MPlatt,

I am assuming that this is an M103 engine. I went through this last summer. I removed and replaced the head myself and was very impressed how well this operation goes on these engines. I'm not sure, but I think I could do this job TWICE in 17.5 hours and I'm not even a professional MB tech.

You, of course, want to see that a valve job including valve guides is done at the same time. Additionally if the head is cracked, in many cases it can be repaired. There is absolutely no need to replace with a dealer head for $2,500. If you need a head, and yours can't be repaired, you can find one on the internet from one of the large salvage yards for a fraction of that cost.

Good luck,