Currently my gf is in Minnesota for an internship for school, (i'm in Ohio) and her car has been overheating lately. Her car is a 00 Cavalier with the 2.2L. The thermostat had been replaced and the coolant and oil were both at the right levels. I told her to take it to a local shop, and have them figure it out. She calls me today and they think that its a bad head gasket and were going to charge her over $1700 for the parts and labor. I will be out there in August to bring her back to Ohio, but i was wondering how difficult replacing the head gasket would be. I have never done anything like this before. I was just wondering. Is it a simple remove bolts and slap it back together? or is it much more complicated? Also looking for other advice on what it could be?
Nate
00 Cavalier 2200
On a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult it's probably an 8 or 9. I'm sure someone will disagree with that but it's because they've done the job before or done head jobs on overhead cam engines that can be way more involved.
You will need lots of garage tools to do it right and not snap bolts off. A torque wrench, an impact air gun would help, probably a torch to get the header bolts out.. In short, have a garage do it if you haven't tackled anything like this before. It's a messy, labor intensive job. 1700 is high but it will require a lot of labor so anyone will gouge you. Also be aware that they could pull the head and find out that it's cracked (common with these motors when they get hot [incidentally the head gasket also blows when it gets hot]). So, be prepared to possibly have to buy a new head.
"In Oldskool we trust"
When does it overheat? When driving? When at a dead stop?
What makes them suspect the headgasket? Have they checked the fan? Have they tried to flush the system to see if there are no blockages? Have they checked the waterpump?
The fact your coolant levels are fine and you don't have oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil leads me to believe that it's not your headgasket - plus you'd see white smoke out the tailpipe. I'd suspect a clog in the system or a bad water pump first.
I need to become a mechanic people are far too gullible when stranded.
-Chris-
-Sweetness-
-Turbocharged-
Slowly but surely may some day win this race...
From what I am told from her, it overheats while driving.
Honestly I don't know why they suspected the head gasket. They did flush the system and found that after it had been flushed, air was back in the system so i guess that was their best guess. Yeah no oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil, no white smoke. I told her not to find another shop, and hopefully they will think of something else. As far as I know, she has found one and I am waiting to hear what they have to say.
Nate
00 Cavalier 2200
My 00 Sunfire didn't have any white smoke or coolant in the oil or vice versa. Ask a garage to do a simple test where they put a special liquid in a vial and put it where the cap comes off the overflow if the liquid changes colour that's because there is exhaust present in the coolant which means a head gasket leak. I changed my head gasket last year it was a big job but very doable even though I'd never done one before.
