sharkwing1

Hey guys, I sold my 89 944 a few years ago but, I have come across of what might a good deal on a 1986 951 but it has a blown head gasket. What is a ball park number for what it would cost to replace the gasket? Is it an easy DIY project? thanks

streckfu's

If proper tools and some basic experience, it's not that hard of a job. Afterall, I survived it....

As for the car, what is it's known condition and why is the headgasket blown?

Wipeout

I tend to not see "easy", "DIY", and "944/951" all in the same sentence. I've not personally done it, but seems like the reading I've seen here on the 'list indicates it's not changing-the-clutch difficult. I'd think that with a turbo there's more stuff to pull out to get to the gasket, and I'm not really sure what ancillary damage to the rest of the engine might be (that's where it'd get really expensive, methinks). Gasket appears to be $179.50 or so at Pelican, but the "while you're in there" list is probably fairly extensive.

If you've got the time to a) do it and b) do it right and this is all that's wrong with the car, might be a good move.

NeoRules

As long as nobody has changed it before and forgot to use ANTI-SEIZE on the threads (especially the two small bolts by the front water passage....
I broke both those little bas$%#ds off and snapped an easy out in one of them...
Now the block is waiting for me to get it over by the milling machine so I can remove the broken easy out....
Otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to do it...
I would suggest trying to pull those two small bolts in the front first... If they don't want to come out pay somebody to do it....
Just my 2c .....

sharkwing1

thanks a lot for the input guys, i wish I knew more about the car but all I know is that it only has 88k miles and its cheap. Has anyone ever paid to have this done and know about what it would cost?

MichelleJD

88K and the HG is blown?! That's a little scary. Sure it's not 188K?

sharkwing1

like i said I dont know much about it and neither does the owner and I wont get a chance to go look at it (its 2 hours away) until this weekend.... thanks

ausgeflippt951

If the car's in fantastic shape cosmetically and interior-wise, I'd offer $3k for it, under the pretense that you have absolutely no idea what all is wrong with it once you actually end up replacing the HG. Then, if the owner calls BS you can tell him that it's quite unusual for a car w/ 88k miles to have attained a blown HG, which typically means more bad things are to come.

So yeah, you I would actually offer him $2500 and probably go no higher than $3500, really.

But then again, I personally wouldn't look at it; I'd spend my money on a car I know has been well taken care of.

nh7cy

Just hope the guy hasn't driven the car much with that blown gasket and all. I've probably had one of the more aggravating head gasket jobs around here and I still wouldn't say it's that difficult as long as you have patience, knowledge of what you are getting into, the right tools, and last but not least, the help of a few Rennlisters.

Josh B

Probably need to leave enough room to replace the engine in your offering price. It doesn't take much to score the cylinders on these cars if you overheat the engine. Until you take off the head and check out the cylinder walls visually it is anyone's guess.

sharkwing1

thanks a lot guys, ill have to go look at it and then report back.

chris_v

replacing a blown headgasket isnt that bad, just make sure you get the timing right on the timing belt. 180 bucks for a headgasket? sounds like a ripoff to me, contact dave at www.dartauto.com for a MUCH cheaper price on a headgasket. tell him chris from 944 spec sent you.

xsboost90

main thing is to check the bottom end out real good once the head is off for piston liner scoring and such. I know a couple people w/ turbo motors laying around though.

sharkwing1

thanks a lot guys, i forgot how helpful this forum is

Wipeout

I just grabbed the price on the part that seemed right from Pelican in about a 5-second search. I bet it's generally cheaper/I got the wrong part.