With parts and labor, the average head gasket price is north of $1200. It’s a bit easier with traditional engines that have the camshaft in the block. With engines that have overhead cams, it’s can be an incredibly arduous task. It’s the labor involved with getting them replaced that will get you. Head gaskets themselves are very affordable. Head Gasket Failure– It’s not uncommon for some vehicle makes and models to have head gaskets that just fail for no other reason than bad engineering.This could be due to a bad radiator, radiator hoses, or water pump. Poor Coolant Flow– If there is not enough coolant flowing through the engine, it’ll overheat.
When it refuses to open, the engine can get hot enough that it’ll crack a head or blow a head gasket.
Here’s a good YouTube video on how to tell if your head or block is cracked. Otherwise, you’ll go through all of the trouble of replacing it (it’s never a quick or easy job) only to find out that the head needs to come back off and be replaced.
Even if it looks perfectly fine to the naked eye, it still could be damaged. If you do the head gasket replacement yourself, you should take it to a reputable machine shop and have it tested. It should be noted that when you blow the head gasket, the head itself may be warped or cracked. If the head gets damaged, the repair becomes much more costly. Outside of this job, it needs to fail before the head cracks or warps. Below you’ll find the symptoms, causes, and price of a Chevy Sonic head gasket.Ī head gasket’s job is to create a seal between the engine block and the head(s). If your Chevy Sonic has blown its head gasket, you may find it running poorly or not at all. One of the most common critical engine problems is the blown head gasket.