Gentlemen,

I have a 1965 230 SL I have found signs of water in the oil, and one cylinder seems to be misfiring. I am hoping it is the cylinder head gasket.

I will start removing the head in a couple of months, any advice will be much appreciated. I have the MB service manual, but it very hard to follow are there any other books to help me with this job.

I know that some of the head rebuilding has to be done by a machine shop, how much of it can I do myself with my limited experience (other than removing the head).

Thanx for your time.

skhavary -

I can't help you much with tech support on your possible head gasket leak, but I would offer some suggestions.

Don't let the car sit for a couple months before attacking the water in the oil and possible water in the cylinder. The repair bill will climb as you wait. I would immediately change the oil and filter. How you prevent rust and or scoring in the cylinder in question is up to you, but I would try to dry it if possible and inject some marvel mystery oil or other rust preventative.

The best solution would obviously be to drain the water and pull the head asap.

(My factory manual only covers my 280SL.)

Good luck,
Wes

If it's an alluminum head you will probally have to get the holes rewelded and then drilled and resurfaced. The problem your having is probally the alluminum being eaten away from the water. If you aren't an expert welder I wouldn't recomend doing this task yourself. I would take it to a machine shop and work closely with them.

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