So there's gotta be someone in bloop land who knows about cars and how to fix them and things like that.

Apparently I blew/cracked a head gasket on my truck. It's a 97 ranger. In the long run would it be better to fix the problem or put it up for sale as is and get another car?

I had a problem with a gasket and they charged me £500 to fix it, but it didn't solve the problem, so I took it back and they said the whole cylinder needed replaced for a further £700. So I said no way, and traded it in instead... Because I agreed to buy a brand new car (with a different dealer!), they gave me £2500 for my old one (it was only 4 years old but with it's problems it wasn't even worth a few hundred £s). So I say get rid of it. If you can work out a payment plan which would allow you to get a new car on trade in, I think it's worth it. At least my car is now under guarantee for 3 years, so I shouldn't have to spend anything on it if it has any problems. My old car was costing me hundreds of pounds every 6 - 12 months on repairs.

Get a new car. My boyfriend's a mechanic and a cracked head gasket is more trouble than it's worth.

This happened to me just a couple months ago and I just got a new car. It's way to much trouble to deal with, and like someone else said it could have warped the engine. You don't really know how bad the damage could be until you really look into it and will probably cost thousands to fix because of all the labor.

I don't know what happened to my long reply I typed out, but when I pressed post it brought me back to the forums page. Anyways the jest of it was: When you have a cracked head it's actually easier & less expensive to replace the whole motor. So if you can find someone who deals car parts that has a cheap used one & if you know someone who can cut you a deal on the labor than you might come out ahead fixing it. But usually on older model vehicles a cracked head is a death sentence because it costs more to fix them than they are actually worth. So best bet would be trading it off for parts or selling it to someone as is. My grandfather has owned a car dealership & a mechanic shop since I was little & I have picked up a lot of things from him. Usually if an older vehicle had a cracked head my grandpa wouldn't invest a penny into it besides what the parts are worth.

i'd just get a new one. those are really expensive to replace..it might be cheaper to replace it..but i would go for a nice running car. there could be more problems with the truck deep down. newer model! that's just me.

If you cracked the head gasket, it might've warped the head which would mean an engine rebuild. I would suggest, if the truck is in good condition, trying to sell it as a parts car or as a project truck. I don't know where exactly you live, but if you're in an area where mudding and off-roading is popular, it may just sell. If they think the head gasket is the only problem, then it may be worth fixing, but most times it's just the tip of the iceberg.

It might sell IF it's a 4x4. If it's only a 2 wheel drive, it's less likely to sell in that kind of area. But I do agree, a head gasket can turn into a plethora of problems when you get down to trying to fix it!

sell it and get a new vehicle. my sister's car had a broken head gasket and it would have cost much more to fix it than what it was worth. my roommate is a mechanic and he says to sell yours too. good luck!

new car time. my boyfriend's a mechanic and he practically killed himself fixing it.