Gaskets shot. How Much?

[Wraith]

Alright well my '97 GA GT is very sick :( Let's just say coolant and water found its way into my oil. Now, my intake gaskets have been leaking for a while and mechanics told me to leave it because he felt that if he changed those that it would screw up the already brittle head gasket. Soooo I took my car in on Tuesday because my exhaust was blowing out white smoke (it wasn't actual exhaust) and the coolant I had added the night before was no where to be found (in the oil it was) plus my accelerating was not too great. Took it to the mechanic and he said my head gasket has probably finally died, along with my leaking intake gaskets. He said the Head would be 600-1000 bucks but I'm asking you guys how much would the replacement of the head and the intake gaskets be? I hope not over 2,000 bucks because if it is I think I'm going to move on to a GP. My car has over 360,000 kms, the previous owners drove the shit out of it and I've had it for 2 years and spent a hell of a lot of money on it and I refuse to spend more than 2 grand on it now. So if you could help me with the price that'd give me an idea. Looking at other peoples problems I wonder if maybe it is just the intake gaskets? My car had a problem with overheating last summer, new tstat helped a bit but not completely.

-Ryan-

[Gimli]

Just changing the intake gaskets costs about 800$ canadian, at the dealer. Never heard of problems with head gaskets on these engines but at 360k km anything is possible.

At 360k km I don't know if I would even pay that much to get it repaired. I think it's had a long life, might be time to change...

[Moofert]

Yeah, I paid $780 for my local mechanic to replace my intake gasket. I have a 2001, 3400, but still comparable.

[92CamaroRS]

if its in the oil the motor should be torn apart and have new main and connecting rod bearings put in. coolant is like sand paper to bearings and the ones that are in there are most likely shot by now. just buy a new car.

[95-GT]

People are so damn negative. It takes a little while for it to eat the bearings. I had a few cars that I have done where it was leaking for over a month (with atleast 1 oil change in there), and they are just fine. So by saying if it leaks your screwed, it just a arrogant responce to scare someone. Just do the work yourself, parts are cheap.

[Wraith]

Well, thanks for the info. The mechanic checked it out yesterday and the spark plugs and wires are dry so it's doubtful that the head gasket will be replaced. It is, of course, the intake gaskets which isn't much of a surprise. I guess they'd be the reason my car overheated easily in the summer or got close to it? If so then I'm looking forward to a summer of no worries about overheating. Yeah, I could take the easy way out and buy a new car but I love my car too much and have put too much money into it to just let it go because of a possible 400 bucks. If it were to be over 1,500 it would be a different story. Anyways, the mechanic said he was going to start work on it on monday and hopefully I'll have it back by the end of the week or the start of the next. Thanks again for the info.

-Ryan-