Tough call here. If the head is already off then you have some chance for an evaluation.

These engines are very hard blow head gaskets on (except for an occasional external oil leak). If it has the normal coolant type head gasket failure it probably has been overheated to the extent of abuse. When this happens two things are very common. The first is cracking of the cylinder head. While this is expensive it is predictable or diagnosible. Unfortunately the worse, very common, associated problem is the loss of temper on the piston rings.

This is hard to tell and doesn't really cause a problem for 10-30k miles. If you have this problem and want to do the work yourself, it still might be a good deal. The car is probabbly worth 6 grand and a complete overhaul is worth about 4-5 grand. The labor is 45 hours which winds up being more than half the job. Parts can be had at less than retail so there is a spot of profit for your labor.

If it were offered to me, I wouldn't take it. The job leaves no room for profit and could have much more risk if it currently isn't running. If it isn't running I wouldn't give more than a grand for it and would junk it rather than get 5-6 grand tied to a car that I can't test the tranny or A/C.

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Steve Brotherton
Owner 24 bay BSC
Bosch Master, ASE master L1
26 years MB technician