PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - Questions about cylinder head/head gasket replacement on a 1987 300TD?

swogee · #6 06-08-2004, 12:55 PM

Thanks for all of the replies. It looks like I would be better off keeping the original cylinder head since the new ones run a lot of money and the original head doesn't show any signs of cracking.

It also seems that oil leaks generally are not the caused by a head gasket leak, but by other items such as the intake manifold gasket and oil lines if I am reading all of the posts correctly.

Sixto, did you mean to say "its worth the price of a crossover pipe gasket and intake manifold gasket"? The car is at the mechanic, and I need to ask them some questions as to where they found the oil leaks. The glow plugs supposedly aren't more than a year old. I can go for replacing an intake manifold gasket and crossover pipe gasket first over a head gasket.

My 300TD has 180K miles. How does one check the chain stetch? Are there any obvious signs of chain stretch? One sign I heard of was smoke at idle even after warming up.

Finally it sounds like I can pull the head myself but it will take time to figure it out even after reading the shop manual. I am generally pretty careful, but the idea of pulling the head doesn't appeal to me.

-Steve