The mighty '87 300SDL has cracks. The context here is that I can't afford the going rate of $1000 to $2000 for a good re-manufactured head or a good core & rebuild. A good custom racing head shop here (JMS in El Monte) would TIG weld and rebuild it, but one crack is way up in a prechamber that would take them so many hours to do, it wouldn't be worth it, and they wouldn't want to do this one anyway because they don't like to weld aluminum heads that they can't guarantee.
SO. There's this #22 head for sale locally with some kind of small hole in the #5 prechamber, what looks like a half-inch up from the bottom, per the attached pic. It looks like a candidate for a drill/grinder to come straight up into the wall between the prechamber hole and the valve seat, then a TIG-weld build-up of material to fill, etc. The head owner has 3 OM306 engine cars, a masochist apparently, and doesn't need this head, knows it has the hole(he advertises it this way), and wants $400 for it.

Any opinions about this repair on this head, besides "get a better job and buy a new head?"

thanks!

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First question -- how did a hole get in the prechamber? What else is wrong with the head? If the seller can come up with a reasonable explanation for the hole then his head may be worth buying.

Next question -- what will your shop charge for the repair? Add this to the cost of the head. You may want to have them check for other cracks/leaks.

Next question -- what comes with the head? Is it bare? Remember that a #22 head may require angled injectors. The parts from your head (is it a #14?) may not swap; you may have to buy a bunch of new/used parts. Add this to the total.

The answers to these questions will tell you whether you want this head. If the head includes all its parts including the injector hard lines and if you can get it repaired for $200-$400 so you have a ready-to-install #22 head for under $1000 (you will need a gasket kit also) then it might work out. Otherwise you may want to keep looking.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
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Good points. Can't imagine what puts a hole there, so will have to ask.

The #22 head must have been worked on before, because it has the old slotted prechamber collars, which tells me that someone put the old prechambers back in, so my old injectors could work, but would have to confirm the thread size.

However, I got another pic from him that shows no cam/caps/lifters. I have all of mine, but can't imagine the old cam and caps mating with this new head without a lot of work.

I'll have to see what he says about any of this

thanks!

If you want a reliable motor for a long time dont bother with a weld repair. It will fail in time.

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1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
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