If you're wondering, “how much does it cost to fix a cracked head gasket,” Typically, it should cost somewhere between $1000 and $2000.
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
When your head gasket gets cracked, you must act immediately and fix it as soon as possible. Otherwise, you have to replace the vehicle completely.
Understanding the cost of fixing head gasket is one of the most important steps that you have to do before moving any further with spending any penny trying to fix the vehicle.
This article provides you with an estimation of how much does it cost to fix a cracked head gasket. It also provides you with some additional information about factors that could affect the repair cost for your head gasket.
Furthermore, the article summarizes the main symptoms so watch for indicating that you're dealing with it failing head gaskets along with some recommendations on how to prevent head gasket failure.
What is the head gasket, and what does it do?
Understanding the purpose of the head gasket helps you evaluates how critical it is to fix the head gasket when it fails as soon as possible. It also encourages you to spend the money if it's worth fixing your head gasket before the problem evolves it becomes more severe.
The head gasket is a thin metal layer sitting between the engine cylinders and the remaining portion of the engine compartment. It is responsible for sealing the cylinders and preventing any hot gases from leaving the cylinders towards the other components.
The head gasket is also responsible for preventing any fluids from leaving the pathways and getting inside the cylinders. Once these fluids make their way to the cylinders, they can get burnt and cause additional problems to the vehicle.
With these jobs, the head gaskets maintains the engine temperature and prevents its overheating which could kill the engine in a short time. Thus, it's critical that you maintain the head gasket and ensure it's in good shape before problems evolve and cause you to replace the entire engine.
How much does it cost to fix a cracked head gasket?
Typically, you should expect to pay somewhere between $1000 and $2000 to fix your failing head gasket. However, this rough estimate is very general and might not represent the actual situation to your vehicle because there are several factors that could impact the head gasket repairs.
Factors that affect the cost of repair
Among the different factors that might have an impact on the overall cost of fixing the head gasket, these are the most common ones that you should watch for and evaluate:
1. Your vehicles may, model, and year
Obviously, up every vehicle costs the same and not every vehicle will have the same repair costs for any type of maintenance. This same principle applies for fixing the head gasket.
For example, if you're driving a 2001 or older vehicle, replacing the head gaskets not gonna be as expensive as someone who's trying to fix a head gasket on a vehicle that says 2023. It's simple that more modern cars will require more expensive parts but that's not the only factor.
2. The head gaskets cracks severity
When you have a cracked head gasket, it doesn't mean that you're going to have the same exact problem like someone else. In other words, the crack and the size of the crack severity plays a major role in determining the final cost you have to pay for fixing this problem.
That's why most automotive experts always recommend to watch for any symptoms that could help you identify the cracked gasket as soon as possible. This way you can check with your mechanic and have him potentially fix the head gasket without needing to replace the entire engine.
Therefore come what we encourage you to go through the symptoms that we will highlight in the following sections and whenever you notice any of them, consult your mechanic as soon as possible.
3. You're a mechanic
Labor costs could be a significant contribution to the final repair cost you have to pay for fixing the cracks in the asset. For example, if you decided to get your job done at a small independent shop, labor costs cannot be very expensive. On the other hand, if you decided to have your head gasket replaced at a dealership, labor costs could be a big component.
This does not mean that you should always go with a small independent shops for fixing your head gasket. Remember that you're dealing with a very sensitive problem that has to do with the engine and any problem that could it be introduced by mistake can lead to severe damages.
Of course, if you were aware of a mechanic who has previous good experience with fixing head gaskets for similar vehicle steers, you might be lucky and find that mechanic at a labor cost it's not very expensive.
4. Parts availability
Finally, with the current car parts shortage that started in 2021 and still continuing into the 2023, you will find it challenging sometimes to find certain parts replacements. For example, if your vehicle has good parts available, your head gasket should not be a very expensive repair. On the other hand, if you're waiting for parts to placement for a long time that are manufactured at out countries, you might realize that repair costs can be more expensive.
Signs that your head gasket is cracked
Since the head gasket is an important component in your engine and when it cracks, you have to fix it as soon as possible, automotive experts always recommend that you go through the common symptoms indicating you're dealing with that bad head gasket.
Luckily, these symptoms are very common and you can potentially detect them as long as you know what to look for. Here are some examples of these symptoms:
1. White smoke coming from the exhaust
Many of our readers who had to deal with a cracked head gasket reported that they started noticing white smoke coming out of the exhaust whenever the problem starts. Thus, it's critical that you pay attention to the color of the exhaust coming out of the tailpipe of your vehicle.
Typically, a cracked gasket is associated with white smoke coming out of the tailpipe. Of course, if you're driving an older car, it could be a common situation that you see a white smoke coming out of the vehicle. However, if you're driving a more modern vehicle that's not supposed to have this white smoke, it might indicate that you have a crack head gasket.
2. Overheating engine
In addition to the white small, you will start noticing that the engine is overheating continuously. Take a look at the gauge on the dashboard and see how high the temperature of your engine is.
If you feel that engine is overheating more than usual, it might indicate that your head gasket is correct. However, you gotta be careful about this assumption because engine overheating might be linked to various problems that you should confirm first.
3. Low coolant level
When the engine also overheats, the problem could be also related to an issue with the cooling system. For example, if you have a leak in the cooling system, you'll notice that the engine is overheating and the coolant level is dropping.
Driving with low coolant is never a good idea because it easily leads to damaging the engine and costing you more money to fix the problem. Thus, if you start with only a cracked gaskets, you might end up with replacing the entire engine.
4. Oil in the coolant
Finally, a cracked head gasket might allow several fluids to get mixed together when there should not. That's why take a look at the oil and see if you feel that it's not normal or it's not the typical substance that you would expect from an engine oil.
When the head gasket is cracked, most likely, the oil and coolant might get mixed and contaminating the oil which might impact the engine overheating issues and also could lead to further destructions in the vehicle.
How to prevent a cracked head gasket
Crack head gasket is never fun and when it happens, it could cost you a lot of money. That's why as a driver, you need to Flyers yourself with different recommendations from automotive experts to help you prevent and avoid dealing with this situation from the first place.
Let's take a closer look at what automotive experts recommend on how to prevent a cracks head gaskets:
1. Perform regular means
2. Do not overload the vehicle
3. Keep an eye on overheating
4. Choose the correct oil
Final thoughts
A cracked head gasket is a Severe problem and when it happens, you have to fix it as soon as possible to avoid further complications that could cost you the entire engine. One of the first important questions you have to ask yourself, how much does it cost to fix a crack head gaskets?
Fixing a head gasket is not cheap and it should cost you somewhere between $1000 and $2000. Therefore, before you spend the money in fixing this head gasket, you should do the evaluation and compare the repair costs to your vehicles value.
If you feel that it's not worth fixing your head gasket, we highly encourage you to sell this vehicle. If you're looking for someone to buy your car today, call Cash Cars Buyer at 7737914363.
You will receive an instant free offer that's generated within 30 seconds only! Say goodbye to your vehicle and welcome the cash payment immediately on the spot!