hi folks!

paul: we all deal with having only a partial set of tools and skills at home. i won't abandon the project over this, i just reached a point where paying for help was the best option.

bostonmish: i really appreciate your supportive note.

i really have to clean my garage, because i couldn't put the car indoors. i had AAA tow the car to aotohaus schmid in burlingame. i am a low priority at the shop: during december and january they have only done injector and compression tests. after the latter dude told me that cylinder 5 held < 100psi. he reported that most pressure seemed to be escaping on the exhaust side and said that as it hadn't taken the quoted 2 hours yet, he'd also check for a valve stuck open. no word on that. i have really enjoyed my time away from the project, so i have just been driving my 1991 F-150 in the meantime and building a hot tub.

1. removing, rebuilding, and reinstalling the head got quoted at $1650.

2. the shop will match the warranty on a scrap engine they source ($600-$1900). swap labor would be $1200.

what are the odds that the problem could be found and fixed in the head?

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.