A head gasket repair can cost anywhere between £400 and £1,500, with the boilerplate UK cost beingness around £600. Unfortunately, the cost can as well come across the thousands! Past the stop of this article, you will understand why the cost is so loftier besides every bit:

  • What a caput gasket does
  • The alarm signs of a blown caput gasket
  • How to keep your repair toll low
  • How long a head gasket lasts

What is a head gasket? And what does information technology practise?

The head gasket sits between your engine block and cylinder heads and provides a seal for the combustion chamber. Its roles include:

  • Maintaining compression to ignite fuel and contain exhaust gases
  • Keep oil, coolant and water out of the combustion chamber
  • Prevent leaks to proceed these fluids from mixing

It looks like this: Close up of the head gasket Due to the nature of its work, it is the most stressed engine part. It has to do several complex tasks at in one case and deal with extreme pressure and loftier temperatures. Whatever perforation (a small pigsty caused by overheating) or a blown head gasket is bad news for your auto and your wallet.

What Causes a Blown Head Gasket?

A blown head gasket is commonly caused by high temperatures and intense pressure. The caput gasket literally holds your engine together - enough to give anyone a breakdown. Luckily, the caput gasket is a tough flake of gear. It'south designed to final effectually 200,000 miles, and then y'all might never take to worry about a head gasket replacement.

Why Does a Caput Gasket Repair Cost So Much?

As with any expensive car repair, labour costs are the main culprit. The actual part doesn't price very much, just a repair tin take upwards to 10 hours.It's very difficult to get to your head gasket because y'all need to detach the engine to complete the repair. And when yous're paying £fifty an 60 minutes for the mechanic'south fourth dimension, the costs soon stack up! If that wasn't bad plenty, a blown head gasket can also cause enough of other engine damage. It can warp your cylinder heads - which cost an centre-watering £900 to repair - and cause almost irreversible harm if you keep driving your car without a working caput gasket - rendering your car a write-off. Not a fun bill to deal with by whatever means.

How can I proceed my Head Gasket Repair Price Downwards?

If yous're thinking at that place'due south a DIY solution, we're sorry to disappoint. Y'all should NOT attempt a head gasket repair without proper grooming and experience. The repair price is expensive enough without yous causing any extra problems. Although, there are a few things y'all can to in lodge to keep your head gasket repair price down.

  1. Keep on top of your car servicing. A regular servicing schedule keeps your car in top status and helps you prevent problems from developing.
  2. Audit your engine regularly for the warning signs laid out below, and book a head gasket repair if y'all discover whatever.
  3. Cease driving if y'all retrieve you have an engine problem. A blown head gasket is expensive plenty - don't inflate the cost by causing £££ worth of impairment!

When Should I Book a Head Gasket Repair?

Y'all should volume a caput gasket repair equally before long every bit yous notice the tell-tale signs like a smoking exhaust, milky oil fluids and loss of power when accelerating.

If you observe any of these, you lot should stop driving immediately and book an appointment with a garage near you. Make sure your vehicle is towed to the garage to avoid whatever other impairment or invest in some caput gasket sealer as a very short-term gear up.

Here'southward what to look out for in more detail.

1. White or Milky Oil

Your engine oil should be a light brown colour when you cheque the dipstick. If information technology looks white, milky or you meet sludge on the dipstick, your head gasket may have failed. Coolant will have leaked into your automobile'southward combustion bedroom, seeped by the piston rings and pooled in your engine oil. And oil and coolant don't mix well at all.

two. Smoking Exhaust

A constantly smoking exhaust is a sure-fire sign of head gasket failure. It ways coolant is burning as office of the combustion process, likewise because of a leak.

car exhaust smoking heavily, white smoke pouring out into atmosphere
Your exhaust should never fume this much - if you notice it, get information technology checked out as shortly as possible

three. Faulty Exhaust

There are plenty of ways your exhaust can tell you well-nigh a blown head gasket. Sweet-smelling fumes or water leaking from the exhaust are just two of them.

4. Loss of Ability or Performance

A failing caput gasket tin struggle to shrink your engine bay correctly. This reduces the efficiency of the combustion procedure and leaves your car struggling for ability   These are the most common warning signs of a diddled head gasket, but at that place are a few others to be aware of likewise:

  • Oil stains in the coolant tank
  • External leak
  • Engine starting sluggishly
  • Bubbles in the radiator
  • Fouled spark plug

  If y'all notice whatsoever of these, book a caput gasket repair as before long equally possible and avoid driving your motorcar until the appointment. Your caution might just save you a few hundred pounds!

Recap

A head gasket repair can cost thousands of pounds, but the boilerplate UK cost is around £600. Nigh of this is the cost of labour. Seeing as the head gasket is a vital part of the engine, (and the replacement can have ten hours) it's easy to meet why. Information technology seals the combustion sleeping accommodation, allowing oil and coolant/water to circulate freely without e'er mixing. A blown head gasket is bad news for any driver because it tin cause plenty of other engine problems. This tin crusade your repair price to spiral out of control. Proceed your motorcar well maintained and expect out for whatsoever leaks, milky oil or strange frazzle fumes to assist your head gasket last as long as possible. If yous always notice a problem, book a head gasket repair.