Dreaded oil in coolant
 

The '91 300E (125K) I recently purchased had a head gasket replaced and the head overhauled before I bought it.

I just checked the recovery tank and it' milky and light brown. Is it common to have to flush the system several times to get this to go away, or do I need to take it back to the guy who repaired it?

I would take it back either way...
 

if he did it. You should have some warranty on the job. Don't you?

Benzmac or MBDOC has posted that they have to flush out the cooling system repeatedly with a citric solution to get rid of all the traces of oil.

I think it was Donnie that made the post. He said it's real hard to get rid of all of the residue.

Hopefully, that's your problem...

I think suginami is right. I called the gut who did the work and also my tech. Both said it's common to have to do repeated flushes to get the last trace of oil out.