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1989 240 GL Head Gasket

I'm thinking about buying a 1989 240 GL with 200,000 miles on it for a couple hundred dollars from a buddy of mine. It's leaking oil from a crack in the head gasket and I really don't know much about cars so I'm not sure how much a fix like this costs. Is it something that you could do on your own with a little bit of help or is it something that should be left to a mechanic? I heard that the cylinders warp and need machined in order to replace the head gasket. My only purpose for buying the car is to drive it to and from the airport a couple of times a week. Is it worth it to put some money into it or will this car nickle and dime me to death? Any opinions or help is appreciated. Thanks in advance for your replies.

Justin

Reply to
Bloomer
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A head gasket is something a moderately skilled shadetree mechanic can do themselves in a couple afternoons with pretty basic tools. If you have a mechanic do it, expect several hundred bucks. You should check the head for flatness but unless it was overheated it will probably not be warped. You only want to machine it if you have to, you can only do that just so many times before you can't take off any more metal.

If you enjoy doing basic car tinkering a 240 is a great car to have, they're very easy to work on and you can keep them on the road nearly forever for very little money since parts are plentiful and cheap but remember that it's almost 20 years old, it will need work to fix all the little things that have likely been neglected. If you have to pay someone else to do the work it could very well nickel and dime you to death.

Reply to
James Sweet

Thanks for the reply James. That helps me out a lot.

Justin

Reply to
Bloomer

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