95 e300 OM606 Headgasket Replacement
 

Hi All. I am having the cylinder 6 external coolant leak. I am thinking about just biting the bullet and replacing the headgasket myself here as the glowplugs need to be done as well.

I am wondering if any of you have done this job. I have WIS and EPC but have found WIS very cumbersome to navigate through but I am learning.

I may need some guidance and info on special tools, etc needed.

Thoughts?

Go for it. Spend the money to get the proper tools to do it meaning purchase the special socket for the bolts. Come here when you need assistance. How many miles are on it?

I Agree. I haven’t done a 606 head but I have done a handful of m104 head gaskets by myself and it’s not all that bad. Get the proper tools, take your time, and any Have questions bring them here

Car was super clean CA car from the Bay area. It has 195k miles approximately. I purchased it knowing it had a slow leak.

Main thing is I wish WIS wasn't so difficult to navigate. Its frustrating (at least how my subscription displays) there are not step-by-step directions I have found. Nothing it set up linear. Grr.

What makes this job more difficult when compared to a gas engine is that you may have to lock the injection pump or just re-do the pump timing.

Also if you want to take the head and have a clean-up cut done then you have to remove the pre-chambers. But you can just use 180 grit on a sanding block and clean up the head that way.

When you put new glow plugs into 606 don't forget to put copper paste to where they rust into the head. Reaming out the carbon is a good idea too.

You can likely fix the coolant leak in the head gasket using Barr's Leaks Radiator sealant. I used a small amount in my '97 E 300 D, and it has kept it sealed for about 7 years, with a couple small additions of the sealant. I put the sealant into a bottle of coolant and shook it up. After the large pieces settled out, (about a minute) I poured it into the coolant reservour leaving the dregs in the jar. You should drive the car for a half hour or more to help the sealant work. I have changed the glow plugs twice since. I don't see them as related to the head gasket.

Put engine at TDC and remove timing chain tensioner before removing head. Make sure you put cams into same position as when you pulled head when you set it back in place. Recruit a friend to help lift it out of engine bay and set it back into place.

Oh please don't use any coolant additives. They coat the internals of the cooling system with this gunk and decrease the effectiveness of the cooling system.

Yes, they work to get you to a repair shop, but they aren't long term fixes.

And you still have to clean all that crap out of your cooling system. So its more than just a headgasket job in the end.

I have no problem with folks that feel that additives are cheating, but this particular additive does not "coat the internals of the cooling system". This is a particulate that catches in the leak area and builds up there until it stops the leak. It does circulate through the system. My car will have a bit in it so long as I own it. The head gaskets in these engines are problematic but so long as they are only leaking coolant to the outside of the engine, This is my preferred repair.

What I described is exactly what Barr's does. I've witnessed it several times.

Where do you think the rest of the product goes?

Like most stop leak products this stuff tries to exit the system through the leak and clogs it. The remaining product circulates around the system and finds other spots to adhere to. Hopefully they aren't small coolant passages.

Stop leak products of every kind are temporary and costly Band-Aids. They should never be considered a repair.

I have worked with the active ingredient in a research lab. The ingredient is a ground up root. It was included in a name brand antifreeze at the time and another antifreeze company was considering making a competitive product. It will circulate continually in the coolant, but the larger particles will settle in the bottom of the radiator and the block. That is why I let the dregs settle out before I put the rest in. It only took a few oz to seal the head gasket, however I have had to repeat the treatment when I changed the coolant. I consider it a repair.