Experiences with head gasket repair in Bay area

I decided to drop a few lines since no one has responded with suggestions for reliable repair shops. Over a year ago, I DIYed the replacement of my 2012 Prius head gasket, and the car is still running strong.

I followed two high-quality YouTube videos after watching several others. One of the videos was from a shop called Gasket Master. From the video, it’s clear they service the San Francisco area. While I’ve never used their services personally, it’s evident they know what they’re doing—I was able to fix my car’s head cylinder gasket following the steps they demonstrated.

Best of luck in your search!

 

Not all gen3 engines are good candidates for just a head gasket. Some burn oil, have warped heads or blocks or have scored cylinder walls. So some of the variability is when a good head gasket job is performed on a bad engine. Running an engine for weeks or months after symptoms of a leaking hg starts can lead to a second hg repair.

We have seen guys change hg three times diy only to replace the engine with JDM or rebuilt.

Dealers and many pro shops won't do a simple hg job alone because of their commitment to reliability and their need to guarantee their work.

 

GM’s main guy has demonstrated “anger management issues”; and some reports of broken/missing fasteners. No personal experience, well other than a blast I got, after commenting on one of their videos:

they pulled off the intake manifold to change the PCV valve. I left a comment that if that was all you were doing, it’s reachable without intake manifold removal, and the guy REALLY came after me.

I wouldn’t care to do business with him.

 

I would pull a gen3 intake for a pcv valve. Otherwise it is working blind from the bottom and particularly difficult if you have big hands.

 

or time it to coincide with intake manifold removal, say for cleaning.

 

i was gonna mention gasket masters, but their reviews are up and down, idk.
o/p wanted someone with personal experience, so that counts me out.
it may be a case of 'you get what you pay for'.

 

Your oxygen sensor should be original, it's in the exhaust manifold. Doesn't mean there's not a problem, just to clarify:

 

Most JDM (used in Japan) engines come with the exhaust manifold and the first sensor