Im looking at buying a 01 SE 7 w/ 49k miles on it. The owner explained that during last inspection LR did say he had a leaky gasket and would soon need replacement. Now in negotiating a price, I asked him if he would be willing to get the replacement done prior to selling, to which he responded yes. The quote the dealership gave him was for 1300$. Seems low for a dealership? My question is, (please excuse me I am not a wrench) there are mutliple head gaskets correct? so would they fix them all for that quote or would simply the leaky gasket get fixed while leaving the others to still need attention in the future? Not being mechanically inclined I am trying to get a truck that has the major issues taken care of already. Im just nervous that the quote they gave him seemed low and maybe it was because they would only fix a portion of the gaskets, leaving me with potential issues in the future. Any insight on this? thanks

 

Yeah from a dealer that quote is for one side, ther are 2 head gaskets, one for each side and they must be replaced in pairs.
Dealers have been quoting $2500-3000 depending on area.
DO NOT let him get it fixed for you.
Negoatiate the price and then take the $1300 off of that.
A indie shop can do the job for ~$1500 for both sides.
Or you can do this, find a indie shop to do the work and have him front the first $1300 and then you pay the remander.

 

I'm getting mine done right now and the labor time for this is 11 hrs. to replace the gaskets. My shop is charging 89 bucks an hour to do the repair. With a total of 1100 for both sides. I bought my gasket kit off of Atlantic British .com for 190 bucks with head bolts. Along with water pump for 75. some oil lines. 1400 bucks grand total ..
So look at all your options before taking to any shop. Don't let them tell you other wise. Good luck with the repair and the purchase.

 

I did mine myself. Took a weekend because I took my time and cleaned all parts as I went. Just make sure your heads aren't warped when you do it. I got all done and found out I had a warped head so I got to do one side all over again.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

+1 what Spike said. Do it yourself and you will know what got done. Also, to make sure YOU are covered if any warranty work needs to be done.

Considering the age of the truck, if it hasn't already been done, think about getting the water hoses and belt replaced. At the very least, replace the small plastic lines going to the coolant tank, they get very brittle, the thermostat, and especially, the ignition wires while they have the intake off.

 

Might want to have your heads machined to relieve the valve guides in the combustion chamber. If I recall correctly, there's a service bulletin to that effect. I know when my gaskets were done, the heads were pulled and deck, that relief work was done, and I got a valve job. $1500 total.