Thanks guys. I was going to check for a ridge line this morning before I left for work, but was rushed by my daughter to get her to basketball practice and forgot. I assume you mean a ridge after any deposits are removed.

I too was suprised to see that ALL the exhaust valves were hit.

While removing the rocker bolts, I found the threads still wound around the bottom of one of the bolts. I think it was the exhaust side of number 3 or 4. I guess a helicoil is the answer here.

Is the dull wear normal on the contact surfaces on the head? There are dark specks in the surface material, but no pits or scratches.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)