Finally got to changing the head gasket on the 87 300D today, in hopes
that a new gasket will cure the oil collecting in the coolant tank
problem and that I won't discover a cracked head (yes, its a 14 head,
probably the original with 262,000 miles now).
Between tracking down my engine hoist (never store your stuff at
someone else's barn.....) and a torpedo heater (9 F last night), we
didn't get started anywhere near as early as I'd have liked, and I
really don't want to do this job anyway.
No major problems until we finally got to removing the head bolts, and
found four that weren't really tight (between #4 and #5 cylinders -- #4
was low on compression with a terrible knock that turned out to be
badly installed pressure valve holder seals when I got the car some
years back. Then, the last bolt on the left side broke off at the
start of the threads.
So the car is sitting at my buddy's barn in bits, head still on, and
I'm going shopping tomorrow for head bolts, a new belt, some jounce
bumpers for the front struts, and probably some things I've not found
yet.
Never rains but it pours, I guess.
Any suggestions on getting the black goo out of the cooling system?
Upper radiator hose and heater hoses seem to be full of it, along with
the expansion tank..
Peter
