Head torque specs
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I looked up the torque specs on ls1howto and i was just wondering if anyone knew the torque specs for the last few passes instead of turning the bolt 90 degrees if there are any actual ft lb numbers? I would just feel more comfortable with a number i could torque too. Thanks
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First stage: Using a torque wrench, tighten the M11 bolts numbered 1 through 10 in sequence to 22 ft lbs.
Second stage: Now use a torque angle gauge to add 90 degrees of twist to the same bolts, again in sequence.
Final stage: The specifications to use in the stage depend on the style of head bolts that your block uses.
2004 and later blocks with all the same length M11 bolts: Add an additional 70 degrees of twist to the bolts in sequence.
2003 and earlier blocks with long/short M11 bolts: Add an additional 90 degrees of twist to the bolts numbered 1-8 in sequence. Then add 50 degrees of twist to the shorter M11bolts in locations 9 and 10.
Once all M11 bolts are secured, use a torque wrench to tighten the M8 bolts numbered 11-15 in sequence to 22 ft lbs. There is no angle to add to these bolts.
I copied this from one of my manuals that I use.
Second stage: Now use a torque angle gauge to add 90 degrees of twist to the same bolts, again in sequence.
Final stage: The specifications to use in the stage depend on the style of head bolts that your block uses.
2004 and later blocks with all the same length M11 bolts: Add an additional 70 degrees of twist to the bolts in sequence.
2003 and earlier blocks with long/short M11 bolts: Add an additional 90 degrees of twist to the bolts numbered 1-8 in sequence. Then add 50 degrees of twist to the shorter M11bolts in locations 9 and 10.
Once all M11 bolts are secured, use a torque wrench to tighten the M8 bolts numbered 11-15 in sequence to 22 ft lbs. There is no angle to add to these bolts.
I copied this from one of my manuals that I use.
Last edited by BAMALS1; 01-08-2012 at 07:10 PM.
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If using aftermarket head bolts or studs, refer to the installation intsructions and tightening specifications of the manufacturer. However, the above tightening sequence should always be used.
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They are not standard bolts, they are torque to yield, meaning you are trying to stretch the bolt a predetermined amount to create X amount of clamping force. A simple ft/lb rating does not apply with this design.
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instead of getting torque angle gauge (which is impossible to use in a stock camaro bay) all you have to do is draw vertical lines on the heads of the head bolts with a black sharpie, that way you can tell how many degrees you turn the bolts...it took me a couple trys on the last step to get the right angle....those bolts are tight!!! make sure your head bolt holes are cleaned out a billion times just to be sure you dont hydrolock them
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The problem with torqing those bolts at least without some good lube made for the job is You end up with different actual tq. readings so the tq. / angle method is more accurate unless You do use ARP's bolts with their lube .
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I’m not trying to high jack this post but I do have questions on the torque to yield head bolts with lubricant. The torque / angle specifications that Bamls1 gave are pretty much sums it up for the factory torque to yield head bolts. But no one has posted (at least thru my inexperienced search abilities) what if any lubricant to used on these bolts. So I took it on myself to call ARP to post this question. Can or Do or Should you use their ARP ultra torque lubricant on torque to yield LS1 head bolts? The answer I got was somewhat short of “We haven’t tested that”. That wasn’t surprising because of legality reason in (it’s not their bolts) but the tech did give me some excellent insight to what’s going on. You are basically converting rotational torque measured thru a torque wrench and or torque angle to clamping (tension) force. I.e. converting torsional load / energy to tensional load / energy and with the lubricant, you are taking away any frictional forces at the threads or underneath the head of the bolt may add negating false readings. They also recommend not using Locktite together with their product. “To use locktite on other application like harmonic balancer, flywheel, torque converter bolts, etc. ARP made a very good white paper testing their product comparing it to other lubricants and I seen a demonstration on HorsePower TV so they pretty much convinced me their product is far better than the others. Kudos. But getting back to “Do you use ARP lubricant on torque to yield bolts, does anyone have a real world experienced answer?” Thanks
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One of the published LS engine assembly books I browsed at Barnes & Noble said to use lubricant under the bolt head flat surfaces.
edit: nothing whatsoever should be applied to the GM bolt threads, just the factory blue stuff that comes on them.
edit: nothing whatsoever should be applied to the GM bolt threads, just the factory blue stuff that comes on them.