Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but wanted to get some outside perspectives from those more knowledgable than me about automobiles/motors.

TLDR: Local shop says our Grand Vitara needs a head gasket @ $2200 labor + parts/machining (tbd tomorrow). Any recommended shops near Port Moody/Coquitlam who I can get a second quote from? Other things to check or consider before replacing?


Longer: We have a 2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2.4l 4 cyl, owned for 6 years, has 170k. 9 months ago, we had a shop near us diagnose a coolant leak. They found the radiator had given up and we had them replace it.

On Thursday, as I parked at work, white smoke started coming out from under the hood. Turned the car off. Noticed some residual coolant on top of the rad, but couldn't tell where it had come from. Coolant was down to the low mark.

Had the car towed to the same shop as I thought it could be related to the radiator they put in. They said on the phone it would be $150-200 to diagnose, and if it was a problem with the rad, a replacement would be covered, but we'd have to pay labour.

After the long weekend, they called and said they think they found the problem(s): thermostat, rad cap, and rad cap adapter. They said along with a coolant flush we should be good. $750 including the diagnosis. Probably a bit high, but I'm limited on time/transportation options so we go ahead.

Today, they call back to say they completed everything, but discovered coolant in the spark plug wells, thus pointing to the need for a head gasket. (There was one other thing here that made them think the parts they replaced didn't fix the problem, but I can't recall exactly what that was. Something during the coolant flush I believe.)

They said labour alone will be about $2200, plus parts, plus fluids, plus anything else they find along the way, plus machining. And that there is a risk they find the head is cracked once they get inside. He mentioned replacing the motor as an option at a ballpark of $6200 - which is approaching value of the car anyways.

Just looking to get some perspectives on the quote, other considerations we should be making, or suggestions for a shop to get a 2nd quote from in the tri-cities.

Thank you!

what shop is this? do they even have good reviews? Im just shaking my head at everything theyve done. Doesnt sound proferssional to me, sounds like they are ripping u off. Im so glad i work on my own cars myself.

If the radiator they put in is defective. They will replace it but u have to pay for labour? does that even make sense. Theres a reason why shops only use parts theyve bought or approve of so they dont do the job twice if the part is faulty.

Thermostat, Rad Cap(isnt that like 2 seconds to replace), and Rad Cap adapter for $750?

Now they are saying its ur headgasket? i would say fuck it and cut ur losses. Get ur car back, drive it and see if any problems persist

Yeah, IMO their diagnosis should have been a bit more thorough. They shouldn't have done all that radiator work and then found the coolant in the spark plug wells.

To give you an example of what a good shop would do:

A few years ago the fuel pump on my Sonoma gave up the ghost (not bad after 20+ years of service). The truck would only run for a few minutes and stall out, I could audibly hear the pump stop working and could see the fuel pressure drop. But when you cycled the key, it would kick back on for a minute.

Changing the pump involved dropping the tank, which was full, and not a job I really cared to tackle on my back in my driveway. So I took it to Marigold auto which is like 2 blocks from my house. It died 5 times on the way. Told them about the fuel pressure drop and that I could hear the fuel pump die, but I let them "diagnose" it themselves.

So, they took the truck in and later that afternoon they called me and told me they diagnosed that it was the fuel injection spider that went bad and that it was going to be $1800 to fix. I said "are you SURE? Like I could HEAR the pump die and the truck shut off, but ok if that's what you think it is".

Next morning they call me:

"Well our mechanic was doing some thinking overnight and re-tested it this morning and yeah he thinks it's the fuel pump"

Me: "OK that's what I thought"

Them (and here's the important part) "we wouldn't have charged you if we changed the other part and that didn't fix the problem". "The fuel pump will be only $900 to do"

Thanks both for the replies!

Port Moody Auto and Air. Nearby where I live, making it possible to walk home/walk back when needed. They have reasonable reviews - 4.1 Google and 4.6 Facebook.

The 3 things they did was in addition to diagnosis and coolant flush. So $150ish diagnosis and maybe $150ish coolant flush? So 450 for the cap, adapter and thermostat. High, yes. I'll see the breakdown when I pick up the car. OEM suzuki parts at least.

Should I be driving it though if they just found coolant in the plug well?

