Rerb

Hello, newbie here. I recently agreed to buy a w126 300sdl with the 3.0 for very cheap. The reason it's cheap is that after driving it from a few states away, the car started blowing white smoke and burning coolant.

The owner told me it was either the head, or the head gasket. My question is, how common are cracked heads on these motors? How hard is the job to take the head off? For reference, I've rebuilt vw 1.8s and 4.2s, aswell as many motorcycle and powersports engines. But I've never dealt with a diesel before.

What else should I look for on the car? I'm hoping to bring a classic back to operation and not let it rot. Thank you.

ygmn

I do not think any special tools required for head gasket change on that one.

like any repair you take off stuff in your way until you can get to part you need to replace.

Righty tighty - lefty loosey.

Repair manual might help to save time and ensure you do not miss something or break something.

Leave injector pump alone unless you know what you are doing.
Learn how to bleed fuel system etc. or find a good local diesel repair shop.

These years were easy to work on, I worked on these for a local mechanic back when I was in high school for summer job - amazing how well they were engineered for the mechanic.

Good Luck