I am a glutton for punishment, I guess. Just got another OM603 car, this time it’s a sedan. Last year, I got an 87 Wagon, found that it had a bad “14” head, and swapped in a lower mile engine with “22” replacement head already on it. The wagon runs well.

I bought the sedan thinking it would be a parts donor car, but the sedan runs great, actually better than the wagon. It seems fast! And has heated ortho leather seats in great shape same color as the wagon (why I bought the car). So I am driving it now.

So, the point of this post is to ask: How to maximize the life of the 14 head?

Obviously, keeping the cooling system in good shape will help. The wagon I have runs just above 80, dead steady even in the summer with AC. The sedan temp floats between 80 and a little below 100, even in cold weather and with heat on the highway. Sort of tempting to change the thermostat and check the fan clutch? But I have read that others have spent a lot of time & $ chasing this issue without much results.

What else? I don’t think the car nails much, it starts readily when cold. I understand that perfectly balanced flow, clean, correctly operating injectors area ideal. I plan to do a diesel purge. And, of course, keep good oil in it.

But, I am thinking that it is just not necessary to pull the injectors, which will "change" stresses in the head if there are no apparent injector problems? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?

What else can be done to keep this engine running strongly and preserve the good 14 head?