Head Gasket Blown 190

[apache001]

My 2.0L 1993 190 has 115k with full MB service history. I have just found out the head gasket is blowing and will need replacing. The trouble is Dronsfield in Manchester want 500.00 to do the work. Plus its due for a major (3 year) service, wont see much change from a grand!! I only paid 1500.00 for the whole car. Does anyone know a Merc mechanic in the Manchester area who will do the work on the side???? thanks

 

[jberks]

There's a specialist in Leeds but I'm pretty sure there is a nearer one around Manchester. That said, a head gasket on a 190 is the sort of job that most decent mechanics could do, I certainly wouldn't give it to a dealer. It's mainly labour so at £90 per hour, its always going to be heavy. A specialist will be around £45 per hour so I'd expect £250 (allowing for parts) and a jobbing mechanic less than that (£200?).
I'd also let them do the service. FMBSH at that age is not worth the cost of maintaining it, plus you'll get better service and expertise at the specialists. My car is 4 1/2 years old and I only keep the history up for the corrosion and breakdown warranty. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't go near the dealer. Suffice to say, they weren't my first call when it broke down !

 

[mike65]

Is it me or does that sound a bit cheap esp if the head needs skimming and the valves resetting.

Mike.

 

[apache001]

thanks for your help. I'm think i'll hang around my nearest MB dealer and try to catch the eye of a mechanic, offer him some extra work on the quiet. Its a bit naughty, but.....
Its a real shame, my dad owned the car from new and it never missed a service at the main dealer. it looks beautiful and drives fantastic but at 115k something had to give. is it true that the double timing chains are good for the life of the engine and the single good for 100k? mine has the double!!! thanks

 

[mike65]

The duplex chain should last as long as the car all things being equal, touch wood, etc!

Mike.

 

[1066ng]

£500 for a head gasket from a main dealer is pretty good.
You would also hope that because of their vast experience with 190 heads, it would be "to the book" and a good job.
Servicing is another matter!

 

[jberks]

1066ng - I'm not so sure about the dealers. The 190 went out of production around 1993 ? This means that they won't have had many through the door since 1998/9. My view is that experience is down to the mechanic rather than the garage and as I would imagine staff come and go at these workshops over 5-6 years, you may well get someone who has never worked on a 190 before. Plus, at 6 years old, few would require a head gasket, further reducing the chances the guy doing it having ever done one before.
The specialists generally look after older cars, so see cars with 100k+ and 10 years old as their normal routine. So, my view is that you are far more likely to get someone who is a real expert on the 190 engine at a specialist than you are at the dealer.
Most specialists have the same technical kit as the dealer, the same tools and insist on only fitting MB parts. This is why I think that even if the price was the same, you may well get a better job done at a specialist.
My E has had several things done at MercCare in Leeds and the diagnostics and repairs, both in service, workmanship and price have exceeded what the dealer has managed on similar issues. I have a great relationship with my dealer, we are on first name terms and I have never had reason to complain, so this isn't a downer on dealers. There is no way I would take a new E or SL to a specialist for the same reason that I would recommend them here, but I think it's horses for courses.

 

[Geoff_Slade]

If it's any help replacing the head gasket on a W124 300D takes 9.25 hours according to MB so somewhere in the order of £400 just for labour at a specialist. The £500 doesn't seem too bad (presumably that includes the gasket) although obviously the 300 has two extra cylinders and is a diesel which might account for it!

 

[apache001]

thanks for that rapid reply, 9hours seems long!!! think I have found a solution....an experianced machanic in |Manchester (not merc though) who works for 15.00 per hour...cash....no VAT. Even if it takes 8hours plus 65.00 for gasket set from the stealership thats still only 185.00. unsure about the thermostat though.