Another Head Bolt Re-Torque Thread

[edi]

i think i'm gonna re-torque my head bolts this weakend for safe measure... or should i? as far as know, the engine internals are stock and so are the head bolts (no ARPs). the motor was rebuilt by a toyota dealer about two years ago from the previouse owner.

should i do this? are there any important tips and tricks that i must know if i do decide to do this?

thanks in advance.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I'm in a similar situation. BHG repaired 20k ago at a shop. I think I'll open it up and check to see if any head bolts are very loose, but otherwise I think I'll just wait it out. I don't want to "induce" a BHG by messing up the way the HG has already settled.

I know BHG is coming some time... my motor has had 3 BHGs

one @ 120k miles,
another @ 220k miles,
finally @ 250k miles

I'm at 274k now. I pray to the BHG gods to hold off at least until next spring.

 

[edi]

i just keep reading on hear that its not a bad thing to do and pretty simple to do. i just want to be sure by the help of this forum.

 

[james_9876]

The way I've done my 4cylinder several times is basically set the torque wrench to the final torque and just walk it around the torques sequence. 7m's may be different though idk.

 

[edi]

from what i've been reading, i would just break loose the bolt and then torque it to final torque one by one in TSRM sequence. what would i torque them to, though? 80ft. lbs?

 

[2543arvin]

from what i've been reading, i would just break loose the bolt and then torque it to final torque one by one in TSRM sequence. what would i torque them to, though? 80ft. lbs?

I think on the stock bolts torque wasnt quite 80 ft/lbs, Im pretty sure it was 72 ft/lbs, I went 80 on mine but Im using ARP headstuds.

If youre gonna do this I would suggest buying some ARP headbolts and just replacing the stockers.

 

[edi]

hmmm. so, 80 ft. lbs is a bit oo much for stock head bolts? what about 75ft. lbs? i read about a lot of people retorqueing to that value. is 75 ft lbs the magic value for retorqueing stock head bolts? i would use ARP hardware but only when its time for rebuild. i'll go to studs at that point. im just wondering if this it trully a good idea to do.

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

When retorquing on a head gasket that's been installed for a while you have to realize there is the chance that the metal jackets may have become brittle and may crack if you do retorque the head bolts. Doing it in numerous small passes and not trying to go as high as would otherwise be suggested may improve your odds, but there are no guarantees. Good luck. Quote CRE from GE thread. I would say if it aint broke don't fix it in this case.

 

[edi]

thats a good point. but, as i said earlier, my engine was rebuilt about 2 years ago... is that enough time to make the metal jackets brittle?

 

[edi]

so, i did the retorque. everything worked out fine. my final torque is 75 ft lbs. i did it incraments but when i went from 70 to 75 the bolts didnt move, the torque wrench just clicked on each bolt. so, does that mean i my final torque is actually 70 ft lbs? should i have tried 80 ft lbs?

 

[NeatOman]

Sounds like you need a new torque wrench LOL

I did the same thing.... i put it to 65 ft lbs drove it for a month, then i moved it up to 75 @ 5 ft lbs increments. Just that i only made about 10 degrees on the first pass then about 5 degrees on the second pass.

Or it could mean that you're bolts are seized

 

[edi]

so should i try to retorque it again next month?

 

[supraguy@aol]

Yeah, going up by 5 ft. lbs generally doesn't work too well, as you have to overcome the tension-friction on the bolt- Dunno if that's the right way to say it, but your essentially twisting the bolt down it's length till it gets to the threads, and therefore you might reach the torque setting on your wrench before the bolt moves. head studs are less prone to this since all you're turning is the nut itself, that's why they say that head studs yield more precise torque values. On bolts, I would make my last torquing a 10lb increment so that I would be actively turning the bolt when it 'clicked' on that final value of 72 ft-lbs.

 

[edi]

that makes sence. i wonder if i should do the retorque all over again?.. the way i see it, i'm only at 70 ft lbs.

 

[supraguy@aol]

No, I would think you'd be fine at 70.
I would just recommend that you check the torque each time you replace spark plugs.