Head bolt torque procedure ?
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From: Springhill, FL
Head bolt torque procedure ? I'm still a few weeks away from my head install (have to finish porting them!). I've already collected all of the extra parts, gaskets and bolts needed. And as usual for me, I've been doing all my research and memorizing every step of the procedure.
The LS1HowTo procedure for (GM) head bolt torqueing frightens me though.
http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=1
It actually recommends having two people push on the wrench !? I dont know about you guys, but I've snapped many a high quality ratchet, socket, bolt with one arm. And I have no doubt I could strip the threads right out of the aluminum block if I tried hard enoguh. So was this walkthrough written with 80lb girly boys in mind, or can I really have at my block like this safely ?
Can I just follow a torque procedure with a torque wrench or is this really the best way? How do you guys do it ?
thanks in advance for any advice
The LS1HowTo procedure for (GM) head bolt torqueing frightens me though.
http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=1
It actually recommends having two people push on the wrench !? I dont know about you guys, but I've snapped many a high quality ratchet, socket, bolt with one arm. And I have no doubt I could strip the threads right out of the aluminum block if I tried hard enoguh. So was this walkthrough written with 80lb girly boys in mind, or can I really have at my block like this safely ?
Can I just follow a torque procedure with a torque wrench or is this really the best way? How do you guys do it ?
thanks in advance for any advice
For GM bolts, stretch is where its at. But yes, you should have no problem doing it yourself. Its easier if you use a cheater bar, it will offer you more control. IMO, Youll snap a headbolt well before you strip out the aluminum threads.
Ya it's not that bad at all. Some were a litle bit harder, and it made it easier to use 2 people, but for the most part you should be able to do it yourself. If you are worried about breaking a ratchet just use a breaker bar.
Thread Starter
11 Second Club
iTrader: (12)
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 195
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From: Springhill, FL
Thanks for the input guys. I wasnt so much worried about whther or not I could handle it solo, but whether or not the walkthrough was the best procedure. As usual LS1HowTo.com is the best source, I should have known better than to second guess it 
I wasnt so much worried about whther or not I could handle it solo, but whether or not the walkthrough was the best procedure. As usual LS1HowTo.com is the best source, I should have known better than to second guess it LS1 bolts are torque to yeild (TTY) bolts. They are not set with a final torque number, they are set with a metered ammount of stretch. GM would tell you to get an angle gauge to accurately tell how many degrees youve stretched the bolts to, but eyeballing it with a sharpie marker works well enough.
