[carlos83]

I've been having problems with the cooling on my 2001 jimny. Just had it to the radiator guy and he reckons the head is in the early stages of going. Its only done 120,000 KMs.

Does anyone know a ball park figure of what a replacement head gasket will cost me? Deciding whether to get it done or cut my loses and get something else. This Jimny has been a lot of trouble since I got it.

[BlueSuzy]

Depends who's doing the work.

Head work they normally want to recondition the head.

Ballpark $500+ if they do it.

[Glavas]

$500 for a head gasket seems awefully cheap...

I'd budget 1000ish.

6 hours at least for labour they would charge + the head will be sent off to machine. Then the price of the gasket + replacement bolts/studs and then refitting everything.

[steak_knife]

Put a new thermostat in it.. If it still get's hot put a clutch fan on it..

Does it have water in the oil or oil in the water??

[carlos83]

Thanks guys. I was hoping for less at $1k. I'll get some quotes then decide.

The coolant system is ok. Its had a new rad. New water pump. The rad guy tells me everything else is fine.

I had two seperate dye checks come up negative for a blown head gasket. But the rad guy spotted a small amount of milky residue in the oil so it doesn't look good.

Is there a quick fix to block an about to blow head gasket?

[Rusho]

carlos83 wrote:

Is there a quick fix to block an about to blow head gasket?

Not really, just hope that it holds together long enough to get it fixed. Keep in mind if it blows out completely you run the risk of possibly damaging other engine parts

[Fatzook]

A small amount of milky oil under the cap can just be condesation. It happens a bit in colder weather.

Have you dropped ALL of the oil and checked the condition? If the entire oil content of the motor is milky, then you have a problem.

I'd try Stekky's thermostat suggestion before ripping the head off.

Pete

[2stroker]

When you replaced the radiator and the water pump, was that because it was getting hot or because it was loosing coolant. I have a mate with a Mazda Bravo, he chased an overheating problem for a while, it would get hot under load like in the soft sand or towing his camper or up the Toowoomba range etc. He replaced the thermostat, radiator, waterpump and eventually the headgasket. Problem still there, it ended up being his clutch fan which had been overlooked because it actually seemed to be ok.... it is apparently a common problem although no one picked it up till he had spent a lot of money.

[carlos83]

It turns out I don't know what I'm talking about. Its got a G13B in it. I thought all the 2001 Jimnys had the M13A, but they put the G13B in the soft-top. Apparently they are prone to blowing heads.

I'm going to take it into Suzistore in Midland to check it over and figure out exactly what the problem is. Fingers crossed that'll be the end of it. Thanks for all the advice guys.

Out of interest, does anyone know what I would expect to get for it before/after getting the head done? We paid 6500 about 4 months ago.

[JrZook]

carlos83 wrote:

It turns out I don't know what I'm talking about. Its got a G13B in it. I thought all the 2001 Jimnys had the M13A, but they put the G13B in the soft-top. Apparently they are prone to blowing heads.

Yes the G13BB heads are prone to cracking unfortunatly. Did one a while back for a mate. If i remember the new bare head alone set me back something like $650ish.

Dan

[Benz]

hmm yeah the soft tops are made in Europe some where and they don't put the m13's in them for some reason...
the m13's seem like a really solid motor