dad's 04 accord sedan, needed new head gasket last week, was sent out to get remachined, cost $1,700, dealer said it overheated and was driven to far. car annihilated a 90 pound coyote going 80 on the freeway about 2 years ago, the head made it within an inch of the engine block, imprinted head through the radiator, new bumper, grill, radiator, some other stuff, but they said that has nothing to do with what just happened.

Hiya itstheo54.. Erm... Cars don't just "overheat" ?? There is always a cause, usually it is a loss of coolant fluid due to a leak somewhere.. If you fail to notice the guage reading then you overheat the engine.. Worst case scenerio you melt the pistons and they weld themselves to the bores!!!! lol.. :naughty:

You have to keep an eye on all your guages at all times! and check all fluid levels at least every two weeks.. :thmsup:

But -- replaceing a head gasket is not rocket science and most able bodied people should be capable of doing it themselves.. If - the cylinder head is warped, then you need to take to an engineering shop and get it skimmed, but even that task can be done at home with a pane of glass, some grinding paste, and a LOT of rubbing to and fro! lol.. :yes:
.