Coolant that vanishes, white smoke, a gauge that climbs
A failing head gasket rarely announces itself with one loud noise. It shows up as coolant dropping with nothing on the ground, white smoke from the tailpipe after warm-up, oil that looks like a milkshake on the dipstick, or a temperature needle that creeps up on a long grade. Each of those means coolant and combustion are meeting somewhere they should not.
The timing belt is the quieter failure. It is a service item with an interval, and on many engines a belt that lets go takes valves with it. That is why the shop lists timing belts next to its 30,000, 60,000 and 90,000-mile services: the belt gets attention before the engine becomes the thing being replaced.
Diagnosed first, then opened up
At 1706 W Broadway Ave the diagnosis comes before the parts list. ASE-certified master technicians read the engine on the latest diagnostic equipment, so a head gasket job is a head gasket job because the evidence says so. The estimate is free and usually back the same day, at (509) 765-7863.
When the block or the bottom end is the real problem, the answer is engine replacement. Ben Justesen, who has taken both his fleet and his personal vehicles to the shop, wrote that Total Auto Care “replaced an engine for me in my 1935 Ford Pickup.” Same bays and same technicians, whatever the model year.
The work happens inside the remodelled 20,000 square foot building that used to be OK Tire, so the engine, the cooling system and the tires and alignment afterward can all be handled at one address.
After the engine goes back together
Repairs carry a full parts and labor warranty for 12 months and a 12,000-mile nationwide warranty. For an engine job the nationwide part matters: if something goes wrong a long way from Moses Lake, the coverage is not tied to this one lot.
A head gasket job and the cooling system belong together. The shop also services radiators and cooling systems, so the fault that cooked the gasket gets looked at, not only the gasket. While the car is in, the shuttle service gets you home or to work and the shop texts updates as the work moves.
If the repair is bigger than the month, there are several financing options, and the shop works with insurance and warranty companies when a claim is involved.
