My 86 300SDL w/ 230,000 mi has a head gasket leak at the front left of the cylinder block that leaks < 1qt of oil every tank of gas. See attached photo that shows a 1" section of the gasket angling out.

There is no oil in the coolant, or any white smoke from the tail pipe after the car warms up. There can be lots of diesel smoke under heavy acceleration prior to warming up. Indy shop confirmed coolant looks good.

Here are the compression test results from 5 months and < 5000 mile ago:

1)308 2)318 3)268 4)322 5)324 6)343

How long can I safely wait before getting the gasket replaced and possibly engine rebuilt? What would be a reasonable price for an Indy shop to perform either of this options?

Any stop-gap measures that might be taken while I save up the $$$ to repair?

Thanks in advance

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