what would you do while you have it out?


my dear old vehicle has 2 major problems: a bad exhaust manifold gasket and a bad rear main seal leak. it could be that there are other oil and exhaust leaks but until i fix that rear main seal and replace the exhaust gasket (along with tightening all of the loose exhaust bolts), figuring out what else is leaking is going to be nearly impossible. i have tried lots of different things, including the turbo return pipe and the air filter/turbo fittings. but the darn thing still leaks and smokes like an incontinent, farty old lady. a lot of that oil leaking is happening where the engine meets the transmission, and a lot of the smoking is coming from the place where the engine meets the exhaust manifold.

so, i have accepted that i need to pull the engine and replace that rear main seal and the exhaust manifold while i'm at it.

this is going to be something of an undertaking so i am wondering what you all would do if you were in my position and were removing your engine from your mercedes. are there any other seals or replacements that you would do while you have it out?

a big part of the reason that i bought an old diesel was because i live on a sailboat that i plan to someday sail around the world. back when i was light-duty commercial underwater diver, i used to have engine problems on my little 2 stroke motor that propelled my work-skiff. when i had those problems, my first response was to sit down and cry. not very effective. i realized that if i was going to someday own a bigger sailboat and sail it around the world, i would have to develop a more useful response to engine trouble. my mercedes has given me the chance to learn about diesel engines in an environment where breaking down meant a long walk home over land, not a near-death experience in the middle of the pacific. this was a wonderful decision on my part. i have learned from all of my stupid mistakes and am now more capable of fixing things on my diesel than many people who have sailed around the world. much of the work that i have had to do was due to my own stupidity but over time, that stupidity has worn itself out and i find myself a lot smarter and a much better engineer than when i began. i owe a lot of that learning to reading the posts on this board.

working on my mercedes has taught me a lot of important mechanical lessons. one of which is to not fix things if they aren't broken. so i don't want to open any unnecessary cans of beans. that being said, i respect the wisdom of a lot of the people on this board. if there are things that you think i should do when i have the engine out, i want to know what they are. i have a place to work on it and i wouldn't mind digging deep and doing some good deeds for a vehicle that has served me well and tolerated my learning process.

Thanks in advance for any responses,
Sasha

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82 Mercedes 300TD Turbo