I was looking for a shop recommendation to replace a head gasket on an '96 Explorer for my friend. Do you guys know of any places in the South Bay that could do this reasonably? She says she called around and the quotes she is getting exceed the value of the car...

 

Replacing a headgasket on a 96' explorer is going to pretty closely come to or exceed the value of the vehicle. It's the nature of the beast.

If you want to find the cheapest and likely best solution, ask around for a mobile mechanic. Ideally this guy should be connected to the classic car scene. I live near Sears pointe and luckily met a guy who races a couple different classic mopars. He is the cheapest mechanic I've ever met and he handles my 70' Cuda with the love and care I would. He's stupidly reasonably priced and is capable of working on any car.

These guys are one in a million and my guy is in the North bay and wouldn't be willing to go to the south bay. But if you ask around in the local muscle car community you might run across one.

Edit: If you have the tools to do it and are meticulous, you shouldn't really have a problem simply replacing the headgasket. It's one of those jobs that's a lot of elbowgrease on those engines.

 

Thanks, manhands