1986 mercedes 280sl advice needed.

[pneumothorax]

i'm a bit confused so heres hoping one of you bright lot can enlighten me. the car has 130k on it and in last 3 months has started consuming oil and water in large qauntities. the only real evidence of where this stuff is going is when i lift off after a high speed run ie pedal flat to floor on motorway , and she lets out a plume of grey smoke seconds after lifting the throttle. there is no evidence of water in oil and no real evidence of leaks. i brought the car to my trusted local specialist and have been told it needs new head gasket. and that this is a pig of a job and comes in at circa 2k. not sure how all that sounds to you? expensive?

[350Matt]

Quite possible, get him to do a compression check or chemical trace in the coolant for exhaust gas to confirm first.

It does sounds like it a its a gasket blown tho'

and I dare say merc bits won't be cheap so could be 500-800 in bits

Matt

[thong]

I have done a headgasket on one of these 280 engines,a few years back though at another garage i use'd to work at,i think you'll find your specialist is on the mark.

[pneumothorax]

thanks guys, she is booked in. out of interest, apart from the merc bits, whats so labour intensive about this work-its a simple straight six block isnt it?