Good to be back. Been off line for over a month.
I replaced the timing chains on both of my diesels and was able to use a crimping tool for free. It works very well. Would recommend it if it is possible to get to. Otherwise the peening has worked well for others. The only thing is the back of the chain there is not easy to get a clean shot at, but still it is doable.
I recall asking a well experienced MB tech about the clips. He said they were used at one time. Most worked well, but they found that the diesels were prone to having the engine lurch backwards on shutdown. A rare occurance, but if that master link and clip was in just hte right spot it would be pulled off. That equals engine disaster. Not a good thing to risk.