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OT - head gasket on old liberty 26-Jul-2011 At 9:03:55 PM ClimbingNT

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Also, you will need to check to see if the head is warped.
When it comes off, take it to get pressure tested to see if its fine. If the head is warped, then replacing the gasket will only be good for another few thousand before the donk gives up the ghost.

To be honest, 9K is a stupid amount of money to pay - if you paid that, your looking at almost the cost of a brand new small car, or almost new bigger car.
Most reputable mechanics will do the work for around 2 - 3K (labor only) plus parts. Usually a lot cheaper on older motors which don't have overhead cams.

The gasket itself will only be between $50 to $300 depending if you have to go genuine, make, etc. Subi will be a bit more than something like a commodore/toyota/falcon - which go for the cheaper end of the scale.

Pressure testing head will be around $400.

If you have to get a new head, then it may be a better option to cut your losses, or buy a complete motor.

- Shortman, most head gaskets are more than what you can make out of a paper gasket. This is because they need to allow for expansion of different metals at different temps. Alloy head and cast block expand at different rates. The head gasket will have something similar to the paper gasket your referring to on either side of something like copper/soft metal. I would be interested to see how long your paper gasket lasted, as it would have fried pretty quickly being exposed to the combustion part of the engine....

Head Gasket:

Rocker Cover gaskets on the other hand can be made from a paper gasket, caulk, or rubber (more common in new motors). The rocker cover gasket only stops the oil leaking from out the top of the rocker cover/cam cover. I have made one of these out of a beer box before to get me home. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, unless it was a last resort.

Rocker Cover Gasket: