head gasket

"Hugues Tremblay" typed until their fingers bled, and came up with:

I highly doubt it's a head gasket problem. Are you loosing oil, or is their oil in the coolant? If the oil is just getting low, the piston rings a known to stick and cause significant oil burning. If there is oil in the coolant, then you've most likely got the dreaded casting flaw that '95 & '96 SOHC engines suffered from. Of the 3 SOHCs that I've cared for, only 1 developed the crack, and that was at 140k miles.

But to answer your Question, a capable driveway mechanic can swap the head gasket in 8-10 hours.