1995 volkswagen jetta 4.0 blown head gasket?

[sue]

I've read some information on these cars with blown head gaskets,i found a mechanic on craigslist that said it would be $600 to repair and he has to send head out to see there is no cracks,should i do this or should i see if i could put another engine in and if so where would i get another engine?the car only has 95Kmiles runs and looks good otherwise,but gets alot of use as it belongs to a mother who dives to work and school,please advise before i hire machinic.thank you

 

[Nick]

If you've got a car savvy husband, have him remove the head and take to to a shop for the inspection. Maybe nothing's wrong with it. All the parts you need are right here and damn cheap. You'll need them all.

http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volkswagen/Jetta/Engine/100/9

Again, if you're husband knows a bit about a car, this can be done in a couple days given that he has work and other responsibilities. Even if you've got to rent a car for those two days (Enterprise does it cheapest I'm sure) it's still going to be under $200.

The Vag-Cat forums have a database which allows you to see exactly how the car comes apart, if you need torque specs, pm me, I've got a manual that has all the other goods, this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Volkswagen-Jetta-Golf-GTI-Platform/dp/0837616603/ref=pd_sim_b5