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should i cover new head bolts in oil b4 installation?


Guest TurboSedan

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Guest TurboSedan

i am going to be putting the TGP heads back on my 3.1 later this week. i will be using Fel-Pro head bolts and Fel-Pro head gaskets. should i cover the head bolts in a light coating of motor oil before installing them? last time i put them in dry, and torqued them to 90ft/lbs. is 90ft/lbs too tight?

 

thanks

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I dont know about using the motor oil on the head bolts, dont know of anyone whose done that before, if anything, a little lock-tight would be good. As far as 90ft/lbs, I dont even tighten my lug nuts on my wheels that much, there only 75-80ft/lbs, 90ft/lbs seems a little high to me.....

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Guest TurboSedan

yeah i've heard some people lightly coat them in oil and some don't. so far i'm thinking i'll install them dry again and torque them to 80 ft/lbs. anyone else want to chime in? i will probaby be installing the heads within 2-3 days...

 

damn i can't wait to drive this car again!! :D

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The head bolts aren't torqued to a value altogether. It's done to 30 or 33 I can't remember, but you then tighten them all an additional 90 degrees. As for using oil on the threads I didn't do that, but I did put RTV on the threads and below the base of the head of the bolt.

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Josh, use oil.

 

Do NOT use RTV or locktight.....or anything like that, those are all bad ideas. Here is why....

 

A torque spec is given to get a certain clapping load....thats it. However, this is based on the fact that the threads can turn as free as possible....adding anything that shouldn't be there (RTV/Locktight) increases the amount of torque it takes, thus the bolt doesn't have as much as it properly shoud. Threads of the bolts should be cleaned with a wire brush or wheel and then dipped in good old engine oil and installed via spec in the proper order. I believe 60degreeV6 has these specs listed.

 

Any of GM's 5 or 6 bolt wheels that use 3/4"/19 mm wheel nuts should be torqued to 100 ft-lbs. That is the specification via GM, use anything else and you might loose a wheel.

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Guest TurboSedan

thanks guys. i just picked up a set of Fel-Pro 9471PT head gaskets today and i pick up new head bolts tomarrow. i have the next three days off work so i should make alot of progress.

 

btw, last time i did the head gaskets i think i torqued them to 30 ft/lbs plus an additional 90 degree turn (and i tightened them in the proper sequence of course). before i tightened the bolts an additional 90 degrees, i set the torque wrench to 90 ft/lbs to see if it actually got that high. most of them did, so i simply torqued all of them to 90 ft/lbs.

 

i'll probably be posting new pics in my thread in the Member's Rides section later this week. i hope to be driving this car by July 1st, and make it to the track with sl3196, timg, and my brother sometime in July :)

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.. here's a rule of thumb...

 

always use a light coating of 10w30 motor oil on the head bolts UNLESS they go into the water jacket, in which case, you use a LIGHT coating of RTV

 

if you follow that procedure, you will almost never have a problem with torquing the bolts, if you do NOT follow that procedure, you will be more likely to have a premature head gasket failure.

 

--Dave.

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Guest TurboSedan

ok i finally found my old post back when i did this job last January....i tourqued the head bolts to 33 ft/lbs with an additional 90* turn, which was basically 90 ft/lbs...

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846

 

however, the 60*V6 site says to tighten them to 41 ft/lbs plus an additional 90* turn. that almost seems too tight. i think i'm just going to lightly coat the new head bolts in 10w30, then tighten them to 33 ft/lbs with another 90* turn and call it good.

 

thanks :)

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