I'm gearing up to replace the head gasket on my '88 260e. It has a slow coolant leak that stops if I loosen the radiator cap but with the warm weather coming up I'm afraid of boiling over in traffic.

My Haynes manual recommends using a slide hammer to pull the pin from the chain guide rail. I'm sceptical that there won't be enough clearance in the front for that. Anyone have experience with that?

Also, Haynes recommends removing the head with the manifolds attached. It seems simpler to me to disconnect the manifolds and leave them in the engine compartment, but having never done the job, I may be wrong.