Head Replacement - Replace Lifters? (0331 Problems)
- Thread starter markjrs3
- Start date
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Ha! Thank you. I figured it was simple.
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Lifters in, head on, bolts torqued, pushrods in, rockers on, bolts torqued. We movin'!
- Location
- Waukegan, IL
Sweet! Remember to torque the valve cover down evenly too. Use a similar pattern to the head sequence. Mind you sequence isn't nearly as critical here so don't panic about finding the correct one.
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Yeah I can't even remember if they gave a sequence in the Haynes manual without looking at it, but either way I planned on a spiral sequence like the head. 55ft lbs is the total, so maybe like 25 to 55 to keep it nice and even.
- Location
- Waukegan, IL
55 ft lb seems a little high for a V/C. double check your spec.
Yeah, half the total torque should be fine for the first step.
Yeah, half the total torque should be fine for the first step.
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
IIRC Hayne's lists 55 for permanent gasket, something like 28 for RTV or similar.
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Jeez I may be way off. A few searches pulls up only 7ft lbs (85 in lbs)
Obviously need to double check that ...
Edit: Yup, was reading inch pounds as ft pounds. I knew that sounded strong too. Thanks for the reminder, good thing I didn't do this last night when I was overtired and ruin the gasket.
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- Location
- Waukegan, IL
a little poking around says thats IN lb. not FT lb. Im sure you knew, but I wanted to clarify before you have to extract a broken V/C bolt from your brand new head :doh:...LOL
- Location
- Waukegan, IL
55 to 85 in lb sounds way more like a doable spread. 
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Yup, glad I decided to clean the cover last night and wait to install when it wasn't almost 1am. I don't have an inch lb torque wrench...of course. I'll figure that out.
- Location
- Curtis Bay, MD
late model gasket should have little steel spacers to allow the gasket to compress its intended amount no more. So torque is pretty much irrelevant on these, impossible to either warp the steel VC or overcompress the gasket. Changed mine last year with Fel-Pro Permadry rubber/steel core and no leaks (well, from the valve cover anyway.)
Talyn
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Radford, Communistwealth of Virginia
Just snug them down. They don't have to be supper tight and the sleeves in the valve cover will prevent over tightening.
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
At the very least, I'd like to have a consistent torque, and don't trust my own hand. Are you saying that if I set my wrench to 10ft lbs I'll be fine? (Where the manuals say like 5-7). I know this sounds anal, but I didn't come all this way to deal with a valve cover leak because I didn't spend the extra two minutes researching.
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Thanks Talyn.
I also think it's funny this has morphed into my project thread based on a question about lifters. As always, thanks for everyone's help.
- Location
- Curtis Bay, MD
the sleeves/spacers/whatever you want to call them will take care of precisely limiting the compression of the gasket. Close on the torque is good enough. (that sounds really odd coming out of my mouth, having worked on German cars for ages - read, finicky beasts that require proper torque on everydamnthing - but in this instance, it's true.) Two finger pull on a ratchet handle is about right.
Edit: I never did figure out why torque wrench ranges were spec'd the way they were. I have an odd 3/8" drive torque wrench - it's a Snappy micrometer type, range is 5-75 ft-lbs. (I think only guaranteed w/in 3% to 15 ft-lbs though) My 1/2" drive is more normal, Precision Instruments split beam type, 50-250 ft-lbs. Most 3/8" drive torque wrenches are 20-100 ft-lbs, so if you had torque wrenches with more normal ranges, you'd need yet another smaller one to do some jobs that I actually have done (e.g. change spark plugs on a BMW N54) so my odd selection of torque wrenches works well for me, I only need two. But the downside is that only one of them (the bigger PI one) can be used for torquing lug nuts/bolts because the Snappy doesn't go high enough - but that's not really a huge deal.
But I do have a bendy-beam pointer type $20 Craftsman torque wrench in my toolbox as well - why? 'cause its accuracy is dependent on the metallurgy of the big beam - not that hard to make a consistently sized round piece of steel out of a consistent alloy. It's only useful when you have a straight line of sight to the pointer, and doesn't click when you hit your target, but it's never going to drift out of calibration anyway - "adjustment" consists of making sure the pointer is zeroed.
Edit: I never did figure out why torque wrench ranges were spec'd the way they were. I have an odd 3/8" drive torque wrench - it's a Snappy micrometer type, range is 5-75 ft-lbs. (I think only guaranteed w/in 3% to 15 ft-lbs though) My 1/2" drive is more normal, Precision Instruments split beam type, 50-250 ft-lbs. Most 3/8" drive torque wrenches are 20-100 ft-lbs, so if you had torque wrenches with more normal ranges, you'd need yet another smaller one to do some jobs that I actually have done (e.g. change spark plugs on a BMW N54) so my odd selection of torque wrenches works well for me, I only need two. But the downside is that only one of them (the bigger PI one) can be used for torquing lug nuts/bolts because the Snappy doesn't go high enough - but that's not really a huge deal.
But I do have a bendy-beam pointer type $20 Craftsman torque wrench in my toolbox as well - why? 'cause its accuracy is dependent on the metallurgy of the big beam - not that hard to make a consistently sized round piece of steel out of a consistent alloy. It's only useful when you have a straight line of sight to the pointer, and doesn't click when you hit your target, but it's never going to drift out of calibration anyway - "adjustment" consists of making sure the pointer is zeroed.
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markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Fair enough. (Also, my DD is a B7 S4, and I won't touch it for that reason.)
- Location
- Curtis Bay, MD
Nice. Mine's a E92 335i. Except in a month or so it will probably be an old Jeep Cherokee
I got over my fear of touching it, although I paid someone to replace a fuel injector for me. The pressures of direct injection scare me a little, and the consequences of a leaky fitting are Not Good.
markjrs3
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rhode Island
Nice. Mine's a E92 335i. Except in a month or so it will probably be an old Jeep Cherokee
I got over my fear of touching it, although I paid someone to replace a fuel injector for me. The pressures of direct injection scare me a little, and the consequences of a leaky fitting are Not Good.
Ah, I love that 335. Eventually getting something else, or just laying low for awhile?
- Location
- Curtis Bay, MD
I hope to keep it until it's collectible, just feel bad driving it in the winter. Heated seats are awful nice though. I drove it a lot last winter when it was cold but no snow accumulation. I probably should get better seats for the heep, I let a pair of Porsche buckets go when I had to move, now I'm regretting it...
