Hey guys,
I've lurked here for months and read maybe 70+ threads here before I decided to get an account. Seriously impressive knowledge base. Its helped me a massive amount so far.

Long story short, I heard of the lore around the diesels and last September decided to buy my first Mercedes, an abandoned 78' 300D for $600. I discovered it has a cracked and warped head. It looked like the previous owner let it get very hot, and let it sit to die. Here is the story in photos. 78 300D Full Photos - Imgur

This engine only has 160,000. I was going to get a used engine for $950.


My question is, is this engine swap necessary, or am I jumping the gun and just replace the head? If I should try to keep this engine, what do I need to be doing while I'm here.
Excited to be part of the Mercedes Diesel community!

-AwfulMechanic