Mechanic recommendation needed

I have a leaky head gasket on my 1.5L 90 civic. The dealer wants at least $1000 for the job. I may end up doing this myself with some help but I would still like to get a couple estimates from some independent mechanics who know what they are doing.

Any suggestions on who to call?

Matt Walsh (Dr. Auto) is my main man.

Yikes you can do that in your garage with simple hand tools, the dealership would probably deck the block which would be the best if possible but if you run a multi layer gasket or stock gasket you should be fine with just cleaning it really good.

For that price you could pick up a new motor.

A brand new motor for a grand? Well probably a used one anyway.

Doing it myself with help is not OFF the table but it doesn't hurt to get some more estimates before I make a decision.

Let's just say I've been bitten by old cars before and although this in theory shouldn't be THAT difficult I've grown to expect the unexpected. For instance they couldn't even put a new block heater in for me this morning because the sumbitch was rusted in so tight it wouldn't come out and the nut got stripped out. PB blaster didn't work. Some of the coolant/oil mix thats been leaking probably got down on there and rusted it in place. Who knows. The point is BS can come up. I wouldn't expect doing this job myself to go easily. In fact its probably gonna be a big fat pain in the ass.

if time is not a major concern, mini motors

Hmm I can't find Dr. Auto or Mini Motors in the dexonline.com e-phone book.

Do you guys have some contact info? Thanks!

Matt works down at The Brake Shop on 4th, "Dr. Auto" is his screen name

252-6987 for mini motors. Tell Dennis Jason Butt sent you, hes not quick but will do it for cheap usually.

252-6987 is disconnected..

^^^^^^^^shows how old school we are! I will see if I can get Dennis' number for you.

I havn't seen Dennis in Y-E-A-R-S!!!!

Maybe somebody should call Dennnis before we go plastering his number allover the WWW. I know its a buisiness and it prob wouldnt hurt but I wouldnt want to step on any toes... Ya know?

I got another estimate from heights automotive. $1100 and that includes doing the timing belt, water pump, new plugs, oil change, and coolant.

BUT. I called up Russiff auto and he said he's seen these cars leak from the block heater. Well mine is rusted in and doesnt work any more. Which implies that could be a possiblity. As far as the oil coming out with the coolant when it drips under the car it could just be oil thats leaked down from the valve covers getting "washed" down when the coolant comes out. The car isn't smoking that I can tell and runs OK so that tends to imply that the head gasket is OK. It's really kind of difficult to say for sure because it could still be a head gasket, just leaking barely. A leak down test might tell you for sure. I have a friend coming over today to help me get an oil pan heater on the car and we're gonna put it up on jack stands and see if we can confirm where the leak is coming from.

Hey Owen,
Let me know how this all turns out. And if you'd like to check with Dennis at Mini Motors PM me because I have all his contact info. He's a good friend of mine And lives not too far away from me. He would also be a good canidate for the job.

Why dont you do it Matt?

Well I can.... But it's really up to him. lol

I appreciate it. It's just up in the air at the moment and I'm honestly leaning more towards doing it myself. Nothing is off the table yet though.

The car leaks coolant from above and to the right of the block heater. Just about has to be the head gasket. The funny things are that it only seems to noticeably do it when the car is extremely cold and only on startup. Drip drip drip for about 2 minutes then after it starts to heat up it stops. And strangest of all the car did this last year during the winter but quit over the summer. So if it is a cracked gasket it is taking it's sweet time getting worse. And it hasn't got through to the cylinders because the car isn't smoking. It's just pushing a little coolant out and not in.

Isn't the block heater located on the back of the engine between the oil filter and front timing cover area on that D15B2? I think it is....

And if that's the case I'll bet you're head gasket is fine. I think what you might have is a leaking water pump. The water pump is on the back side there driven by the timing belt and there is a "weep" hole located on that back side rigt above where the alternator sits but below the head gasket area. I'll bet that if you looked from the top side with a mirror you could trace that leak right to the water pump.

The drip is coming down the other side near the block heater and not around back by the oil filter. Block heater on this car is right around front near the exhaust manifold.