Update: Cylinder Head in Machine Shop for repairs, a very recommended machinist.

>1st What does a couple of days waiting for parts to arrive do to my head? Not the cylider head, the head on my shoulders?

parts and fastener's idle, waiting to go back to their intended design & use.

1st> Where do I begin? Has anyone reading this ever actually had a timing chain fail and DIY fixed it? Its a mess and a half because there are no manuals.

> Align the block now, there is no pulley. So which pistons are supposed to be up at TDC? #1 Up & so forth. So going to temperarily reinsert 27mm hex bolt and turn it over until reaching a TDC

2nd> outside the block find TDC on cylinder head by manually turning the camshaft sprocket until it looks like tdc with arrow at 9:00, which Valves should be opened at TDC for intake & exhaust? then install Cylinder head

3rd> check its timed> how process?

4th> Attach chain

5th> reinstall lower chain cover

6th> Seal it up & torq things down

7th> Pulleys & Belt

8th> Clutch/Fan/Distributor

9th> Radiator(install) then add fluids & oil

10th> Vent screw on top of thermostat for priming of lines

11th> Attach lead to Battery, MISC other re-instal's

12th>Start/Ignite

When you get the new chain around the crank gear, the new chain guides and related parts in and the bottom end back together, rotate the engine clockwise until the #1 piston is at the very top of it's cycle and the TDC/timing marks on the balance are in alignment with the timing reference.

Did you get a new master link for the chain? Some people like to use only the proper tool for setting the master link, but carefully peening it with a hammer and metal bar behind works fine (as I understand, never done it myself). I should think you could do it by hand on a bench and install it already connected since you have the bottom cover off.

Support the chain while rotating the engine so it doesn't fall down in the lower cover.

When you get the head back, lay it on wood blocks (as not to interfere with valve movement). Temporarily, put the upper cover, the cam gear, rotor adapter and rotor back on and turn it until the rotor aligns with where the #1 spark terminal would be in the distributor cap (hopefully you previously scratched or set a mark on the upper cover where the #1 tower/terminal was, if not you may have to put the dist cap on as well to check the alignment). If it's right, I believe the both valves on the #1 and #6 cylinders will be closed (maybe some others too) which are the two pistons that should be at top.

Take all that stuff back off and you're ready to put it back together. From here, I highly recommend reading as many of the head gasket/valve job threads as you need to to feel confident. There are several great threads here on the subject and many things you should be aware of, such as:
• The best head gaskets.
• Thoroughly cleaning out the head bolt holes.
• Info on the proper head bolts to use (stretch bolt length specs/no washers
on new designed bolts). I'd probably get new ones.
• Head bolt torque and tightening method.
• Proper sealing of the upper timing cover.
• Small O-ring and sealing of the one bolt in the fan pulley bracket. (simply
called the "timing cover O-ring" on most parts sites)
• Bleeding the air out of the cooling system.
• The proper way to set the belt tensioner.
• The proper way to re-set and re-install the chain tensioner!

And many other small but important details.
Don't forget that when you put the cam gear (with chain around it) back in, that the tensioner side should have all the slack, the drivers side should be somewhat taunt.
And turn the motor a few times by hand before trying to start it.

good luck.

Long Gone, you really helped wrap this case up with the previous post!!

That did the trick, Took another Saturday 8am-12:30am to bring it back together, learned a ton about this M103.

So far its running better then I can remember!!
'
Ill post pics on my profile soon.

Thanks again to all who had solid input on this

Too late now, but it looks like I forgot mention that there is also a mark on the first cam bearing cap which should coincide with a mark on the cam or cam gear (I forget). Having it set so the rotor is pointing to the #1 terminal achieves the same thing but the lining up the marks makes it precise.

Sounds like it worked out though. If there was oil in the cooling system, flush it out well. Mercedes has a few specific flushes in powder form one specifically targets oil and the other I think is for like scale, rust, debris, etc. If you don't have a bleeder bolt on top of your thermostat housing, bleed the remaining air out of the cooling system with one of the two large headed bolts at the front of the head just under the oil filler cap.