Head Gasket Replacement Aftermath
 

I'm a bit perturbed in the aftermath of the head gasket replacement on my 92 300D. Passing over lots of evidence indicative of inattention to detail (cut bolt sitting on top of the radiator, firewall not connected to radiator support, missing injector line guide, etc.), my main concern is the oily sludge found in and around the exhaust manifold. The only thing I know for a fact is that the mechanic SIGNIFICANTLY overfilled the oil (to the tune of AT LEAST an extra two quarts). I am hoping that this and this alone explains oil sludge.

After cleaning up the sludge a bit, it seems (and this is only a guess on my part) that the oil may have escaped from there the exhaust manifold attaches to the head. Next thing to do is drive it a bunch and see what I see.

Other observations I made: When I first drove the car, the boost/responsive seemed off by a bit. After draining the extra oil, things seem fine (but I admit that this all may be just my imagination). Also, there was a bit of visible smoke when driving with the excess oil (I could see it while following the car).

My questions:

1. Is what I have observed explainable solely in terms of too much oil in the system?

2. What, if any, are other possible causes of what I've observed?

3. Does the splattering oil/sludge indicate that some seal is compromised? Or is the exhaust pressure so great that this is to be expected with that much extra oil?

4. Should I be concerned about a clogged cat? Fresh on my mind because I just had that on my E300D.

Not being there I am not sure where the exterior Oil is coming from. However, the Manifolds are supposed to be sealed and if there was Oil in them it is not supposed to make it through the Gaskets.

I know that when I had the Manifolds off the 84 300D I checked to see if the were warped and the Exhaust Manifold was significantly warped to the extent it needed resurfacing (I did that Myself).
My memory is vague on if the Intake needed that but I think it had a tiny bit.

Also when I removed the Exhaust Manifolds from My Chevy Van when I went to put the on the holes would not line up. Since they both came off of the Engine easily I think after being removed from the Engine the warped.

So it is entirely possible the Shop did not check to see if the manifolds were warped.

Most of what I have read on the Forums concerning over filling of the Oil was for 617 Engines and not a whole 2 quarts. Since the claim is that the Oil burns off faster if left in that would support the smoke issue.

I remember reading some where that if the Head is surfaced it changes the Cam Timing a bit. I don't know if that is true or not.

Diesel911, is there a reason that you capitalize every noun? I realize that that's the German way of doing it -- is that why?