Head gasket sealant? oil in water...flush how?
 

Hi, well I have the same oil in the water failure again (first at 75K) and now at 226K the second....seems a failure at the rear nest to the exhaust.....ready to drop the rebuilt head in....question since I do not remember from the last time but : does the head gasket goes in just "dry", meaning no other sealant than the red streak around the gasket (Reinz) in between two clean and dry surfaces: block and resurfaced head??????....BTW mechanic said that exhaust guides intact at 226K!...replaced intake only due to exhaust sodium cooled and the oil seals.........?, honing pattern in cylinder intact....and after replacing all cooling system items..all hoses, radiator (milky stuff all around)..how do you get the rest of the milky(oil) stuff in ie..heater core, etc..??????.....
I might have also answered a question regarding longevity of a head gasket at the oil in water 300TE string (CHAZOLA), my first head gasket fail on a 91 300E 3.0 was at 75k....lasted to 225K, so that's about a 150K DIY job...I'd say not bad considering it was just a quick lift, clean, drop job at 75K, but a warning, .......I could not get to the last third 90 degrees of torque as called by the book on account of a stripped torx head so I left it at that and at 226K...where do you think it failed?........you guessed it ....where I could not get to the full spec torque at bolt 14...so I’ll follow instructions to the letter this time....Later and thanks

Generally, using any sort of sealant on a head gasket is a no-no.

Thanks for your feedback. Will do it dry....how about the flush thing to get the oil out???
Tks again.

I generally just flush the cooling system with water until it runs clear. May take 2 or 3 fills/flushes to get it clean.

I'll suggest 2 things,

First, Mercedes sells a soap especially for this purpose-many dealers have never heard of it... but it exists. Second, some mechanics use tide.


Michael

Thank you all for the great advice. Head is in, will fire tomorrow.
Best wishes.