I called the shop that did the repair, and of course the machine shop work is outsourced. The chief mechanic stated that if there was a warpage condition on the head that dictated excessive material removal, they automatically get the call. That did not happen for my repair. Normal proceedure is to remove very little material. He also stated that the head gasket is alligned on dowel pins, and can't be installed misalligned.

The chief mechanic wondered allowed about the V-clutch, and stated that there is no good way to test it. And just like the archives state, replacement very rarely solves a cooling problem.

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Tom Latos
2002 E320
1995 E320 Sold at 288kmiles