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JohnBalchunas
Dodge Dakota
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12/30/2002
15:30:05
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 Subject: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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Hey everyone,
Hoping someone out there with a Dakota could help me out in deciding what to do. I have a 2000 Dodge Dakota that has been running fine more or less since I got it. Recently, however, I have had the check gauges light come on maybe every other time i drive the truck. When the light comes on, the engine coolant temp is way high. The temp comes right back down after I slow down, or throw the car in neutral and rev the engine....
So....I took it into the local Dodge dealership (wher I bought it), and they checked it out and have concluded that the passenger side head gasket has a leak. The cost to fix this that they told be would be around $750.00. Roughly $600.00 was labor, and the rest was parts, and the cost to do a fuel injection service, which he said should be done at the same time..
So, I got questions...I can't bring myself to fork out that kind of cash yet. That estimate sounds really high to me...They also charged me 8/10 of an hour labor to put my gas pedal back on correctly. That sounds astronomical, i can do it in 30 seconds without replacing the spring, i can't imagine it would take them almost an hour to do the same thing i did, except with the spring also (in addition to the pin)... I don't know know a whole lot about car repair, but just don't feel right in they estimate they gave me...
Anyone have any input on the figure they are giving me? I think i'll take it to another non-dealership mechanic to look at it...or give me an estimate on the same work...
In the meantime, am I OK to just top off engine coolant every so often? What's my risk in not fixing this right away?
Any help in general would be appreciated....
Thanks in advance...
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JohnBalchunas
Dodge Dakota
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12/30/2002
16:06:40
|  RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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Just an afterthought, after talking to a few more people....Wondering if it might not be a bad head gasket after all, and rather a thermostat that's sticking, they said the passenger side head gasket was leaking when they put it under pressure, but...
I haven't noticed any puddles of anything under the truck, and if the temperature gauge goes up and comes back down, the car won't "overheat" for the rest of that trip in the truck...
Anyway, just a couple more thoughts on this one...
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Jon
Dodge Dakota
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12/30/2002
16:27:02
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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The head gaskets usually leak internally into the cylinders so you won't see anything under the truck. If they diagnosed it correctly and it is leaking you should get it fixed soon. Eventually it will leak bad enough that the truck won't run and you also risk damagine the head if you keep overheating it. Dealer prices are expensive but you usually have better trained technicians and most dealers give you a 1 year warrenty on the work. $600 for labor sounds about right for a dealer. As far as the gas pedal thing goes, i don't know how long it took them to fix it but there is usually a little bit of a buffer between how much labor gets charged and how long it actually takes, in case something breaks, etc. Plus the techs are entitled to make a little bit of a profit on the labor time. If a job took me 5 minutes to do i would probably ask for 1/2 an hour labor to cover the paperwork, time i have to wait in the parts dept., bringing the vehicle in and setting it up, driving it out when i'm done, etc. I'm not a Dodge tech, i work for a different manufacturer, and i agree that dealers are really expensive but we usually do better work due to training and special tools, and good repair info.
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Deep Purple
Gen III
12/30/2002
21:32:09
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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Dealer's charge is a bit high for me too. Try an independent shop. It just might not be a head gasket. Don't do the injector service, get a set of FMS injectors from five0motor sports. You can add them yourself and gain a better injector for about the same price as the cleaning. If you find it is the head gasket, be sure to have the plenum gasket changed and add a new bypass water hose. Don't fail to do this, you will hate it later if you don't. Good luck.
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92Dakota
Dodge Dakota
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12/31/2002
00:26:47
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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Hey John
Atleast try the thermostat. It's a 15 minute, $10 job that's worth a shot.
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JohnBalchunas
Dodge Dakota
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12/31/2002
01:26:58
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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Thanks everyone for the feedback. I talked with an independant shop who seemed much more reasonable...I'll have them check it out, and if it looks like whats needed, I'll have the gaskets replaced, as well as the plenum gasket and bypass water hose as well...
What irks me the most, is it just seems that the people at the dealership don't really care one way or another and it's hard to get any information out of them....I mentioned that i want to get a second opinion, they were like ok, whatever, they don't really care one way or another, so why should i trust em with the price...the people at the independant shop were much more helpfull (even on the phone, without looking at the truck)...so that's more what i'm looking for...
I'll take it by them tomorrow and see what they say...
Thanks again
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JohnBalchunas
Dodge Dakota
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12/31/2002
08:46:35
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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Just another question....do they make an additive that will seal a leaking head gasket rather than pay to replace it right now? Are these additives worth anything?
Thanks...
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IntenseDak39
*GenIII*
12/31/2002
09:14:38
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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like the guy said earlier.. start with the thermostat... its a do-it-yourself'er and is easy. If you are leaking coolant internally there should be a couple of things going on... either you would have thick-white smoke (sweet smelling) coming out of the tailpipe or your oil would look like turkey gravy.
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JohnBalchunas
Dodge Dakota
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12/31/2002
09:28:43
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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How do I replace the thermostat? any resources for a how to?
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Kracker
Dodge Dakota
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12/31/2002
11:38:47
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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Additives that rejuvenate seals.... Lets see... They work, in a way... But they don't help that much... But considering the price, it wouldnt hurt to throw some additives in every once in a while... The only additive I use on a regular basis is Fuel injector cleaner, sometimes i throw in oil additive and stuff too, butn ot often. In your case, I doubt an additvie would help much.
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Deep Purple
Gen III
12/31/2002
12:35:53
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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No additive will help a bad head gasket. Do not try a stop leak type product. They are for emergencies only. The pressure in a cylinder on compression stroke is too great for such a product to work. As for the thermostat it is a fairly easy job. Follow the top water hose down to the engine, this is the thermostat housing. After draining the water you can remove the two bolts on the thermostat housing and pull it off. The brass thing in the middle of the hole on the motor is the thermostat. Note how it sets in the hole. Clean any gasket material stuck to the housing and around the hole on the engine. Install the new thermostat and gasket. Replace the housing on the engine and tighten the bolts. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, take it to a shop. They can help you with the thermostat and advise you on a possible head gasket problem.
Good luck, hope this helps.
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uhh
Dodge Dakota
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12/31/2002
13:15:19
| RE: Repair Estimate for Head Gasket
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buy a haynes or a chilton book for $14
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