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Been torquing head bolts to spec but not in the right order for years.
A guy in my shop in Omaha pointed it out after my third blown gasket job. How many of you follow the manual's sequence versus just going around in a circle?
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butler.shane2mo ago
Man, that "right order" thing is no joke. I learned the hard way too. On an inline six, you absolutely have to start from the center and work out in a criss-cross pattern. Going in a circle leaves uneven pressure and that's a guaranteed leak.
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barnes.jamie17d ago
Haven't tried it myself but does anyone ever think about the block being cold vs hot when you torque it down? I always let mine cool completely before I start. Reason being the aluminum heads expand way different than the iron block. If you do it hot the numbers won't mean anything once it cools off. Plus you gotta re-torque after a heat cycle or two anyway. Just something I wonder about cause nobody talks about that part.
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michael8802mo ago
Yeah, that center-out criss-cross is key. What torque spec do you even use for something like an old straight-six head, since they can be so finicky? Do you go straight to the factory number or creep up on it in stages?
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