So after procrastinating long enough and having the 1996 Wagon in pieces for a couple months, my wife is making me pay to get the headgaskets in the Forester replaced. After calling around, these guys in SOMA quoted me $1400 for the whole job. He said they send the heads off to be machined use all OEM parts from Subaru including "new style" gaskets and it would take several days. It sounds correct and he doesnt replace the timing belt but can for the price in parts. He confirmed that the price is for both, and not each.

Should I be scared or jump all over it? I mean, everyone in the world charges $2500 and I got quoted up to $3500 on the phone. They have good reviews, too...

 

The higher quotes probably include replacing the water pump and thermostat as well as cam/crank seals. I would recommend replacing all these while the front of the engine is torn apart.

-Brian

 

you will get what you pay for, OEM style is not OEM master gaskte set alone is 370 something dollars so 1400 including machine work is hard to digest.

 

The guy isn't saying he's using "OEM style" parts. He's using Subaru parts. The headgaskets are the updated design as opposed to the old design.

Did he tell you what else would be replaced?

 

He said just gaskets but if I wanted to replace other stuff, I would just pay for parts, since the engine is all apart anyway.

I was thinking about picking up seals and timing belt and water pump just to get it all done...

 

just ask him to show you the parts before they go in

 

What's the name of the shop? I used to make deliveries throughout SF while I worked at Marin Mazda-Subaru, and know most the shops north of Cesar Chavez.

List of what SHOULD be done while they're in there:

Head gaskets
Intake manifold gaskets
Exhaust manifold gaskets
Valve cover gaskets, spark plug gaskets (or seals, depending on DOHC or SOHC), and the grommets from the valve covers
Spark Plugs
Timing Belt
Tensioner
Idlers (x3)
Water Pump and gasket
oil pump o-ring (to block gasket)
crank seal
cam seals (x2)
thermostat & gasket
coolant & conditioner
oil filter

valve stem seals - from the machine shop as they re-build your heads

what is nice to have done at the same time:

all radiator and heater hoses
alternator and a/c belts

 

Cool, thanks guys.

I think "proceed with caution" is the take away.

 

I don't know if that is the case, really. It just sounds like you're getting apples to oranges quotes. The guy is quoting on a head gasket job without the 'extras'. If they have good reviews and do solid work then you're probably in the same ballpark as the other quotes you've gotten when you add in the rest of the bits.

If the heads go to the machine shop they are going to do valve stem seals and cam seals. Can't get away with not. So I'm going to guess that is part of his quote. You'll just need to get a water pump/gskt, t-stat/gskt, crank seal, oil pump o-ring, t-belt, tensioner and idlers and fluids it looks like. Everything else the shop will have to replace anyhow to do the job. Oh, spark plugs if you're due.

You asked for a quote on head gaskets and got one it sounds like. The rest of the stuff is 'add-on' to a lot of shops. :shrug:

 

Glad to hear I didn't miss anything in my list two posts above yours.
I figure if you're doing the head gasket job, spark plugs that have been subjected to burning coolant (esp. for an extended time), they should simply be replaced anyway to do the job right.