Blown head gasket

Maintenance/Repairs
1

my 95 accura legend temp gauge shoots up toward the red line after a 15 minute drive. turning on the heat or putting it in neutral and gunning it a few times brings it back to normal for a few minutes. sometimes it does’nt do it at all. the dealer tells me its a blown head gasket. they varrified this buy sticking the test probe for car emisions into the radiator and reading co2 gases. this has been and on going problem for about a year. we had the thermostat changed and that helped for awhile. If it is a head gasket would’nt it happen all the time. i can shut the car off for a few minutes and restart it and it will be fine for another 15 to 20 minutes.

I’m not sure it is worth putting a couple of grand more into the car. Is the dealer correct or should i have someone else look at it.

2

Get a second opinion at an independent shop.

3

It sounds to me like the dealer did the diagnosis and found a bad headgasket. Since your symptoms are consistant with a bad headgasket, I see no reason to question the diagnosis.

However, as with any diagnosis that would result in expensive major work, you should get a second opinion.

4

Is this car out of warranty? If so why are you taking it to the dealer? Dealers are no better (or worse) than independent mechanics for almost anything you might need done on your car. They will almost always charge more per hour and often more for parts and supplies. They also tend to look at repairs a little different than the independent.

A dealer may well recommend work that strictly may not be needed, but could be connected to the problem or maybe replace a part when a little repair would fix it ALMOST as good a new.  

There is no need to bring your car to the dealer for any service other than service that is going to be paid for by a recall or original warrantee. 

I suggest that most people would be better off finding a good independent (Not working for a chain) mechanic.
5

Hey John,

I just posted about my head gasket issues with my 95 jeep. It is not worth it for me to repair this but I am going to try this $100 stuff to seal the leak. If this doesn’t work it is the end of the line for this thing.

Tom