93 1.6L 8valve Head Gasket Replacement

[DadofTrackerDriver]

The tracker I have was picked up for around $500 and was going to be something for my son to drive. The only problem with it when we got it was the fact that iot wouldn't stay in 5th gear.

Since then the timing belt idler pulley came off and I replaced that after removing some broken bolts. A month or so after the timing belt was fixed he started having a hard time starting it. Once it was started it lacked power. Last week it wouldn't start at the HS parking lot so it was left there.

Next morining it was turned on its side. I had it towed to a local repair shop and they checked it out and said the head gasket needed replaced but they didn't do that type of work.

I found a shop that would and indicated it would be $638.00 to replace the head gasket and associated seals. That seemed a bit steep to me so I am considering doing it myself . I am pretty good at reading instructions on how to do things but have not worked on enough engines to just dive into this. I have a haynes manual which I have found lacking in some areas.

Here are my questions.

1) Does that seem like a fair price for replacing the head gasket?
2) I adjusted the Valve Lash when I replace the timing idler and belt. Could that have caused the gasket failure?
3) The 3 and 4 cylinders show 50 PSI. Is there a way to easly verify that the gasket is blown and not the valves?
4) I am not a mechanic but don't mind working on things when I know what I am doing. Is this something that someone with limited experience can do if he has the right instructions and patience?
5) Is it better to cut my losses and start selling parts ?

I appreciate any information that is shared. I am a welder and inspector by trade and maybe someday will get a chance to help some mechanic out !


Have a nice day

Gerald

[rudar]

Well, that depends on how much your time is worth, and how many seized rusted bolts you'll encounter that need drilling out I started mine about 2 weeks ago, made good progress for a couple of days, and then things started getting real slow on account of the fan not wanting to come off, nor the crankshaft pulley. Then again, if you've already excavated down to the timing belt idler pulley, that's most of the way there, and none of those bolts should be seized since you've recently had them off. In which case an inspired weekend or two should do 'er.