The new bolts are 102 mm...
 

and the head looks as if it already had a washer built in...
If you still have the old ones, just compare the two of them.

For Sixto and Zhandax,
 

I did not see job 01-415 step 28 but, "01-4150 Removing and installing cylinder head" has only 26 steps. Step 25 refer you to job 01-4050 which, was discussed earlier. Also, in that job #, the tightening torques in Nm are:
1st Stage 55 Nm (NOT 70)
2nd Stage 90 degrees tightening angle
3rd Stage 90 degrees tightening angle
Are we looking at the same thing/vehicles?:confused:

I forgot to mention that I'm looking at the M103 section of the W126 manual. Covers the 88-91 300SE/L.

Good thing you're alert.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

A minor omission that could have been BAAAAAAD!
 

Keep it coming!:D

W124 01-4050 does say 55Nm and does say to oil the threads and contact surfaces.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

Yeap!
 

Now we are talking!:D

Also says that the cylinder head won't form a perfect seal of the cooling system until the engine reaches operating temperature. Maybe Meza should change the oil and coolant and give it a second chance. No mention in the W126 CD manual.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

Update:
 

I started today with the "light" work. I drained the oil and coolant. I removed the all the front accessories (belt, fan, rotor) down to the camshaft sprocket. I did not remove the chain tensioner yet nor the guide rail pin. I 'd loosen all the intake and exhaust manifold bolts. I will continue tomorrow morning. Hopefully David, a fellow poster from this forum can help me out with the "heavy" stuff.
No problems so far. The only problem I see now is the 6mm bolt I have to remove the guide rail pin seems too short (40 mm?). I may need a longer one or get a miniature puller.
The second problem is, the guide rail is too close to the head and since I do'nt have an engine hoist. I'm afraid that I may break the rail while removing the head. Any tips on how to do it?
My digital camera is broken so I may just take regular pictures and post at a later day.

Happy 4th of July!

I just did my 103 head gasket last weekend and the only special tool needed was the headbolt socket , also a 17 mm hex for the inner part of the chaintensioner (the 17 mm didn't come with any set I could find for cheap ) . The shorter bolt will probably work , mine just kind of screwed itself out and I did damage the pin with vise grips trying to get the bolt out . I touched it up with a little emory cloth and it tapped in just fine. To lift the head I screwed a 2X8 across a couple of trusses in the ceiling of my garage and attached an eyebolt to it and rigged a 6-part rope pulley to it . Just to double-check the strength of my 'crane' I put my full weight on it and nothing happened :eek: ,it handled the 30-40 pound head no problem.To lift the head (without manifolds) I used the factory lifting eye at the rear and a front cover bolt in the lower lefthand bolthole , instead of a chain I used a 3/8" nylon rope (SWL 700 lbs)to take advantage of it's energy. After everything was unbolted the only thing keeping the head from coming straight up was the stud in the center of the intake , I put some tension on the crane until the sling was stretching,wiggled the head a little and it was free. I landed it on top of the fuel distributor and rad support (cushioned with a wad of rags to protect the valves) and then lifted it from there onto the bench.It went back on in the same manner , hooking the stud back into the intake with tension and then lowering it down the rest of the way. Piece of cake :D NOT !
P.S. J.H. the guide rail is close but there is room , I paid $10Cdn for my rope hoist and it worked very slick , good luck.

Just flew in from Cleveland...
 

... and boy are my arms tired.

The 300SDL head bolt tightening spec is 15Nm, 35Nm, 90-deg, 90-deg. There's some discussion about the W124 M103 vs W126 M103 but since my W126 manual says 70Nm, 90-deg, 90-deg, that's what I did. Man, I was waiting for a head bolt or to two snap. No wonder there were a couple that were hell to break when I pulled the head. If you're going the 70Nm, 90-deg, 90-deg route instead of the W124 manual's 55Nm, 90-deg, 90-deg route, find a 36" breaker bar.

FWIW the OM603 has 26 head bolts to the M103's 14. The OM603 manual says to wait 10 mintues between 90-deg sets so I did the same on the M103.

I pulled the head with the manifolds. Made it easy to maneouver the head into place with a second pair of hands and no hoist (working outdoors). I forgot to install the new stubby coolant hose but it was easy to tilt the head to fit it. I might leave the exhaust manifold in the car if there is a next time since all the studs backed out with the nuts. Those precats make it hell to remove the downpipe flanges.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

JH,

Thanks for the heads-up on the new bolt style. Sure enough, mine were the new 102mm type. I took off the washers and so should have sufficient thread depth.
And I used 30w motor oil, rather than anti-seize, for reinstallation.

Sixto, I think the pause between the first and second set of 90° turns is for the mechanic, not the equipment. I had a beer and a cigarette between mine. Once again, JH will be happy he got the 24" breaker bar.

One thing you might want to check out...
According to both Haynes and Techbooks, the correct head bolt torque for the SOHC6 in round one is 70nm (52 ft/lbs). The 55nm torque is for the M104 engine. (even though the PDF shows up in the M103 folder on the CD).
I went with the majority, and torqued mine down to 52ft/lbs for the first round.

Also, unless you start before Home Depot opens, a block and tackle like Kyle describes will make the job a lot more pleasant, and a lot less risky to your guide rail. It is not the weight, it is the control.

For the guide pin, I think a 10mm 3/8 drive socket is what I used. With a washer, and thread room, I think I used a 55 or 60mm bolt.

Hi Zhandax, you're right about the control not the weight.It would be awkward to try reaching across the car and lift the head off . The block and tackle made it a no sweat, no visit to the chiropractor operation.

The head is out!
 

With the help of Neumann, we took the head out.
A couple of problems:
I had to buy a new T40 for the timing chain sprocket (wheel) since the one I had was just cheap and could not loose one of the bolts. I did not wanted to risk stripping it.
The next problem was the chain guide pin. The bolt that I had WAS short. I tried different ways to pull it out but, it did not come out. Finally, I ended up using that bolt and a socket with a few washers, praying that it would not break the chain rails. It did not and it come out.
To remove the head, I used David and my son (also David) holding a metal bar accross the engine and some nylon rope attached to the engine hooks. They pulled up while I manipulated the head. It worked!:D
The head is going to the machine shop on Monday. I will clean the engine tomorrow. The head NEEDS a valve job. It looks like it has never been opened before but, it does not look like it has a blown gasket.
The breaker bar made the removal of the bolts easy, maybe too easy. Now, what torque should I go for 55 Nm or 70 Nm? :confused:

and...
 

what do you use to clean the built up from the top of the pistons? I read the archives but it is not too clear. :confused:

My pistons cleaned up easily with light scraping with a blade, the kind you'd use to remove windshield stickers. The rest of the block cleaned up that easily as well.

Next thing would have been a toothbrush and carb cleaner.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD