Hi everyone!

I have a 2008 Caravan and recently it overheated. I checked and the coolant was all evaporated. I took it to a shop and the mechanic said I need new head gaskets and it will run about $1600-$2000 to fix. Does this sound reasonable and is it possible it could be something else causing the problem?

He seems to be pushing to change the gasket. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Head gasket replacement customer pay is 7 hrs. At our labor rate that's $1000 right there. I can't see gaskets and coolant coming to $600. But if you overheated it, the heads probably warped and would need to be replaced. So if your getting new heads, then it is probably right, a little high for just gaskets. The cause of the overheat is another story, must have a coolant leak somewhere. Check the intake and the heater hoses.

 

How long did you drove it with Overheating condition? If you drove it overheated over 10 minute, then the head needs to be send out to machine shop, and head gasket will need to be replace. On top of fixing what WAS causing the overheating.

that price sounds about right at a decent shop.

Ask him what WAS causing the over heating in the first place.

 

You likely had a slow hose leak that allowed fluid to escape. However it would be almost imposible to have a leak without seeing some steam. A teaspoon of escaping hot coolant will make a visible cloud come from your hood area. When you see steam or abnormal fluid temps, you need to immediately pull over and turn the motor off to prevent turning a $90 tow and hose replacement job into a $2K head job. With low coolant, a 2 mile drive to the shop or home can cost you 25 cents per foot.

With 2008, I'm guessing the plastic y pipe near the egr broke but that may be tough to confirm with a failed motor before repairing it. Once the fluid level drops so far the water pump is sucking air, the engine top end will overheat and fail head gaskets within minutes. The heads will likely need resurfaced or replaced as others noted because they are likely warped. The rule for overheating is pull over immediately and get a tow.

If you are questioning if the engine needs gaskets, you could top off the coolant and drive it for a minute or less to see where it's leaking, but this presents risk of further damage. You apparently already drove it low and noticed nothing, so if I were you I wouldn't do it. If the engine does not run smoothly with fluid topped off then a head gasket is bad. If coolant is in the oil, then the engine should not be run at all and one or both head gaskets and possibly heads are bad. I seriously doubt a head gasket failed causing the loss of fluid. About 99% of the time a hose or rad fails leading to loss of fluid, overheat and then the head gasket fails from overheat and head may also warp. There is some risk of driving a car with bad head gaskets because significant coolant in the oil or combustion chamber can fail the whole motor. Tests can be run on the coolant system to see if combustion gasses are present, indicating a bad head gasket. An engine misfire/rough operation is a telltale sign of head gasket issues, as is green spark plug electrodes or water in oil.

If you don't know what you're doing the best option is a good shop, trust what they tell you and pay the bill. If you ever see steam coming from you hood or temp above normal (or dropping when the engine is warmed up), turn the engine off and tow it.

Check fluid level in coolant bottle when engine is cool on regular basis, monitor fluid usage and add as necessary. If it uses more than a cup a month, you have a leak that needs investigated. This is a proactive approach that will avoid engine damage. A catastrophic hose or rad failure is always easy to detect and get a tow.