The head is at a local shop for disassembly beyond removing the camshafts, tappets and shims. I took the cams, bearing brackets and fasteners over to them this afternoon, but they were busy and told me they would assemble the unit themselves tomorrow and get back to me. I have no idea what "too tight" might be, and could use any guidance you might be able to offer. I am inclined to just reassemble and roll the dice though. A new head is mucho bucks, and this head, other than being warped and having some Brinnelling at the combustion chamber sealing surface is fine. The total material removal required will be about 0.012" and there is about 0.024" to 0.025" available. I was thinking of just cutting it to the minimum to get the most of the compression increase. That may be meaningless, but other than the head warping and the gasket leaking (visually apparent at the rear of the No. 4 Cylinder), the engine on this unit is in great shape. Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)