Hi everyone,

My 86 300E need a head job, i mean replacing valve seals,guides. Also while doing that i would like to have head gasked replaced and a timing belt also( i assume it needs to be done too). Now.. i want to know from you guys from your experience hom much the cost would be normaly for that job and how much pf performance increase can i expect out of it ??. Anyway car runs ok, no major problems except blue smoke on start up and kinda hard start when engine cold but after that ok.
Second question is: Is it worth to fix that old car with so many mileage on it( 200k) ? It is my only car anyway and i dont want to be left without car if something brakes down.
Next step would be replacement of transmission seals , it is leaking( adding fluid every now and then).
Is it worth? thanx
Alex

If you can do the work yourself it is worth it. I just finished a head job on the 300D and the machine shop cost was $225 (I took the head off myself). This price did not include parts. I think I have heard that if someone does this job for you then it will run around $1500. If you want to keep the car awhile then I say by all means do the work.

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Jim

Alex,
I'm in the process right now of doing the valve guides,valve seals, chain rails, headgasket, fuel injector seals/o rings, oil pan gasket.
Engatwork, is pretty close on the dollar amount (if sent out to a shop). My brother and I , are doing all the work ourselves, so all I have to pay for are the parts (I was charged $364- to have the guides put in and to purchase them. I already had the seals). While I was at it I also changed the fan and clutch as there was too much play in the fan.
It's funny but I too am going to have to have my tranny done as there are leak from the tranny also (the Benz has approx. 205k on her). Make sure you go to a tranny shop that's familiar with Mercedes though. I brought mine to a shop I thought to be pretty damn good about 2 years ago and I'm still kicking myself to this day. It was definitely a poor choice. $600- later and the car is still leaking. When finished with the motor she's going to a shop that's familiar with Mercedes. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

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Richie
1986 300E

Do you have any pictures of the job you are doing?

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J.H.
'86 300E

Tips , make sure you replace all head bolts, blow out all head bolt threads in block and make sure you reseal lower timing cover while you are down that far, make sure to use permatex (right stuff) . Make sure all areas are clean ( cover and block) or it will leak. Watch dowell pins when removing head( dowels in between head and intake.) You can remove head without pulling intake it just moves over about an inch or so. Good luck if you need tips just post it.

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euro 287
Mercedes Technician 7 Years (retired to Hyundai)
2000 Dodge Durango
98 Mazda truck

J.H.,
Yes, I,ve taken pictures (of course I didn't think about the digital camera until after the head was off). I have so far, pictures of the head after it came back from the shop, how the bay looks with the head off, the under belly of the head both the intake and the exhaust sides of the head, the fan removal. I also removed the instrument cluster since I've installed white gauges and I'm having LED's installed into the cluster. I also have pictures of the injectors.
The trick is how do I post to the site. I was playing around one day and posted a picture of the new Jaguar to a site(don't remember where) from the NY Auto show. All I'm trying to do is remember how I downloaded the picture to my computer so I can add it to the site. HELP..

Euro, that's exactly what we did with the intake(Thank you Lord for giving me an older brother). Everything is ready to go back together(once my brother finds time, he's helping me in his spare time when he gets off from work, so I must be considerate and wait for him or he will tell me to take it to the shop). I did find the Permatex "The Right Stuff" in Pep Boys and since I must wait for my brother I'm thinking of going to Mercedes to get their silicon also.

I'll definately let evryone know how the job turns out and I post pictures and if we get stuck, I'll definitely be here asking for help. Thanks alot to all on this board.

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Richie
1986 300E

However, you only had to say it once!

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J.H.
'86 300E

I have no idea why that happened

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Richie
1986 300E