W201 Head Gasket removal

[GarethGriffiths]

Hi

After 250,000 shes ready for a new head gasket...

Does anyone have any advice or tips, things i should look out for or anything similar...?

 

[Will]

Done a fair few M102s now.

Buy the HG set from GSF. They supply original Elring kits for about £30 - they come complete with inlet and exhaust manifold gaskets. Buy a new rocker cover gasket too. ECP supplied me with a cheap, poor looking pattern part head gasket kit and were more expensive than GSF.

Aside from the usual tools, you'll need a large (17mm) allen key hex driver to remove the tensioner body and a 32mm socket IIRC for the cover nut, a 12mm XZN (triple-square) tool for the head bolts and a slide hammer fitted with a good quality 6mm bolt (from memory) to safely remove the pins that hold the chain guide into the head.

Check the head carefully for corrosion, as if the head has been leaking coolant into the cylinders for a while it can damage the alloy casting and weaken the head on the mating surface.

Obviously clean the block and all the bolt holes out scrupulously. Follow the torque and angle tightening sequence properly (55Nm, 90 degrees, 90 degrees). Make sure you know how to re-assemble and install the tensioner correctly (!)

Other than that, not too bad a job. I would leave the exhaust manifold attached to the head, and unbolt the four bolts from the downpipe. Undo the inlet manifold from the head - remove the injector lines from the fuel distributor - few other bits and it will come out easily.

If you get stuck with anything just post up on here and I'll help where I can

Will