Head gasket blown HELP! 2002

Blue Bird

Blue Bird

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Joined
Dec 15, 2017
Thunderbird Year
2002
My Blue Bird of Happiness blew a head gasket. Brake Masters say it’ll cost $6,000-6,500. I’m unemployed due to Coronavirus and can’t afford that and I can’t buy a new car either. Does anyone here know what to do about this? I’ve got to get it fixed. I’m in the Las Vegas area and I’m looking for someone who knows. Thank you.
 

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Sell the car to a mechanic or someone who can fix it themselves and make money, Then take the money and buy a cheaper car. I try to warn people that 18 year old cars should not be your daily driver unless you have money for car repairs!
 
I generally keep my cars 20+ years and if they are mainstream models, repairs are reasonable.....
When you get into older "boutique" limited production vehicles then you have to "pay to play"..

Even so, those prices for a blown head gasket seem high, but that's all relative if you're out of work...
But the advice is sound, if you can score a goodly sum selling your TBird - decent drivers should be around for even money I would think...
 
Blue Bird said:
My Blue Bird of Happiness blew a head gasket. Brake Masters say it’ll cost $6,000-6,500. I’m unemployed due to Coronavirus and can’t afford that and I can’t buy a new car either. Does anyone here know what to do about this? I’ve got to get it fixed. I’m in the Las Vegas area and I’m looking for someone who knows. Thank you.
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My 03 did the same thing 3 months after I got it, the dealer wouldn't do it so I had my mechanic do it, he was able to save the heads, had to shave them and it cost me just around 5K, mine is a 3.9 Jaguar motor and trans, now with the head shave, Borla Exhaust, it gets up and goes like you would not believe.
 
Sorry to hear about your bird, biddle is right get what you can out of it and buy a more main stream car newer. good luck
 
I am so brokenhearted. First, how can you sell it like this? Second, I still like to try to find someone who can fix it but cheaper than $6,000.
Is it better to take the engine out and overhaul it? Or better to buy another engine and have it installed. I found a dealer guy who can install for $1,800. Where can I find an engine?
 
Blue Bird said:
I am so brokenhearted. First, how can you sell it like this? Second, I still like to try to find someone who can fix it but cheaper than $6,000.
Is it better to take the engine out and overhaul it? Or better to buy another engine and have it installed. I found a dealer guy who can install for $1,800. Where can I find an engine?
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You sell it to a mechanic who fixes it themselves. It's a labor job, so they do the labor. On a side note, 6500.00 is way too high for a head gasket repair.

I was told head gasket replacements in cars often fail less a year later, and the better option is a new engine, see below.


The Flash said:
I live in las vegas and $6,000 for a head gasket is outragest. I work on my 2003 all the time. Give me a contact and I can help. I send you a private message.
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I agree, my girlfriend got an entire used, low mileage used engine put in her daughters 2009 Kia Rio for 2300 bucks, but she worked at the dealership. I think full price was 3900.
 
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Google Jasper Engines. They are well known for selling remanufactured engines. They also have a national network of approved installers.
 
Blue Bird said:
My Blue Bird of Happiness blew a head gasket. Brake Masters say it’ll cost $6,000-6,500. I’m unemployed due to Coronavirus and can’t afford that and I can’t buy a new car either. Does anyone here know what to do about this? I’ve got to get it fixed. I’m in the Las Vegas area and I’m looking for someone who knows. Thank you.
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What makes you think it's the head gasket??
 
uncle barry said:
What makes you think it's the head gasket??
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That's actually a great question, an outfit called "Brake Masters" telling my I have a major engine problem would require a bit more proof for me. There are 3 Brake Masters listed in metro Las Vegas and a lot of the reviews for them indicate you may want to get a second opinion....

Is the car blowing white smoke ? Are there combustion gases in the coolant (there are "test kits" to check for this) ? Is the car using coolant at a high rate ?
 
