420WHP944

hi guys,
my brother in laws 83 n/a 944 has a leaking/blown head gasket ( white gunge in the coolant tank ) how many hours labour should it take an average mechanic to replace the head gasket????? he needs to know approx so he's not ripped off.....thanks guys

streckfu's

Do it yourselves if you can.

Expect ~$1000+ for a mechanic to do it. I don't remember the book rate.

Makis

Could also be the heat exchanger that causes oil to get in the coolant.

420WHP944

is that an easy fix? where exactly is the heat exchanger located?

MPD47

It's under the exhaust manifold, pass. side of the engine. I'll do 100 head gaskets before I dick with the oil cooler. I hate that whole design.

awilson40

on a N/A the chance is that it is the cooler seals over the head gasket.
I would replace those first.
It not a difficult or costly job.
But if your mechanic didnt look there first for oil / coolant mixing then I would find another mechanic.
There is also a test kit you can buy to test the coolant for cumbustion gases that will tell you
if its a bad head gasket.

420WHP944

his mechanic will be looking at it tomorrow, he just wanted to be armed with the right info on what other possible causes to the oil in the coolant could be. he is hoping its not the head gasket and we know for a fact that the head gasket was replaced only 3 years or so ago in that car so we are a bit bemused to find it could be gone again?

thanks guys for all your inputs......i'll tell him to try that test kit for oil in the coolant, will keep you posted when we find out what the cause is....cheers!

hosrom_951

Good site from Tom

http://members.rennlist.com/tom86951..._seal_repl.htm

L8 APEKS

It's really not that bad...contract a Rennlister near you to drop by and help you out if possible.

The "cheap" Porsche shop in the area wanted $1500 to do my headgasket (for comparison, the shop charged $550 labor for an NA clutch). That included everything, but you could probably get done with a new H/G set and a milled head for about $300 or less.

It is taking me a long time to get it done, but I have the luxury to stop and wait for help (thanks Frank!) because I have another car to drive and a great Rennlister who lives nearby. Not counting the 1-3 days you'll need to get your head to a machine shop and back, expect labor to take about 4-5 hours if you have never touched a 944 before. It can be done faster, but I think 5 hours allows some wiggle-room for those inevitable slow-downs.

Good luck!