I just discovered my 4.7L is probably in need of a head gasket.

I've been looking for tutorials or other tips and tricks for doing this job myself, but I'm really seriously doubting if I can do this myself with winter coming up fast.

What would I be looking at as far as cost goes for getting this done at a shop?

 

Prices vary widely by region and by what shop is doing the work. A friend of mine had his 4.7L heads(they said to do both, so he did, even though only one gasket was blown) rebuilt for $800 at a non-dealer shop. But a mutual acquaintance claims he got both his done for $500.

 

What are the odds my heads would need machining? one of the gaskets needs replacing but are there signs that would tell me if anything more serious than that is wrong?

I'm between a rock and a hard place here as I don't really have the funds right now, but it shouldn't be driven like this, especially since my overhead console is telling me I'm getting like 10 MPG.

 

It's usually just preventative maintenance. Since it's off, just to make sure they're up to snuff and not going to be a problem in the future. But they are also checked for warping or cracking in the process, because a new gasket won't seal a bad head.

 

It's a b*tch in an overhead cam engine. Been there, done that on the 4.7 in my old Grand Cherokee. EVERYTHING has to come out. Took me about 10 hours just to get the heads out. Someone who does it all the time, maybe 5-6 hours, so my guess is you're looking at 10-12 hours labor total...

 

Well, I'm slightly confused if it is or isn't a head gasket, but I will go a compression done as soon as possible.

The engine doesn't overheat, in fact it never gets above the middle line, and is usually slightly below the normal line.

There was some orange/brown sludge on the oil fill cap, and when I remove the cap I usually see a puff of steam come out.

There are no bubbles showing up in the coolant tank but when I got the truck the coolant tank was empty and required about a 2L top up. I haven't seen coolant leaking anywhere on the ground.

When I start the truck there is sometimes a white puff of smoke from the tailpipe, but it isn't constant.

My gas mileage is terrible. I filled the tank on Thursday, I've traveled only about 100km and have 3/4 tank of gas left already and I've been driving lightly.

so I'm slightly confused as to what may be going on here and if it really is a head gasket or not.

 

Does the puff of smoke look like this?


A compression and leak down test would be worth the peace of mind, or knowledge if you have concerns.

 

No, it looks nothing like that... I said puff not stream plus it was white, not grey'ish.

and I think it may have been the seafoam I ran through the engine because I don't really see the puffs anymore.

I'm confused on this one.

If it is a head gasket, how hard is the job of replacing it? I'm a pretty skilled guy, but I still fear cracking into the engine.

 

It's a royal PIA. My 02 started looking like the truck in the video. I need the truck for work and had a week to either do it or have it done. All the shops here would have taken 2-3 weeks. The machine shops would have taken a few days to check and mill the heads if I chose to do it myself, and that's not counting the time to tear down, put back together and should one of the heads be bad finding a replacement. I weighed my options on doing this on a truck with almost 200,000 miles on it and now my "02 Ram" looks like this:

 

TRAITOR!!!!





I've been doing some real serious reading, and I'm beginning to think that I'm seriously over-reacting.

Of all of the symptoms I've read about for blown head gaskets, my truck doesn't seem to be suffering from any of them.

When I bought it, yes the coolant tank was empty. But aside from that the only other symptoms I have to go on are:

1) Brown'ish sludge under the oil filler cap
2) Terrible gas mileage at the moment....overhead says 8.0 - 10.0 MPG. but compared to my car with an 18G gas tank, I may be right on par for my driving and differences between car and truck.
3) Lack of coolant when I bought it, Addition of more coolant when saftied. I've not seen a drop in the TWO DAYS I've been driving it.
4) A so-far-undetermined-knocking in the engine. not sure if it's upper or lower or what's causing it.

Those are the only reasons why I think I have a head gasket failure.