Would you pay this money to buy a repaired #18 head? The last PO must have really overheated this new-type head to crack it. It is hard to believe that welding the crack can fix the problem in the #6 cylinder. Anyone has a welded head and happy with it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-MERCEDES-DIESEL-6-CYLINDER-603-ENGINE-18-HEAD_W0QQitemZ150013961531QQihZ005QQcategoryZ33617QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I saw an ad about head repair that caught my eye and I called the shop out in the Midwest. They claimed to have repaired several 603 heads and not had any comebacks. IIRC it would have cost about $500 for shipping and repairs, same as a used engine. I have never heard any feedback from anyone who actually ran a repaired head or removed a failed head that had been previously repaired.

There has been much speculation but I am not sure if anyone has actually nailed down the reason for 603 head failure or exactly what was changed between the different versions of the head. I do know that bleeding the cooling system on diesel engines is a critical and often overlooked part of maintenance. Evil things happen with entrapped air in the cooling system.

would that shop be williams cyl head in iowa if so we had them do some toyota heads back in the 80's,they do a nice job.

I actually asked this guy about the head the last time he had it up for auction. He has not been able to find a buyer as of yet.

Basically I asked him about what sort of guaranteee he offered if any and his response was

"Sorry, since I can't contol the quality of the installation, I would be foolish to warranty the results. If you have ever tried to put coolant in a Mercedes, you know it is not a easy to control engine temperature while getting the air out.

I'll tell you this, if you want to sell me your car (I assume it needs a head)at a good price, and somewhat convenient, I would put this head on it.

Once sold, I will give the buyer a chance to come look at the head before asssembly. I have the new (factory Mercedes parts) seals and springs on hand and can have the head ready to ship in about 4 hours. I have my own spring compressor. "

So maybe if you're in the area, you can control your purchase. Otherwise seems risky given the price. Pressure testing is quite different from running the head at 80-100C for 150,000 miles.

__________________
1982 300TD 210K miles ("The Replacement" aka "The Anvil") - SOLD
1979 300SD 245K miles (never ending project)
2007 Pinarello F3:13
1995 Ducati 916 (SOLD, sniff)
1999 Ducati 900SSie (SOLD)

I marked this thread as a favorite:

my turn for the OM603 cracked head syndrome

I can't find a reference to the shop I talked to.

This topic has been discussed here before. Go to advanced search and search with key words like: 603 head weld