Repairs — Head Gasket Repair
The one repair page that starts with “let’s make sure, and let’s do the math together.”
Big job: honest assessment first — $1,150–$2,425+ when viablethe big one
"Blown head gasket" is the most over-diagnosed failure in the used-car world — and the most consequential, because the phrase alone cuts a car's value in half. White exhaust smoke, coolant loss with no visible leak, oil like a milkshake, bubbles in the radiator, chronic overheating: these are the signs, but each has impostors (a bad radiator cap, a stuck thermostat, a cracked overflow tank, a simple external leak). Before anyone talks thousands of dollars, we run the real tests — cooling-system pressure test, combustion-gas check, compression and leak-down — at your driveway, for the standard diagnostic fee.
A genuine head gasket job is the big leagues: cylinder head removal, machine-shop inspection and resurfacing, new gasket and head bolts, and careful reassembly — typically 8–15 hours of labor plus machine work. On some engines that's viable driveway work with the head sent out to a machine shop; on others (V-configurations buried in accessories, aluminum engines with known warp issues) it genuinely belongs in a shop, and we'll say so plainly.
And sometimes the honest answer is that the repair exceeds the car. That's not the end of the conversation — it's where the options start:
What we won't do is pour "head gasket sealer" in and call it fixed, or quote you a four-figure job on a hunch. Confirm first, decide together.
Built from our published labor rate of $125–135/hr and a typical parts range for this job. Adjust the hours if you know your vehicle runs easier or harder than typical.
Typical range for common vehicles. Parts vary by make and model; classics may differ. Final quote after diagnosis — approved by you before work begins.
On the Olympic Peninsula, head gasket repair typically runs $1150–$2425: 8–15 hours of labor at our published $125–135/hr rate plus roughly $150–$400 in parts for common vehicles. The repair is done at your home — travel is included in scheduled repair visits — and the final quote is approved by you after diagnosis, before work begins.
It depends on the vehicle: on a classic or a solid truck with a healthy engine otherwise, usually yes. On a high-mileage commuter worth less than the repair, often no — and that's when Fix & Flip or a documented as-is sale beats sinking money in. The $125 diagnostic that confirms the failure is what makes the decision an informed one.
See all our repair cost guides, the full pricing policy, or start with a $125 mobile diagnostic if you're not sure this is your problem.