Hi,

I bought an 1987 OM603.96 from a California 1987 300SDL and put it into my 1992 350GD. I had to pull out the engine to change the oilpan and some other stuff, and I thought the head gasket was leaking a little bit.(Water just above the waterpump, and oil by sylinder #1 and #2.)

So I decided to change the head gasket while the engine was out. I have been driving the car with the engine for almost a year without any mechanical problems. I went to this small machineshop to have the head checked. He told me the head looked good and probably never been overheated. I think the head nr is #20. But he found a small crack by one of the prechambers. It's about 1/5 of an inch long and goes straight out. Not to a valve. I did not notice unatural pressure in the cooling system before. This guy told me that I should take a "chance" and use the cracked head.

What do you think? I don't know much about these things.. The head from my 350 engine is also cracked. It has one crack from the prechamber and to the valve. The 350 head is the same number, only it's a #21.