Cracked Head!

Hello, just looking for an opinion here. My 1991 Alltrac manual van with 220k has a cracked head. This was determined by two different mechanics, one who works exclusively on Previa's in the Seattle area. He will repair it for $1600 which is much less than other quotes. My question is this: the van shows no signs of running badly, losing oil, losing coolant or any symptoms associated with a cracked head. In fact, it is quite likely that I have been driving it like this for the last two years-and on many long trips I should add. Should I just keep driving this van keeping an eye on colony and oil levels or buckle down and do the repair? Thanks.

If you were unaware of any issues, why did you take it in? If it's not consuming antifreeze, there's no oil in antifreeze, no coolant in the oil, and/or no other indication of any problem, then somebody is trying to sell you something you don't need. What exactly did they tell you? Did they offer any other explanations?

The van was actually leaking oil-a larger leak than I am comfortable with. Turns out this had nothing to do with the head gasket though, it was some other seals causing the leak. So my buddy Ryan who owns a shop started digging around in there and did a "chemical analysis" that determined that the head gasket was starting to fail. However, he does not work on Previa's much. So I then went over to see Sami who only works on Previas and he thought it was a cracked head since it was not draining coolant, etc. He works exclusively on Previa's and I trust his opinion, he is a good guy and tries to save his customers money when he can. So that's where I am. The van itself drives just fine and I am not seeing any coolant loss yet. I should note that after going to interior BC at the end of Feb on a work trip I arrived home to Seattle with NO coolant in the van whatsoever after driving 1200 miles and cranking over mountain passes with 5 people in the van. So it's all a bit weird.

Yeah, so weird in fact that I don't know what to say or recommend. If you trust Sami, I'd just do what he recommends. Tim

PS: Since you're so close, I'd also suggest giving the foreign engine exchange in Lynnwood a call. Might be worth considering a low mileage JDM engine (if available).