I guess I am of the opinion that the Mercedes designers are at least as smart as I am. I have made a lot of changes to my 300CD but probably no improvements. I have functionally changed some features and eliminated others.

For basic assembly form and fit however I don't think I can improve on their design. As Junkman suggests, I think that I am not quite finished. A drive to work tomorrow getting it up to temperature and keeping it there for a while will tell the tale. I will recheck torque tomorrow evening. The way the OE gasket went on though gives me great confidence that it will be fine.

I really didn't expect this post to grow legs so I will report back tomorrow evening.