I installed the heads and everything the other day on my motor, and I wanted to make sure, before I went to far that I didnt need to wait a little bit, and retorque all the head stud nuts. I did them in 3 passes, approx. 37.5 then about 55, then 70. After i got done, i checked all of them, and they were all at 70. I was just wondering if I needed to retorque them after it had been a few days, or after I let the engine go through a few heat cycles. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

You did well by taking them down in steps.

No need to re-torque head bolts.

 

These are the studs though. I thought there was one re-torque on them required after a heat cycle, but honestly am not sure. With ARP, I always check with their tech support, which is excellent by the way.

 

Although many (most?) people don't retorque them after being heat cycled, I would recommend it.

 

let them rest over night then check again.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll check the outter ones, and see if any of them move, so i dont have to take off the rockers again. I appreciate the input.

 

absolutely correct!

 

Would this apply to MLS gaskets as well?

 

Gaskets dont matter...its the studs that do....experts recommend after a heat cycle also if you can...i didnt

 

That's really interesting. I guess you can't knock an extra ounce of prevention,
but a new set of bolts stretch to clamp down on the head.

I've never heard of taking a crated motor, or rebuilding a strip motor then
checking torque after a few passes.

Torquing in steps however is a fairly standard practice, and is proper.

In any case, treat your engine as it were your life.

 

Since I already had the rockers on, I just checked the ones on the outside of the head, and all of them were still at 70 lbs.