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RDH said:
My 03 did the same thing 3 months after I got it, the dealer wouldn't do it so I had my mechanic do it, he was able to save the heads, had to shave them and it cost me just around 5K, mine is a 3.9 Jaguar motor and trans, now with the head shave, Borla Exhaust, it gets up and goes like you would not believe.
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I think my engine in my '02 is a Lincoln LS. Yours is a Jaguar??
Bond007 said:
Google Jasper Engines. They are well known for selling remanufactured engines. They also have a national network of approved installers.
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They have a Jasper engine to fit this 2002 TBird? Do the make one special exactly like this?

Frankie the Fink said:
That's actually a great question, an outfit called "Brake Masters" telling my I have a major engine problem would require a bit more proof for me. There are 3 Brake Masters listed in metro Las Vegas and a lot of the reviews for them indicate you may want to get a second opinion....

Is the car blowing white smoke ? Are there combustion gases in the coolant (there are "test kits" to check for this) ? Is the car using coolant at a high rate ?
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No white smoke. I don't think it's using coolant because the reservour was full. Brake Masters used a "instant block test." I looked it up and I couldn't find what that is. I asked for the codes and he said they didn't hook it up for codes. I've got to get a second opinion. Thank you so much everyone!
 
Blue Bird said:
I think my engine in my '02 is a Lincoln LS. Yours is a Jaguar??

They have a Jasper engine to fit this 2002 TBird? Do the make one special exactly like this?


No white smoke. I don't think it's using coolant because the reservour was full. Brake Masters used a "instant block test." I looked it up and I couldn't find what that is. I asked for the codes and he said they didn't hook it up for codes. I've got to get a second opinion. Thank you so much everyone!
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A typical test kit is like thus:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VVBSFTF/?tag=thunderbirdforum-20

My question would be, without white smoke or loss of coolant what prompted these guys to test for a blown head gasket with the "instant block test" (whatever that is) ? Yeah - get a 2nd look at by a reputable pro.
 
Frankie the Fink said:
That's actually a great question, an outfit called "Brake Masters" telling my I have a major engine problem would require a bit more proof for me. There are 3 Brake Masters listed in metro Las Vegas and a lot of the reviews for them indicate you may want to get a second opinion....

Is the car blowing white smoke ? Are there combustion gases in the coolant (there are "test kits" to check for this) ? Is the car using coolant at a high rate ?
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It’s no longer overheating. I drove it home. Thank you Flame.. Before I left the shop, I asked the guy to do the block test again for me. I video taped it. We ran the car for 10 minutes and it passed the block test. No color change. Test fluid blue. I’m looking for a good mechanic that knows this car in Las Vegas/Henderson. It’s not the head gasket.
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Blue Bird said:
It’s no longer overheating. I drove it home. Thank you Flame.. Before I left the shop, I asked the guy to do the block test again for me. I video taped it. We ran the car for 10 minutes and it passed the block test. No color change. Test fluid blue. I’m looking for a good mechanic that knows this car in Las Vegas/Henderson. It’s not the head gasket.
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Write a google review for both shops! One negative for the liars, one positive for the test!
 
All of the Ford dealers (can't say about Lincoln dealers) local to me will do a diagnostic for $129. Both times I've had that done on my 2002 TBird the tech identified the problem but the cost for the repair was exorbitant - soooo, I did it myself. You could have a dealer diagnose the issue (if there is one) and go from there. IMO, you dodged a $6,500 bullet...

You may find its nothing more than a sticky thermostat or the like...
 
biddle said:
Write a google review for both shops! One negative for the liars, one positive for the test!
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Thank you TBirders and especially to @The Flash for coming out and taking a look. What a great bunch of folks. I drove it home safely. Still want a mechanic to check it out because it did overheat before.
 
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Blue Bird said:
Thank you TBirders and especially to The Flame for coming out and taking a look. What a great bunch of folks. I drove it home safely. Still want a mechanic to check it out because it did overheat before.
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You are welcome, and The Flash is my post name for the obvious reason.
I was happy that it was NOT a head gasket. I wish you the best in finding a GOOD ThunderBird mechanic.
 
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