My car randomly decided to dump fluids the other day. Now, the engine overheats after 5 minutes of driving it and the check engine light comes on. I put more coolant in it and noticed it began to drip underneath the car. I'm hoping it's a leak but being my car is 10 years old and I've never replaced either the water pump or the head gasket I figure it's about due time unfortunately. About how much would this cost me to have done at the garage?
Rather than guess at what is wrong you should have it tested and confirm what is wrong, then worry about how much it will cost. The two things you worry about are only part of what the problem could be by your description. Could be a hose, clamp, radiator, thermostat, cap, gasket, pipe.....
It seems excessive to have to remove the engine to replace a head gasket. But I typically work on American cars, and I've seen the inside of an Altima, it is quite cramped. If I were you, I'd search google for replace head gasket procedure nissan altima and see what it comes back with.
The waterpump should run you around !$150 or less at most garages, -- about $45 maybe- if you do it yourself! The headgasket will probably cost you around 3-5 hundred depending on how much labor charge is! As it is possible that the head is warped and may need re-surcfaced to make it flat again --- and of course cost is going to depend on how much damage was done, -determined by how hot it got before you shut it down! The head gasket etc. shouldn't run much more htan $125-150 Now if it runs ok,-- and doesn't overheat when the radiator is full of water, -- even after warming up and driving on road for a few ninutes, -- (if leak fairly small - it will take some time to get down low enough to cause heat buildup)! I'd say 5 miles on highway would prove it is not warped head!! -- Just keep eye on temp and shut down if it starts getting close to overheat--- to avoid increasing damage, - if head gasket out! In yard, you can get pretty good idea, by just filling up raidator, and leaving cap off with engine running-- after it has idled for a few minutes, (and you have topped it up a couple times to make sure it is full of water, -- if gasket leaking it will blow continueous bubbles, -- after the thermostat opens, a little water will rise and run over (expansion of water) ). -- ****However it should not contionue blowing any continueaous bubbles--- (continued large quantities of bubbles indicates compression being blown into water jacket from bad headgsket!) ...A small bubble now and then is negligeable, as a bubble or two may still be trapped from when water level was down! You will know when thermostat opens, as there will be moving water obvious through filler neck of radiator, and the upper hose will become hot going into radiator! It is also possible that you may see oil on water if headgasket leaking, as well as water in oil-- which would be sort fo fuzzy yellowish looking junk on dipstick, and oil fill cap!
