I'm going to be replacing the oil pan gasket on my stock 2.8L in the next day or two. Looking at the manual, it shows the torque as 14 to 22 for the small and 26 to 35 for the large bolts. I know I've always been one to over-torque things, but these sound like pretty low numbers to me. The 4 cylinder shows 75, 54 and 90 for the 84, 85 and 86-88 respectively. Are these numbers right, and why would there be such a discrepancy between the 6 cyl and 4 cyl engines for torque? I'm pretty sure if I over-torque these bolts I will damage the gasket and/or pan, so I want to make sure I get this right the first time.

Thanks!

The reason for the discrepancy is that the four cylinder torque values are listed in the FSM in pounds-inch of torque, not pounds-feet of torque. 1 lbft = 12 lb-in.

As for the V6 oil pan bolts, the '86 and the '88 FSM I have lists the torques as follows:

6-9 lbft for the small bolts (M6 X 1.0)
14-22 lbft for the larger bolts (M8 X 1.25)

(edit to add: it looks like you mistakenly cross-read the oil pump bolt torque values for the large bolts, and the torque for the large bolts for the small bolts in your original post. Have another look at the FSM to see what I mean.)

[This message has been edited by Bloozberry (edited 08-28-2012).]

Thanks Blooz, I checked my factory service manual (previous numbers came from the Haynes manual) and they are the same as you've stated 6-9 and 14-22. I'll go with 9 and 22 and fight my urge to give them that extra twist