Thanks, agreed with your note about a more thorough diagnosis - especially if it was as simple as pulling the spark plugs. Would a leak down/compression tell us anything further before taking things apart?

Glad you had a good experience that place and wonder if there are any places like that near me.

A family member lent us a vehicle, so we aren't as pressed to get it fixed as quickly as possible. My mechanically inclined uncle is considering taking it on, but is in Vancouver and has some other things going on that may not give him the time for a while.

Integra girl has resurfaced on the internet... Who's cursed avatar is this? https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...452a93db75.jpg

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

cap, adapter and thermostat with a discount should be $50. i know they are trying to make money so i can see them charging u $150... maybe $200 but $450? jeez.

Are u prepared to spend $3500+ for everything they wanna do to ur suzuki? With how they are doing everything, i wouldnt trust them. They sound like the type of shop that fixes what they "think" is wrong with the vehicle and if it doesnt fix it, charge the customer anyways and then go try and fix something else.

Tell them to blow the spark plug well dry(they should have done that already) Then u can monitor it urself. Its extremely simple and it takes a minute to do if u do have a 10mm and a sparkplug socket and a flashlight. If the coolant comes back then go from there.

edit* sounds like u like ur vehicle but u dont want to dump a crap load of money on it, id try using headgasket fix in a bottle first. Some people think they are alll snake oil products and some are. But some actually do work. $50 vs $3500+, i would atleast try it.

I know a really good shop but it's in Poco if you're willing to go that direction. I've been going there for years and take all my vehicles there.

PM me if you're interested.

That was my thought as well. Did they just find existing coolant, or are they actually observing coolant appearing in there after cleaning it up and running the engine? Because they might just be seeing some coolant that was spilled there by the leaks or during the work that was done.

any foam in the coolant tank?

I think I'm leaning towards just picking up the car and finding another place, and either re-diagnose or follow the things others have been saying here. We do like the car - although have a new vehicle on order that should be arriving in the next 6 months. Obviously I want it to last us until then, and also be able to sell it when the new car comes if possible.

I can ask them to blow it dry if they haven't and will monitor. Would this be a 5 min of driving kind of thing, or an hour?

Thanks, will PM you!

I can ask when I pick the car up.

Not reported and I did not look, I can ask though. Would this be in the reservoir?

Side note: they say the car is drivable as it is now if I want to take it home (about a 3 minute drive). Should I just be monitoring the temp gauge as I drive? Anything else to be aware of to know it's time to pull over?

Thanks again everyone for the help/advice

Well, I guess crossing the border to get gasoline is not worth it, atm. Crappy exchange rate and now gas is about the same price as it is here.

Thinking of a 2 day 1 night trip ferry ride to somewhere. Is there anything to do in Nanaimo? Or any other places?

Manic's gas station and convenience store. It's a front for crazy parties (basement)......... and the DJ there is amazing.

It's the Island's version of Captain Happy Bubble.

:seriously::facepalm:

West Vancouver Fire & Rescue
@WestVanFireDept
West Van Fire and BC Wildfire Service are responding now to a fire near Cypress Mountain. Conditions remain extremely dry and fire danger is elevated. Please use caution when enjoying the outdoors and report unsafe fire activities at 604-543-6700. #WestVan

Another sign of the drought that we are facing in B.C. now.

We have had very little rain, if any, in the Lower Mainland this month.

where are the tits:rukidding:

now im curious if mg1 has spent time at basement...

I will deny................

on a side note, somebody mentioned peppermint.............

thank goodness, imagine it destroyed the painting, i wonder what are the ramifications, or what would have been had there been damage.
FYI - they just wasted 2 good cans of food :badpokerface: :troll: Kappa

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-honda-crx-46/

I know the crx has a cult following, but jeeeezues... 50k cad, my god

Forgot which thread people were talking about this but ICBC is charging book value tax on used cars

B.C. man spends $1,200 on car, but has to pay tax on $4,000 value

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/video/...on-4000-value/

There has to be something wrong, there's noway black book rates a 15 yr old Passat with 300k as a $30k+ car.

He’s paying tax on 4k. Not paying 4k tax.

That's strange how shops won't do an appraisal for him, but I can see the shops not wanting to get involved if ICBC decides its an undervaluation and decides to investigate.