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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Cylinder head tightening


Dave222

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12..8..4..2..6..9..13

14..10..6..1..3..7..11

 

this is with the cams on the left, and the back of the block on the right.

 

ie 14..10 etc are intake side, 12..8 etc turbo/exhaust side.

 

manual says (for TT).........tighten uniformly in several passes upto 34NM torque.

then mark the front facing part of the bolts, do a pass turning each bolt a further 90 degrees and then a final pass of 90 degrees so that the marks are now all facing the bulkhead.

 

no mention of retorquing (is that not for the mkiii?)

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I've been told that once you've torqued it down, it need bringing upto temp then fully cooling, before being retorqued (obviously removing all timing gear again). Can anyone confirm this?

 

I can confirm that's wrong! :) The standard head bolts are torque to yield. In other words you torque them to a certain level (34Nm or 25ft/lbs) in several stages and then a further 90 degrees. They deform when you do this, so you should not use them again. So you should not torque them more than once.

 

The correct sequence is:

 

front exhaust - 12 - 8 - 4 - 2 - 5 - 9 - 13 rear

 

front intake - 14 - 10 - 6 - 1 - 3 - 7 - 11 rear

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I'm definately not attempting it :D, the reason I ask is ask you may know I've had a suspested head gasket problem. When the head was taken off they said that it had been lifting & moving (causing coolant to leak into the cylinders) and that it had been caused by over torqing it last time.

 

Where does this retorque after heat/cool idea come from? They mainly work on Ford rally cars, I remember my mate talking about this 2 stage procedure when he had his cossie rebuilt? Is it an out dated procedure. I have ARP studs if that makes any difference (sorry for the hijack)

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I'm definately not attempting it :D, the reason I ask is ask you may know I've had a suspested head gasket problem. When the head was taken off they said that it had been lifting & moving (causing coolant to leak into the cylinders) and that it had been caused by over torqing it last time.

 

Where does this retorque after heat/cool idea come from? They mainly work on Ford rally cars, I remember my mate talking about this 2 stage procedure when he had his cossie rebuilt? Is it an out dated procedure. I have ARP studs if that makes any difference (sorry for the hijack)

 

ARP head studs do not requiere a re-torque i recieved that from CW himself and mines been fine for 2 years

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strangely in the work manual after the torquing instruction it states.........

 

"If any bolts break or deform, replace them"

 

and

 

" If any of the bolts do not meet the torque specification, replace the bolt"

 

there is also a tolerances listing where "cylinder head bolt diameter" is listing as

STD 10.8-11.00mm

Limit 10.7mm

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ARP head studs do not requiere a re-torque i recieved that from CW himself and mines been fine for 2 years

What are the draw backs of re-torquing (please note I'm not being an arse here, just want to learn the pro's & con's of each, and understand why mine is being retorqued), the thing is my head wasn't re-torqued last time & now it's off 6 month later as it's lifting.

 

Is it a case of re-torqing is not necessary (although it won't do any damage) you are just wasting labour in getting to the nuts, or can you do damage by re-torquing when it's not necessary?

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Just had a look on the ARP website, took this from their FAQ section:

 

3. Do the head studs only go in hand tight?

 

The studs should be installed finger tight. Then, when applying torque to the nut, the stud will stretch only on the vertical axis. An undercut shorter stud will have a rate similar to a longer, standard shank stud. This provides a more even clamping force on the head. Because the head gasket will compress upon initial torquing, make sure studs (or bolts) are re-torqued after the engine has been run.

 

Taken from here

 

So what's correct? :confused:

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The studs are supposed to be finger tight, no more. The nuts you should use moly assembly lube on and under, otherwise it affects the torque you need. Then you torque them in several passes to 65ft/lbs for aluminium heads IIRC. If you use ARP studs and bolts you could re-torque if you wanted to, it's just not necessary, and a major PITA to take the cams out etc for no good reason.

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I also submitted a question last night to the tech guys at ARP via their website:

 

Hi, just wondering if you can shed some light on this for me.

 

I use ARP head studs on my MKIV Supra (built engine/head/single turbo).

The head has lifted (probably due to incorrect torque procedure last

time). The garage which are currently doing the work have advised

that after they have fitted the head, the car is brought upto temp,

then left to fully cool, before re-torquing. I know ARP studs should

require no re-torque procedure, but are there any drawbacks in

re-torquing the head after 1 heat cycle (other than wasted labour

charges in access the nuts again). Any advice welcome,

 

Best

 

Jay

 

Their response was:

 

HELLO JAY

YOUR MECHANIC IS CORRECT. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU RE-TORQUE THE HEAD LIKE HE SAYS. THANKS RONF

 

I think I'll let Motoscope carry out the procedure they're happy with. They did say that a lot of people miss out the re-torqing step due to the reason you say Simon, it's a massive PITA, but they say that it's a step that needs doing & it does have good reason (it means when my head goes on this time it's staying on :D).

 

I'm happy now :D

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The studs are supposed to be finger tight, no more. The nuts you should use moly assembly lube on and under, otherwise it affects the torque you need. Then you torque them in several passes to 65ft/lbs for aluminium heads IIRC. If you use ARP studs and bolts you could re-torque if you wanted to, it's just not necessary, and a major PITA to take the cams out etc for no good reason.

 

spot on Simon its ft/lbs not Nm as i quoted, you do not need to re-torque the head, i asked Chris Wilson this question in a thread (you may find it if you do a search- i couldn't) along time ago and he was kind enough to answer that no you dont, when i had my head off i did a lot of prep to the block (each water way carefully stuffed with cloth to avoid shit getting in) and the initial skim of the head was not smooth enough so i had it done at work on a lapping plate, the MLRS type gasket that the supe uses needs a very smooth finish if the head has excessive machining marks it will cause the gasket to fail during the thermal cycle, perhaps this is something you could check, there is nothing complex about bolting the head on as long as the prep is good

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MLS head gaskets do not need a retorque, this is one of the main reasons they were created, that and the fact you can no longer use asbestos in gasket manufacture. As a MLS gasket doesn't compress after the beads on the shim sections are crushed, it doesn't need a re torque. I have never had an issue with stock bolts and stock gaskets. There is an overwhelming desire in some quarters to assume stock everything needs binning as soon as you fit a dangly on the interior mirror :) When they say lifting and moving this would only occur if the head bolts or studs had lost all, or nearly all, preload. That would be bizarre, and I can only think of two scenarios to cause this. They weren't torqued up enough in the first place, or the things been got smoking hot, and the head, block, or both, have warped and stretched the fasteners.

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One thing with ARP that I struggle to get my head around is they say the studs should be installed 'finger tight' I have nipped mine up (only around 6lb/ft) for fear of movement.

 

i think they are finger tight to allow for expansion if you tighten them they could expand against the block and slacken off the head, i know it seems a bit odd when you install them and they have a cap head which is very tempting to get an allen key into but mine went in hand tight 2 years back and i have had no problems from when the cam covers went back on

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