re-tensioning the head

[adam 32]

i posted something in forced induction about this, but you guys always have the answers to my questions so ill try here

i have to re-torque my head, how do i do this?

do i just make sure the bolts are at their final stage torque rating? (75ftlbs)

[GTS-t VSPEC]

A torque wrench? Don't you set it to the desired torque, then it clicks when you exert more force.

See'ya:burnout:

[adam 32]

no no

ive torqued it down in the 5 stages already with a torque wrench

but your supposed to re-torque it after a while cos aluminium expands + contracts so much. i want to know how to do this... cos a gasket is sealed by crushing it you can exactly go through the 5 stages again.... so im assuming you just make sure its on the final torque setting. but am not sure

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Yeah, just re-torque it on the final setting.

See'ya:burnout:

[adam 32]

you sure?

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Pretty sure. Why not call your mechanic mate, or Luigi?

See'ya:burnout:

[adam 32]

mecahnic mate isnt sure

he reckons u dont have to do it... but im getting some air leaks into the coolant system which would indicate head gasket leaking.

[puckish]

Adam

Some head gaskets don't need to be retorqued. They are marked as such on the packet.

To re torque it pop the rocker covers and retension to the correct settings in the correct order. DO NOT BREAK THE SEAL by cracking the tension off. I have had troubles doing this in the past.

Some mechanics say don't retorque and I have never got the same answer from two mechs. Your choice but my method doesn't hurt but does take up time......

[adam 32]

but the 5 stages are...

22

72

slacken off

22

75

so do i just torque the bolts to 75. or do i knock it back first, then retighten to 22 and then 75?

its just im getting some air leaking into the coolant so rather than having to do the head gasket AGAIN im hoping they just need to be re-torqued

[puckish]

I'd go 35 then 75.

The backoff breaks the gasket in spots. Trust me you'll hate it when that one happens to ya on a 40 C day !

[adam 32]

yeh i kno

which is why im thinking dont slacken off at all. only tension the bolts back to 75 (if theyre not already at that tension)

[R34]

I've allways backed off the bolt just enough so it moves (sometimes cracking noise) then retension at the full torque.

The backing off just gets by the bolt "binding" giving a false reading.

You can try just tensioning and if the bolt moves before the torque wrench goes off that's OK. If it doesn't and you then try the above mentioned method you'll notice the bolt will turn past where it was originally.

Air leaking into the coolant? That's not a good sign.

It's either compression through the gasket or hopefully a loose connection between the rad and overflow bottle which sucks back air when the motor is cooling down. Could be a duff radiator cap too.

Cheers

[adam 32]

or bcos ive had the head off and the entire cooling system apart and it wouldnt bleed out in 15mins...

ive replaced the overflow return hose and the radiator cap last week. im hoping its still air in the system. if its a gasket leak im hoping a re-tension will sort it out...

fingers crossd

[macka]

well if ya bought a silvia you wouldn't have these these problems

[Pva_Glue]

hahahahhahah

ohhh come on OSCAR get off Macka Comp!

good luck fixing the problem adam.

Dont listen to oscar he think his silvia the best

SKYLINES RULES!

[puckish]

To stop the binding problem go one click with the torque wrench. Repostion the torque wrench onto the bolt and go again with the same setting.

[adam 32]

well its gettin worse

still bubbling through the coolant, and ive got no ****in idea whats goin on. invited over a mate whos a mechanic @ toyota and he has no idea

[puckish]

Dude did you turn on the heater when bleeding out the system ?

[gtrken]

Originally posted by adam 32

well its gettin worse

still bubbling through the coolant, and ive got no ****in idea whats goin on. invited over a mate whos a mechanic @ toyota and he has no idea

Adam , what do you mean by bubbling through the coolant.

Is it when the cap is off and running, or is it bubbling into the overflow bottle after you have stopped ?

The retension is in case the gasket has crushed some more and everything has settled. Backing the bolt off slightly and retorquing in one smooth movement is not going to hurt the gasket. If it does , it was rooted anyway.

Cheers

Ken

[VSPECII]

havnt ya learned ya lesson yet

its funny how a small thing as changing a turbo can quickly turn to crap... youve got some really bad luck dude hahahah.