Thanks everyone for the info on the head bolts. I did get them off.

I have the head almost off except for one problem on my 1992 190E 2.6. There is a pin facing forward that goes through the cam chain guide on the driver's side on the lower part of the head. I feel that this is the last step I need to do to remove the head. Could someone help me with suggestions on how to remove this pin? I am taking this head off because the dealer did a leak down and said that there is coolant leaking. They said that the gasket is not blown just dried out (12 year old car). Would you recommend that I take the head to a machine shop and have it checked out anyway to see if it is warped?

Thanks Everyone,

Mike Cihlar
Stillwater, Minnesota
1992 190E. 2.6
1993 300D 2.5 Turbo

The pin is removed by finding a bolt with the exact thread size that can screw into the pin, then stacking a number of washers over the pin under the head of the bolt. The action of screwing in the bolt should extract the pin. This is an iterative process where you have to stop, remove the bolt, add more washers, and continue until the pin is removed.

A really good straight edge will tell you if the head deck needs shaving.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

M, Head gaskets do not dry out. You may have electrolosis causing pits in you head or the head bolts have lost there tension. The head bolts are made of tempered steel and are angle torqued. Always replace the bolts when removing the head , they are only good for 1 time only. I also like to use Dexcool antifreeze, no electrolosis problems.
Also, was the engine ever overheaded ? S.

The bolts are somewhat robust and may be reused if they haven't exceeded the spec on maximum length. I reused mine when I replaced the head gasket. All of them weren't much longer than original length and had plenty of stretch left.

I imagine the spec for max length is to weed out those bolts which may have been over-angled or overtorqued, which can sometimes happen if you're interrupted during the job and lose track of the torqueing sequence or if your torque wrench is off.

I too find it strange to hear the comment "gasket is not blown just dried out". But this is just semantics.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K