How much did you pay for head gasket replacement?

[TwoFortyJeff]

I've seen a few posts saying this shouldn't cost any more than $1200 to $1500, but that is going to differ based on what you get done.

So far I've been quoted $1900 by the dealer, which will apparently go up if the "heads are bad." I assumed they mean warped.

An independent subie shop quoted $2600 which includes pulling the engine, machining the heads, timing belt, tensions, idlers, water pump, a bunch of seals, fluids, etc.

Another independent subie shop wants $3200.

Am I getting screwed here? What have posters here paid?

Of course if you did the job yourself, feel free to gloat about how little you spent

[AWDFTW]

In my neck of the woods, adding a HG repair to the full timing belt service is about $1800-$2000 depending on if the heads need to be machined or just checked.

[NWSub]

If you went the one in Kent or the North End, that sounds about right. I also noticed that the pricing in the Seattle area does not match up to prices quoted on the board.

[bigdadi]

I saw in yelp.com that they're specialized in Subaru & very good review ... why not give them a call.




Lioe's Automotive

2400 Beacon Ave S
(between S 14th Ave & Bayview St)
Seattle, WA 98144
Neighborhood: Beacon Hill

(206) 323-2828




Hours:Mon-Fri 9 am - 5 pm

Sat 9 am - 1 pm

[xvimbi]

Here is what I'm getting in the north of North Carolina:

Dealer $1,700-1,800 with engine in, ~$2,100 with engine out. However, among three dealers, I could find only one who had a mechanic who was willing to pull the engine, and that only very reluctantly. Also, they are not willing to put in the head gaskets I want, so I declined.

Independent shop that I eventually chose: $1,450 with engine in, ~$1,750 with engine out. Add to that, timing belt plus all the trimmings (idlers, tensioner, water pump, etc.), a new oil pump (because mine is spewing oil), a separator plate, and some extras (change fuel filter - could have done that myself - and ATF), seals, etc., it'll come to about $3,200. Other shops were similar.

In the end, prices were within about $300-400, not too bad given the job. The difference was small enough to choose by how I feel about the shop and not by price.

Hope that helps.

PS: Before you get disappointed by the DIYers who will say "oh, only a few hundred bucks", take into account the cost of all the tools required, the labor, and the time it took to acquire the expertise to get the job done correctly

[mikec]

My quote from a Wisconsin dealer is $1800 not including water pump, timing belt, idlers etc. They leave the engine in the car and do not sent the heads out for machining.

[srpuywa]

My repair was 3500 for head gasket, timing belt and a bunch of other stuff (belts, tensionsrs, transmission flush, etc...)

[jbwood5]

As a DIYer, I can understand some of these prices. I was just reading some of the other posts and I see where a guy had one of the headbolts snap off in the block when trying to loosen it. That kind of problem will potentially add a couple of hours and might even require engine removal. These shops have to inflate their prices to cover these contingencies. They may do 4 or 5 with no problem, but the 6th one might take them 15 hours instead of the usual 10-12 hours.

Sure, a DIYer can do this job for $400 to $500 plus 10-12 hours of labor but that is assuming everything goes as planned. There really are no special tools required, but for doing it with the engine in-place, you need a few combination of extension shafts and a good 3/8" torque wrench. It is a lot of labor and a lot of moving from below the car to under the hood (up and down many times during the project).

[waterboy]

Had my 99 OB head gasket replaced after blowing it up in the mountains. Was done by an independant certified mech. $2400 all up with tax and towing

No for the bad news- I had just paid for the timing belt replacement 7 week earlier....ouch.

[Luke3026]

I just had mine done on my '98 OB at an independent Subaru specialist. Came to $1,720 out the door and included:
HG, cam seals, valve cover gaskets, front seal, etc.
TB, tensioner, water pump, tstat
Accessory belts
Oil change / filter
And a repair to the exhaust ($40)

No machining was required and I didn't think to aske whether the engine was removed or not. Either way, I'm happy with the work and I thought the price was fair.