Hey next weekend my dad and I are removing the head to replace the cracked gasket, a friend brought up that i could get aluminum heads which obviously weigh much less. I was wondering if they sell these for 300E's and where would i get them?

Thanks

Your engine already has an aluminum head...

Ron
German Star

since the head is coming off... you might wanna pull for some polishing, I read that somebody here had polished parts with his dremel... I really don't know how though...

haha, i had thought of that...I was like, hmm i have a dremal i could prolly polish them...Oh and i saw that too, it was on the Benzsport.com website, he did a very good job. I'll post it when i find it.

Here it is, but this one was from this site, oh well Polished Head

Hi chris,

I'm afraid of going in over my head, but I would DEFINITELY think twice before changing the head of your 300. I have heard (no personal experience) that polishing/porting the passages in the head can actually decrease the performance. The logic back in the 60's and 70's was that the casts were so bad that the excess casting marks could be ground off to improve air flow. This was true back then, but it is 30 years later, and the casting has improved enormously, not to mention that the muscle cars of that era were of a MUCH lower quality than any mercedes, ever. So now the deal is if you port/polish your head too much, you will make the surface too smooth, so the fuel mixture will not keep itself suspended in the air while it goes into the combustion chamber. Now you have puddles of fuel, not the well mixed spray of 14.7 to 1 that you want.

The upshot is maybe you want to contact a shop that soups up mercedes before changing anthing. Just my .02

Dan Rotigel

I agree with Dan, Your advanced engine needs turbulent air. On the latest technology racing engines they are starting to add pock marks to the piston crowns to produce more turbulant air. I would leave the surface unpolished if i were you. However i did hear there is a little room for grinding and port matching.
Adam

__________________
Current Stable:
01 ML55 AMG
92 500E (a few mods)
87 300E (lots of mods)
00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck
68 18' Donzi Marine
06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!)

PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

Well now i was just gonna take off all the black...I mean im not gonna sit there for hours trying to see myself in the reflection...That seems to be Ok to do, just a little cleaning...
I'll tell you how all goes, and eventually post some pics.
Thanks everyone

I would suggest taking the head to a machine shop where they acid dip the head then end mill it down to eliminate any warpage. This may also increase compression slightly, im not positive though. They also install the new valveguides and grind the valves. All for about $250-$300 you head will come back looking shiny and new! If you deside to do it yourself i would highly recommend milling the head at a machine shop, why install a possibly warped head?

I just had mine reworked. Labor for cleaning, pressure test, grind valves, resurface face and install all new guides was $285. Valve guides were $67 including next day shipping. Valve seals were about $10.

Chris,

I'm sorry to chuckle, but this is funny stuff. When you say 'Polishing' you mean cleaning the head and making it shine, correct?

"Well now i was just gonna take off all the black...I mean im not gonna sit there for hours trying to see myself in the reflection...That seems to be Ok to do, just a little cleaning... "

When Adam and I talk about polishing, we mean taking a machinist's tool (or a dremel if you're hard up) and rubbing away all the rough casting on the inside of the passageways that the fuel/air mixture and the exhaust travels! This was done for hp/performance once upon a time...

Yes, i'm sure 'polishing' you head and making it shine will be just fine! Once you have it off though, having it looked at as adam recommended is probably a good plan. Best of luck with your benz, and my apologies if i am confused as to your meaning of 'polished'

Dan Rotigel

heh, sorry... Im a bit new to all this...This is gonna be my first BIG DIY job...and yes i'll make it shiny, and once i get it shiny i 'll post some pics showing off my new clean heads...heh, but first i have to get all this done, ugh, many hours to go....