Retorque headgasket
- Thread starter doom26464
- Start date
since we're on the topic of retorque....i just put my rebuilt NA engine back together and have only have had time to turn it over for 30 minutes a night for a week. everything's good and runs great! do i need to worry as much about retorque on an NA??
IJ.;951684 said:
i was just curious car is in the shop right now going to finish the retorque tommrow. the main thing that worries me the most is that my torque wrench i dunno if it accurate. Its brand new and you set the torque on it and when it reaches that torque it clicks. now i tried testing 85lbs on a lug nut and it doesn't overally feel all that tight but mabye thats just me. it makes me a bit uneasy though.
AJ'S 88NA;951995 said:
did that several times over to test it out. it was pretty tight did take some effort to get off. but 200lbs of torque and 85lbs didn't feel all that different. but then again mabye it was the long arm
Is it ever too late to retorque? I did a HG job about 1500 miles ago and have been away at college with no tools or time to re-torque. Spring break starts this weekend and I would love to retorque it then. I still can right?
TurboFreak;952029 said:
hmm intresting topic. I have put on mabye 150-200km and I have been gulity of flooring it and seeing some boost. The car though has sat in the garage for the last few days though so that i can do a re torque on it. I should still be ok to do the retorque right?
doom26464;952308 said:
EDIT: after reading for the last hour and a half on supramania/suprafroums a retorque is a very very debatble topic it seems like. there is alot of people that swear by it and alot that swear against it. Im personally going to go with it see what happens.
TurboFreak;952029 said:
I'm in a similar situation. I have ARP studs on mine and I was so focused on tracking down my coolant leaks and exhaust leaks that the re torque slipped my mind.
I may try to retorque them this weekend. I have an OEM HG and copper-spray which remains tacky. I can't imagine the OEM HG with copperspray losing its seal.
Anyone have advice? It's been 1100 miles.
Personally? I re-torque ARP hardware (both bolts and studs) and OEM bolts. The danger with going longer than 5 heat cycles is you *can* (does not mean "you will") get coolant under the HG if the bolts/studs loosen up...*if* that happens, it's only a matter of time. At 1500 miles, I would re-torque if not done previously.
jdub;952581 said:
Thanks for the expert opinion, jdub.
I can't believe i forgot that first week. I feel like such a noob. Live and learn.
went toighnt to back the first bolt off. Gave it some tension and it didn't budge. I stopped and closed the hood. got cold feet. Something about backing the bolts of doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I stuck the valve covers back on and left the car over night at the shop. I really don't want to chance it and I don't feel safe using my torque wrench. The bolts have been heat cycled before for a year(they are used) so mabye there fine. Im going to sleep on it and read some more and think about it tommrow.
If the bolts have been heat cycled already I am under the impression they should be ok. :dunno:
This is a hard topic to get good hard documented data on.
This is a hard topic to get good hard documented data on.
I've posted on this very subject so many times now with real world data NOT some BS I've pulled out of my arse...
I give up guys do what you want.
I give up guys do what you want.
If you really want to see if your head has worked loose, mark all the bolts/ studs with a paint pen crack off and retorque the bolts as mentioned in previous posts. I will bet you at least half of the marks will not line up after the retorque.