Service manual has torque specs for almost ever bolt in the engine.

What are the only bolts that should be torqued? As far as i know...Head, main and rod bolts. That's it. Right?

 

Every bolt that has a torque spec should be torqued to that rating..

Because you get the max strength of the particular bolt without breaking the bolt or stripping the threads..

Its just good practice that's all..

 

If you can't find the torque spec in the book, check the grade of the bolt and get the spec for the bolt itself

 

It might be a good idea to torque the cam gear bolts. Maybe the oil pump bolts too so it doesn't come off. You don't want the pick up tube to come off either, so you may want to torque that down. The lifters ride in those little plastic trays that are held down by a teeny tiny 6mm bolt, do you trust tightening those down by feel? You don't want any leaks, so anything with a gasket should be torqued.

**** it, torque everything.

 

I'll be the first to admit I don't torque valley cover,accessory or valve cover bolts. More of just a feel and your fine. However EVERY bolt that involves sealing or moving parts on the long block needs to get torqued!

 

Yup...

It takes a few minutes to find torque specs

 

A newbie should torque everything. That being said, I did with the first few motors I put together. Why? Well I had never worked on anything with the metal/oring style gasket. Now, I can generally torque by feel. Not for head, rod, or mains obviously. Do yourself a favor if you are slightly unfamiliar and at least torque one bolt to spec and copy each one by feel if you are experienced with a wrench. That way at least you know they are pretty dang close. Worst case scenario is a leak.

 

Exactly, the little bolts need a torque wrench because they will strip easily if torqued too much.

Like oil pan bolts, lifter trays, rocker bolts, intake bolts.

It's just good practice, plus anyone working on their car should own 1 or even 2 torque wrenches. If you don't, why not?

 

if you're willing to cut corners on something as small as torquing fasteners to spec i'd hate to imagine where else you cut corners on the shortblock.

 

The strength of the bolt alone, is not necessarily the torque that should be applied. The material the bolt is being threaded into, is of importance, as well.

 

I wouldn't torque anything because starting over,buying new parts and doing things twice is fun!

 

^lol!

 

True. But it will give you a better ball park then tighten the hell out of it

 

Lol just buy a Haynes manual at autozone, half the questions asked on this forum are in that book..

How to remove a fuel tank, rocker torque procedure, cam swap, torque specs, etc...

Every car owner should own one and keep it in the garage

 

You can find the torque specs for most bolts on LS1howto: http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?category=1

If you don't find it there, ask here or Google it. Don't just say F it.

And a good rule of thumb is 18ft-lbs if you don't know or are too lazy to look it up. Most bolts GM uses are grade 8.8 and when they go into the aluminum block, they torque to 18ft/lbs.

 

Most car owners should not mess with their cars

 

Ha I agree, some people screw up everything they touch.. Even if they have the right instructions.

 

lmfaoo i just died

 

Harmonic balancer bolts
valvecover bolts
intake manifold bolts
timing cover bolts
rocker arm bolts

those are all things i usually dont torque exactly to spec, mind you after you do it over and over you know how far your tools go.

On a high end build, every bolt besides accessory bolts should be tightened to spec with a TechWrench.

 

sometimes you have to use better judgement. Critical fasteners are obvious, but is anyone really torquing down water pump bolts and valve cover bolts to spec? You just need to develop a feel for how much is needed - not killing the aluminum threads, and not leaving things too loose.

Some bolts you can barely get a wrench on (in car) let alone a huge torque wrench.