The Verdict is in, folks. The good news is that the head gasket leak on the '91 Carat is only on the driver's side. The other side is perfectly intact. The bad news is that the leaky side is really pitted, as expected, and will need a new head. Original quote of 14 hours for two sides of gasket replacement is now down to 10 or 11 hours for the one. They claim the time can't be split in half, due to many labor items still needing to be performed even to do just the one side. Cost of the one new head incl. installation will add $415 to the bill. Joel Walker posted to the List the claim that CHANGING COOLANT every two years avoids this problem. Joel, I've been doing that. I'm skeptical. Comments? Thanks, by the way to everyone for their input. It's good to know there's a hell of a lot of experience to draw on out there. Sam
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