head gasket problem?

[circmand]

I brought it to another mechanic and he tested my radiator cap which he said was no good since it was holding no pressure and he said that could cause overheating also my heater core blew out ( i think it happend saturday since my passenger side floor was soaked ) which is probably why my heater was blowing out cold air.


now here is the tricky part he gave me a new cap and bypassed my heater core and the car so far is running fine, no loss of antifreeze , no antifreeze smell in the car and no overheating. Granted it is now cold outside so not sure if the whole problem is the heater core going bad with a bad radiator cap .

If it was the head gasket would the car overheat in the winter as well? I have been driving it to work (25 mile each way) to work for the past 3 days and so far so good. I really hope this is the problem since i dont want to fix the heater core to only find out my head gasket is also no good. I love this vehicle but cant afford all of this work.

BTW i was quoted 700 for the heater core is this accurate?

You should be OK for short trips in the winter. But you will need to get this replaced before spring so why take chances. I think the repair estimate is on the high end I would get the part from Merlin mention the club for 10% discount then find a different mechanic who will instal it for a reasonable cost. You can save a decent % when you buy the parts because we get quality OEM from Merlin at a 10% discount and also the mechanic doesnt get to charge you more for the part than he paid without the discount.

[phines]

You should be OK for short trips in the winter. But you will need to get this replaced before spring so why take chances. I think the repair estimate is on the high end I would get the part from Merlin mention the club for 10% discount then find a different mechanic who will instal it for a reasonable cost. You can save a decent % when you buy the parts because we get quality OEM from Merlin at a 10% discount and also the mechanic doesnt get to charge you more for the part than he paid without the discount.

Yep, and I just found out from the local Firestone sevice center that they mark up parts 25%. I saved about $1500 buying my replacement engine myself.

The only problem you might run in to is a lot of mechanics won't install customer-purchased parts. They'll feed you some line about not wanting to be liable for sub-standard parts (even if they are OEM)... whatever... Just find a local garage without that policy and you're good to go.

[vt_maverick]

The only problem you might run in to is a lot of mechanics won't install customer-purchased parts. They'll feed you some line about not wanting to be liable for sub-standard parts (even if they are OEM)... whatever... Just find a local garage without that policy and you're good to go.

+1, that's what I do and it's a must for this vehicle since many of the parts have to be ordered from Isuzu. As for what to do, I'm not as experienced as these other guys, but I would recommend you fix what you know is wrong (radiator cap + heater core) ASAP then wait and see on the head gasket issue. That repair is WAY too expensive to do if you're not even sure it's the problem. But if those immediate fixes don't get the job done, then yeah I think you need to bite the bullet and get the gasket replaced.

Btw, and not that this is helpful in any way, but moving from NY would likely reduce your repair costs considerably. Good luck!

[circmand]

[QUOTE=vt_maverick;210061.

Btw, and not that this is helpful in any way, but moving from NY would likely reduce your repair costs considerably. Good luck![/QUOTE]

Moving from NY would reduce your cost on everything