98 ford festiva blown head gasket : how many $ to repair

Hi kc. I did a 96 1.5Litre mazda 121 recently which is almost the same engine. It had 2 burnt exhaust valves so required a full head service. It worked out about $750 from memory. Regards,Bob.

sure its a blown gasket? even if it is thy rarely go for no reason

The price of work today I doubt it would be worth fixing
I would have thought a drivable 4cl over 10 years old could be picked up for alot less than mucking about with a cracked/warped head

I would have thought it's still worth fixing, providing it was only the head gasket. Head gaskets generally don't just "go" though. The blown gasket is the end result....what is the root cause?

In my experience (as a mechanic) I'd expect to find at least one of the following too. A blocked radiator, corroded head, warped head, stuck thermostat, or cracked head.

A VRS gasket set would be around $150. Labour to R&R the head is around 4.5 hours (@ $50 an hour for a small shop - closer to $100 for a dealership), and then you'll need an oil change, coolant flush and replacement $60-80 as an absolute minimum.

However, while you're at it, you might want to consider a timing belt replacement (half the engine is already apart so it will save you additional labour costs down the track) and a timing belt idler pulley replacement. Belt and pulley $120-150. Labour inclusive of head repair.

Now...that's assuming it's only the head gasket and nothing else. If it needs a head resurface add $80, a blocked radiator $180 to remove and refit tanks and clean, corroded head $600 for a second hand change over head and thermostat $25.

Gee...adds up. I guess you won't know for sure until the head is off how bad things really are. Makes me glad I don't have to pay for car repairs.

Sorry to hear about your troubles....Fab. :(