Head Gasket - Single labor time

12.5 hrtypical
8.5 to 18.5hours on most vehicles
$1,875typical labor at $150/hr

Head Gasket - Single takes about 12.5 hr of shop labor on a typical vehicle. Across 30,133 vehicle and engine combinations from 60 makes, most fall between 8.5 and 18.5 hours, and the longest take up to 28.5 hours. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Jaguar vehicles tend to take the longest; Opel, Renault and MG the least. The exact time depends on your car, so look yours up below or pick it on the home page.

per hour

Enter a rate to see the labor cost of each job. Many US shops charge somewhere between $100 and $200 an hour.

At $150 an hour, labor for this job is usually $1,275 to $2,775, about $1,875 on a typical vehicle. Parts are extra.

How long it takes across all vehicles

Hours, in half hour steps. Each bar is how many vehicle and engine combinations fall in that range.

Head Gasket - Single time on popular vehicles

Head Gasket - Single time by make

MakeTypicalMost vehiclesVehicles
Mercedes-Benz18.5 hr14.5 to 28.51,702
Porsche18.5 hr15.6 to 28.5581
Jaguar18.5 hr12.5 to 28.0263
BMW17.9 hr12.5 to 28.01,167
Audi17.9 hr10.5 to 21.5712
Genesis17.9 hr11.5 to 17.948
Lexus15.6 hr12.5 to 18.5442
Land Rover15.6 hr12.5 to 18.7177
Alfa Romeo15.6 hr15.6 to 17.986
Cadillac14.5 hr12.5 to 18.7668
Lincoln14.5 hr12.5 to 18.7314
Infiniti14.5 hr12.5 to 18.5229
Studebaker14.4 hr12.0 to 14.467
Hummer14.4 hr12.0 to 14.417
Ram13.8 hr12.0 to 14.4326
Mini13.8 hr12.0 to 13.8133
Smart13.8 hr13.8 to 13.86
Chevrolet12.5 hr8.5 to 14.53,173
GMC12.5 hr8.5 to 14.51,526
Pontiac12.5 hr8.5 to 14.4811
Jeep12.5 hr8.5 to 14.4733
Oldsmobile12.5 hr8.5 to 14.5557
Mercury12.5 hr8.5 to 14.5512
Acura12.5 hr8.5 to 15.6238
Ford12.0 hr8.5 to 14.53,028
Toyota12.0 hr8.5 to 16.51,404
Volkswagen12.0 hr8.5 to 13.81,049
Nissan12.0 hr8.5 to 16.5842
Buick12.0 hr8.5 to 14.5775
Hyundai12.0 hr8.5 to 13.8640
Chrysler12.0 hr9.5 to 14.4620
Honda12.0 hr8.5 to 14.5486
Kia12.0 hr8.5 to 13.8459
Isuzu12.0 hr8.5 to 12.5154
Saab12.0 hr12.0 to 13.8116
Saturn12.0 hr12.0 to 12.0108
Morgan12.0 hr12.0 to 12.067
Peugeot12.0 hr8.5 to 12.548
Scion12.0 hr12.0 to 12.043
Eagle12.0 hr12.0 to 12.041
Geo12.0 hr12.0 to 12.037
Daewoo12.0 hr12.0 to 12.030
Dodge11.5 hr8.5 to 14.42,279
Volvo11.5 hr8.5 to 15.6463
Subaru9.5 hr8.5 to 13.8468
Plymouth8.5 hr8.5 to 14.4702
Mazda8.5 hr8.5 to 12.5617
Mitsubishi8.5 hr8.5 to 12.5413
Fiat8.5 hr7.5 to 13.8308
AMC8.5 hr8.5 to 12.5166
Suzuki8.5 hr8.5 to 12.0151
MG8.5 hr8.5 to 8.568
Renault8.5 hr8.5 to 12.028
Opel8.5 hr8.5 to 12.020

Other engine repairs

Hours are what a professional technician takes with the right tools, the same way shops quote jobs. Figures come from the Open Labor Project database.