tells me he can put an engine with low mileage in there for another $1000. so that's $3400 in total. which is more than half the value of my car. so i'm thinking of just buying a new car. but then i thought, hey, new engine, that's like having close to a new car... shouldn't have any problems with it for a while then after they fix all this up. so, what would you guys do in my situation? thoughts?

 

D

d0sitmatr

long time mazda owner

:

2003 Protege5

• Aug 5, 2011

• #2

sounds like your being raped.
you can find a good, used engine at a junkyard for less than $1,000.0 and Im sure you can find a shop that will install it for maybe $500-$600.

heck, I found a 1.6L engine for my mothers 2k protege with less than 250 miles (yes, 250, not 250,000) for $550 shipped last summer, and had a mechanic quote me $400.0 to install it, that included going over and replacing seals/belts and gaskets. (I had to buy the items though)
all in all, the total cost would have been about $1200.
unfortunately, the deal fell through when my brother refused to allow us to use his shop for delivery.

we ended up having her engine rebuilt and it cost about the same.

 

I

igdrasil

:

12psi Protege5

• Aug 5, 2011

• #3

yeah, thats too high. Replacing a head gasket is not so difficult, it should cost around 300-500 labor. Now, the head may be warped and may need machine shop repairs.

Even changing valve seals and doing a full service to the engine head will NEVER reach that much.

For a 1000, switch engines.

Another thing, the thermostat in this engine is a piece of doodoo, that may be the culprit to your engine heating issues.

 

P

patricklcm

Member

:

2002 Mazda Protege5

• Oct 14, 2011

• #4

so, my p5 has been sitting in my street, and the other day i had to get something out of it. i found that there was some kind of oil or fluid on the floor in front of the passenger's seat. a few days later, this fluid is on the street under the front passenger's side door. what could this be? should i go get this checked out AND get my head gasket and/or engine replaced, or should i give up on this car and start looking for its replacement?

 

M

mazda3gboostin

Member

:

2002 protege lx (sold) ,2003.5 msp

• Oct 15, 2011

• #5

i say get it fixed but deff look around for better priceing you can deff get it done for alot much cheaper

 

P

patricklcm

Member

:

2002 Mazda Protege5

• Oct 15, 2011

• #6

what could the stuff literally leaking out of my car be?

 

M

mazda3gboostin

Member

:

2002 protege lx (sold) ,2003.5 msp

• Oct 15, 2011

• #7

what color is it

 

P

patricklcm

Member

:

2002 Mazda Protege5

• Oct 15, 2011

• #8

brown?

 

M

mazda3gboostin

Member

:

2002 protege lx (sold) ,2003.5 msp

• Oct 15, 2011

• #9

it could b from the coolant since it has the blown head gasket but for it to leak in the car i deff dnt think it from the head gasket on the floor mabie but in the car has to be something else wrong their

 

J

Jordysoso

Member

:

2003 Mazda Protege5

• Oct 15, 2011

• #10

There was a member on here who also had a problem with s*** leaking in their car. But if you have a few tech savvy friends, you could knock out a head gasket in one day.

 

T

tweety2300

Member

:

2001 mazda protege mp3

• Oct 15, 2011

• #11

Heater core? I don't see how coolant or oild could leak into a car that's not running...

 

I

igdrasil

:

12psi Protege5

• Oct 16, 2011

• #12

patricklcm said:

so, my p5 has been sitting in my street, and the other day i had to get something out of it. i found that there was some kind of oil or fluid on the floor in front of the passenger's seat. a few days later, this fluid is on the street under the front passenger's side door. what could this be? should i go get this checked out AND get my head gasket and/or engine replaced, or should i give up on this car and start looking for its replacement?

Click to expand...

That oil can come from the heater core (hoses) or broken air conditioner unit line.

Also, other liquid substances can get into the cabin thru the main wiring if its modified.

 

Last edited: Oct 16, 2011