Head Gasket Replacement

If you’re seeing reduced performance from your car engine, or it keeps overheating, then you may have a blown head-gasket. Thankfully, AutoAdvisor has a huge network of UK garages and mechanics that it works with so you can source great head gasket repair quotes and choose the best one for you.

Simple and easy

Get quotes from local garages in 3 easy steps.

No Upfront Payment

You do not pay a penny until the work is complete and your car is ready to go.

Compare and Chose

Compare Prices from your local garages, Quickly & Easily all in one place and then choose the garage that offer can best meet your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the head-gasket?

A gasket is a sheet of metal that forms a strong seal in an engine. The head-gasket fits between the engine block and the cylinder head (the part of the engine over the cylinders)

What are the signs of a blown head-gasket?

Rough-running, overheating, bubbling sounds and a white mayonnaise- like deposit on the underside of the oil filler cap are likely signs of a blown head-gasket.

How much does a head-gasket repair cost?

The actual head-gasket itself is a relatively cheap part, usually less than £50, but there’s a lot of labour involved in the tear-down of the engine remove and change it, plus the reassembling. The average cost of a head gasket repaid is £350 or so, depending on where you are and the complexity of your engine.

What does a “blown” head-gasket mean?

It means that the seal between the cylinders and the rest of the engine has been broken. Most often it’s the seal between the cylinders and the cooling system that blows and this can lead to rough-running and overheating, which can cause lots of damage.

Can you use head-gasket sealers?

There are products available, but they’re a temporary fix at best and may even cause more damage by blocking your cooling system. its always best to have a repair or a replacement.

Can I drive with a blown head-gasket?

You can, but you shouldn’t. A blown head-gasket can lead to many problems, including serious overheating and the complications arising from coolant and oil mixing, which can damage bearings and camshafts.

My Head Gaskets blown and need it fixing as soon as possible!

Following our easy 3 step system to car repairs, makes your life easier, as you only have to fill out 1 form which gets sent to multiple garages.

Enter your registration

Vehicle Milage

Select “Head Gasket Replacement”

Enter your postcode

Phone number

Any additional information

Set-up an account

Sit back & relax

Wait for the quotes to roll in

Signs of a blown head-gasket

It’s not always possible to definitely identify a blown head-gasket yourself. You may notice an oil or coolant leak at the seam between the cylinder and engine block, or cylinder misfirings, overheating, or the “mayonnaise” caused by the emulsion of oil and coolant.

More about your head-gasket

Your head-gasket “seals” in the integrity, pressure and temperature within your engine. It also helps with the distribution of coolant and oil.

When your engine is running, your head-gasket has to operate in some high temperatures and pressures. Your car engine needs to be cooled constantly and so if the head-gasket is damaged, this leads to overheating. You’ll lose compression and water, oil and coolant will leak and mix together, causing a reduction in the cooling and lubrication functions. This is very bad news for your engine.

Several materials go into building your head-gasket as it needs to be resistant to heat, pressure, oils, coolants and other chemicals. The head-gaskets vary between makes and models of cars as a result.

While head-gasket repairs or replacements are expensive, you can look out for yours failing so that you catch it early enough to prevent knock-on problems caused by overheating.

Look out for:

Your engine overheating
Your temperature gauge being higher than normal
Milky-white oil
White smoke in your exhaust
Loss of coolant but no visible leaks
Oil or coolant on your spark plugs
Bubbles of air rising when you remove the radiator cap
A loss of power or “chugging”, and
Oil in the water tank.

There are some other signs that are less obvious to the untrained eye, so it’s important that you head to a garage to get checked out.

Despite the expense of a head-gasket repair, it’s important that you get attention as soon as possible so that you don’t end up with more extensive – and expensive – repairs down the line.

About that expense

It really does vary depending on your location and your car make. A Mercedes, for example, will cost around £700 while a Fiat may cost around £350

Head to AutoAdvisor to find the best deals possible

The best way to make sure you’re getting a fair price, as well as high-quality work, is to find a reliable garage or mechanic.

AutoAdvisor will reach out to its network of trusted garages to find you the best quotes from your area so that you have a selection to choose from.

You simply have to enter your registration number and the make and model of your car, as well as a description of the problems you’re having and let AutoAdvisor do the rest. We’ll send your information to our network of partner garages and they’ll get straight back to with some great local quotes.

All you have to do then is to choose the one you like the most and book your car in for its repairs.