What is a ballpark figure for a blown head gasket on an LT1? Assuming the heads/block survived.

 

do it urself for a couple hundred bucks, otherwise at a shop, i would say around a grand?

 

All depends: Why did the head gasket blow? Which head? It is mostly labor, so it depends on what the cost per hour in labor is. Best place to start---assuming that the blown gasket is your only problem---is to check with a least (2) dealerships and if they agree---based on their fee schedule for replacing one head gasket, then see if you can get a reputable non-dealership outfit to give you a good price.

It is vital that you determine the cause of the gasket failure prior to getting into the block, because once the head is off (if something else is wrong, the shops will keep your car until you pay what is owed, even if you don't have them complete the gasket replacement. And in most cases it will cost you at least what it would have cost you for the completion of the job.

Consider if the dealership's schedule quotes 2 hours labor plus parts, including gaskets and new head bolts------a couple hundred bucks +-.

Shop around.JMHO

 

Ur rite: it would probably cost more than 2 C-notes. When you consider all that needs to be unfastened to get the head off, check and clean the surfaces and reinstalled. Maybe 200 if you DIY. Good Luck.

 

A shop will run you a small fortune, if you do it yourself you are basically looking at the cost of some gaskets and other supplies. Are you looking to do this yourself or take it in? There is plenty of good info on here if you decide to tackle it yourself.

 

Cam/head swap if you haven't already!

 

i'd so just tackle it myself. i'm not even that good at this stuff. i did take my intake manifold off and put it back on, resealing everything and not ****ing it all up though. intake manifold is like 70% the way to the heads.

 

head might need to be shaved if surface is warped slightly

 

a shop will charge you about 10 hours labor. and it's a lot of work. fuel rail, injectors, intake manifold, exhaust manifold...all has to come off, including the head of course. 1 or 200 for machine work....possibly a new head if it's bad enough..

but, if you want to do it yourself, and spend the 2 grand on performance parts, now's a good time to get some AFR's or some TFS ported heads. the top end gasket set will set you back i think 80 bucks...not too bad...and a dremmel will set you back 20...time to port match those head/intakes to the gaskets.

you could also just do a basic repair. this will cost you gaskets and bolts, as you shouldnt re-use the head bolts if you can buy new ones...and maybe some broken spark plugs. now's also a good time to replace those old plugs.

 

Thanks for the replies. "Luckily" it died in front of a Chevy dealership. They quoted me a ballpark price of $2500. That's if the heads are not ruined. I asked how much LT4 heads and intake would be and he said the heads would be about $350 each. I could still use the LT1 intake! I hope he does not do the work on it. It also has a small oil leak that I will let them take care of. I don't have the room, time, knowledge or extra car to do it myself. Fortunately my accountant (wife) said do whatever needs to be done to it! Hmmm, I think it came with an LT4. I just need to kepp it running until we get a another "family" car. Then I can fix it up again.

 

Very simple procedure. Just take a weekend out and do it yourself. 2.5G's is a lot of money to not go about the task yourself.

Took me about 2 days working at my own little snail pace making sure I did everything right.