head gasket

[mpvowner]

Received a phone call this am from the wife telling me our 2.6 94 mpv had died on her just as she came off the freeway, symptons were overheating and loss of power...she was outside a service station who readily (surprise, surprise) took the vehicle in...not surprisingly the conclusion was blown head gasket....they are quoting $1600.00+tax (Canadian) for replacement of radiator, flushing of system, inspection of head (having it pressure tested for cracks and warpage)and re-assembly of said engine components...this is a minimum figure assuming no damage to head itself.

question.....do you need a full gasket kit for this (ie;- do the bolts need replacing) or can you get away with just the head gasket (which is much cheaper than the entire kit)?

can a radiator from a v6 3.0l fit into a 2.4l?(as yet i don't know if the old radiator can be salvaged)

and is this as simple as other vehicles I have worked on to replace (assuming no problems with the head?), just a case of unbolting, replacing gasket, checking timing and valve alignment etc..

or do I bite the bullet and spend the money (bearing in mind the vehicle, although in good condition, is not worth a whole heap more than that......)

brelib2@hotmail.com

Thanks.

[mazdaguy]

Thats way too high an estimate from a service station. Dealer would be cheaper or similar. It probably warped the cyl head but can be fixed. Just have the head rebuilt, The job will require a valve grind set instead of head set as the head set doesnt come with new valve seals. Buy an aftermarket radiator as they are metal tanks instead of plastic normally. Yours may be salvageable though. I would not let the service station take on that job myself. The Mazda dealer is backed by a multi billion dollar company and you have ways of getting satisfaction if anything goes wrong whereas a service station is privately owned and may be gone tommorow.
I once fixed a 626 that was overheating a day after Walmart did a head gskt on it. They charged her $1100.00 and only replaced the head gskt without fixing the reason it overheated. I (working at the Mazda dealer) replaced the cyl head,radiator and hoses for $800.00 using factory new parts. They ripped her off good.