Haynes manual says 72 to 108 inch pounds. That seems like a huge range and not very accurate. I've set my torque wrench for 80 inch lbs unless someone advises otherwise. thanks.
Jim
Edit: It's the V6
[This message has been edited by jimbolaya (edited 07-24-2013).]
I googled a conversion chart and 1 foot pound = 12 inch lbs and 6-9 foot lbs equal 72-108 inch lbs, which is what I found in the Haynes manual. So I'm back to my original question, why the disparity or wide range?
It's simply an acceptable range for the size of the bolt. If you wanted to be certain you have the right torque, you should use the lower end of the range if your bolts or bolt holes are covered in oil, and use the upper range if everything is dry.
Edited for clarity.
[This message has been edited by Bloozberry (edited 07-24-2013).]
It's simply an acceptable range for the size of the bolt. If you wanted to split hairs on something as trivial as valve cover bolts, you should use the lower end of the range if your bolts or bolt holes are covered in oil, and use the upper range if everything is dry.
Not trying to split hairs or be trivial. I am not a mechanic, everything is pretty much trial and error for me. I realize everything has a range, it just seemed like a big disparity to me when expressed in inch pounds, versus foot pounds. I just didn't want to strip a bolt head off. Been there, done that, didn't like it. It's not a good question to ask "after" I've broke something.
I put small bolts like that on with a nut driver by hand. If I see any leaks, I tighten each a bit more. If you have good quality gaskets, they dont have to be very tight to seal. A lot of my friends dont even use nuts or bolts, they use those fancy chrome wingnuts and tighten them by hand. Overtightening causes more leaks than too loose. I put a fresh motor in my racecar once and a buddy put on the oil pan. He tightened the pan bolts so much the cork gasket pushed out and oil poured out. I had to pull the engine back out to replace it.
I googled a conversion chart and 1 foot pound = 12 inch lbs and 6-9 foot lbs equal 72-108 inch lbs, which is what I found in the Haynes manual. So I'm back to my original question, why the disparity or wide range?
Jim
in some cases you are dealing with a gasket or other material being sandwiched, which makes the necessity for a range like that...
In earlier threads people have said to be careful with the torque because you can crack the aluminum valve covers. I've been using a quarter-inch drive inch-pound torque wrench. 96 inch-pounds would be 8 foot-lbs, which is what I set the bigger torque wrench at before. The hard part on these things is even getting something in there if you don't have things partially disassembled. 8 ft-lbs got the motor dry on my SE.
The bolts on the V6 valve covers have a shoulder. You cannot compress the valve covers too much before the bolt strips. Be careful that you don't have different bolts from a previous owner. Get the thick blue rubber valve cover gaskets and snug the bolts down gently. They won't leak.
Please ignore the chocolate milk. That was from a failure to replace the lower intake manifold gaskets. Lesson learned.
I appreciate all the replies. Roger, I've done that one also.
