$800-1200 is fairly normal IMO.. but you should shop around.

How do you know the HG is bad?
Overheating IS a problem and can cause damage/warping,etc..
Bubbling coolant in the overflow is a big problem too..

I wouldn't drive it at all..

IMO.. may be time for you to get a new vehicle.. or learn to start doing maintenance yourself as you can save TONS..
When I was young my father would never let me buy a used car.. Many times you dump more into keeping a used car running than a new car payment..

 

Get a second opinion on the blown head gasket. You say your radiator is filled with water which is bad. Water boils at a much lower temp than coolant so it expands faster too which will cause very hot water to overflow into your coolant reservoir and since it's not under pressure in there it will boil.

What temperature does your jeep run at? Does the coolant start bubbling in the reservoir very soon after starting the engine?

 

Personally I cant imagine paying $1200 for a new head gasket with install.

Its fairly straight forward on an I6. Do you have any good friends that know anything about working on an engine?

Besides the overheating, why do you think the head gasket is bad? What does the temp gauge say during all this?

 

Thank you all for your feedback!

@mcgyvrZJ, after about an hour or two of my car waiting to cool down for them to look for the problem, the people at the automotive shop said that the HG is the issue. And I hope that I won't need a new vehicle at this time. :/

@jm8881 definitely! My mom's ex-coworker was a mechanic and he said he's willing to charge me $275! And the radiator is filled with water because a gentleman said that my brother and I should fill it with it so that the black hose next to it can soften. As far as the temperature, I wouldn't know, but I would assume that it really starts to boil when I get the A/C flowing?

@jeepjeepster I know! That price is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! It made me question the meaning of life and whatnot. On a serious note, I suspect the headgasket is bad because it's what they told me. I'm not a licensed or skilled mechanic, so I don't know any better. For all I know they could be trying to get over on me like I sensed they did charging me $400. It's a lot of extra money, I'm truly banking on my mom's friend to come through and put in some quality work, because #aintnobodygottimeforthat

 

@jm8881 definitely! My mom's ex-coworker was a mechanic and he said he's willing to charge me $275! And the radiator is filled with water because a gentleman said that my brother and I should fill it with it so that the black hose next to it can soften. As far as the temperature, I wouldn't know, but I would assume that it really starts to boil when I get the A/C flowing?

Does the temperature gauge on your dashboard work? Where is it pointing when your jeep has been running for about 5 - 10 minutes?

Soften the hose? The hose next to what?

 

Just change the head gasket yourself. It's not that hard. Having a mechanically inclined friend would be good. Check out the link in my siggy. Just copy and paste the link.

 

Guys, you do realize that's a 5.2 we're looking at, not an I6...

 

How do you know your head gasket is blown? Pull the dipstick and see if you have any coolant in your oil. Did they do a compression test?

Also, are you running straight water with no antifreeze?

Is your engine running rough / missing?

The coolant bubbling over can be caused by one or more things:

1.) Running straight water as coolant. if so, drain your radiator from the drain valve at the bottom, and refill with 50/50 antifreeze. You will need to burp your system too. Running water as coolant to soften your new hose is complete BS.

2.) Bad radiator cap

3.) Bad thermostat.

4.) Coolant system has not been properly burped.

5.) The fins on the water pump can rust and loose effectiveness on circulating the water.. doesn't happen all the time, but can happen with age. Temp gauge would be running hot.

6.) Fan clutch / electric fan.. but this would be evident if your temp gauge is running hot.


All of these are simple fixes (especially 1-4). The main thing is that you should ensure you do not have a bad head gasket, see the beginning of my post, and get a compression test done (but probably would not do until I did 1,2, and 4 first.


Sounds like the mechanics are either ignorant or trying to scam you. Jeeps have very specific behaviors when things aren't right and if you take the time to study these forums/google/youtube you can learn a whole lot and save yourself a ton of frustration, false diagnosis, and most importantly money.

This is the very reason I learned how to diagnose / fix my own cars as a broke college student when I was younger, now 20 years later, I don't get ripped off. I know how to weed out scammers if I need my car worked on (for things I don't have the time and tools for), and I talk through the details with anyone who touches any of my cars.

Saying stuff like 'aintnobodygotimefordat' when you are young, single, and not much responsibility yet means you need have a lot to learn in this world and that there are hazzards all through life that will require you to take matters into your own hands, educate yourself to protect yourself from opportunists and you make the time to do so. Old vehicles are excellent learning vessels for young men to build skills, and scientific analysis / problem solving skills that you will retain for the rest of your life and make you a better man, while keeping your bank fatter in which you will have more money for important stuff like chasing women.

 

head probably cracked, i'd do new heads if i was digging in to the top end on a 5.2/5.9.

 

Ok, guys so far I spent $70 on my mom's ex-coworker mechanic, opposed to spending $1200 at the automotive shop. He says that there isn't a problem with the head gasket like they told me. He replaced the radiator hose, (the original came off too easily when trying to take it off, something that he says shouldn't have happened) put in some flush cleaner, and 50/50 antifreeze coolant. I believe he also burped the radiator, and it was backed up with a lot of brown juices. Once I was on my way home a woman told me that my tail pipe was leaking, so we drove back to his house and he replaced the thermostat which was very rusty (pics attached), and the water outlet gasket.


Thankfully we can come back if there happens to be any more issues. I snapped a pic of the temperature gauge after driving home with the A/C (pic attached) and i'd like to find out if you all would say it's normal.The reservoir was still bubbling though, and I won't feel safe or secure until that ceases. Maybe it needs to be burped like @jb1331 said.

Lastly (I know I'm gonna get a lot of heat for this one) I've had this car since Q4 of 2013 and I have never had a oil change performed on it. I don't know if that could be a humongous issue as to why things are the way they are, or if it's minor. i'm still going to go get it changed in the morning.

 

If the t stat looks like that i wonder what the water pump looks like

 

So i'm guessing that's a bad thing. :/ Where is the water pump?

 

Front of the engine under the big bracket if this is a V8

 

What does your oil look like? Pull the dipstick and report. If it looks like it has antifreeze in it, then yes your head gasket is bad.

Also, go ahead and replace your radiator cap. There is a built in thermostat in it as well that controls the water going into your resevoir. If this is bad, it will cause the boiling water to go into your resevoir.

You do need to do an oil change right away.

If the water coming out of your tailpipe is green, then yes your head gasket is bad.. if not, it is just condensation which is normal.

To properly burp your cooling system, when the engine is cold, have it parked on an incline (front end up) with the radiator cap off and start the engine until it gets to operating temperature. Add coolant as needed. This may take up to 20-30 minutes. Put your NEW radiator cap on by applying a little coolant on the rubber around the seals to make sure the seal does not get ripped. Wash your hands. Make sure your resivoir is topped off to full when the engine is hot, and check the fluid level in your resevoir again in a day or two, top it off again if needed.

 

What does the bottom,of the engine oil cap look like as well

 

If your engine is running in the temperature gauge picture, you have NO oil pressure! Is there oil in the engine???

 

Could be since he has not checked / changed his oil in 2 years.. or just a bad sending unit.

Anyone who owns and older car should know better to routinely check fluid levels, but I guess many of us have to learn the hard way when we're young lol.