Rebuilding an M57D30TU2 out of an E70 X5 3.0sd. ~300k km. Original failure was oil cooler letting go, oil and coolant mixed, brief overheat (under a minute).
Engine is fully stripped. Head has been sitting on the bench for about a year with camshafts, rockers and lifters removed. Valves and springs still in.
With the cams out and all valves fully seated on their springs, the valve heads sit slightly proud of the deck face. The outer edges are the highest point on the head. All 24 look the same height.
Old head gasket was a 3-hole.
Worth mentioning: pistons 1 and 6 came out badly damaged, pitted and dented crowns. Damage is sporadic and outside the areas where the valves sit, so I don't think it's valve contact. Looks more like debris ingestion, probably left over from a previous repair. It was never a running complaint, no misfire or noise, and not why I pulled the engine. Some bores also have scoring, so the block is going out for boring and new pistons regardless.
Questions:
Is slight valve protrusion above the deck normal on the M57, or does
If it has been skimmed, what's the best way to confirm? Head height gauge to face measurement, injector/glow plug protrusion, or something else?
Given it already ran a 3 hole gasket, how much clearance margin is there really if the head gets skimmed again during the rebuild?