1995blacktattop

iTrader: (2)

i don't have a torque wrench but i noticed my car was leaking oil the other day and the Valve cover was leaking according to the exhaust shop i took my car to have the Y pipe adjusted since it was ticking. anyway i used a 10mm (actually i didn't have one but a 9/16? was identical in size and fit the vc bolts fine) and they were loose enough that i was able to put a couple turns on most of them relatively easily. i know you're not supposed to over torque them but if you can put a little efford into a 9/16 open ended wrench (i'm talking a litlte shorty one like maybe 4 inches long) then they are much too loose right? i tightened them down to where i couldn't turn them anymore with that wrench.

i guess my question is, if i was able to hand turn them a turn or two with that 9/16 open ended wrench, would that most likely be why they were leaking? also if they were leaking with good new gaskets (felpros installed in june 2008 about 6k miles ago) are those gaskets now ruined if there was some leakage?

baylove

iTrader: (35)

i just screwed my down til snug and a quarter turn no leaks @ all

1995blacktattop

iTrader: (2)

thats about what i did then, well to "snug"

i don't consider them snug if they can still turn relatively easily.

I'm wondering if the fact they were never retorqued/tightened within 500 miles or whatever of the VC gasket change might have loosened them enough to cause a leak?

shbox

106 lb. in. is the torque value. Wrench size is 3/8". The bolts are not metric. Check that the cover flanges are not bent. The rubber gaskets should last a very long time.

1995blacktattop

iTrader: (2)

you know, now that you mention it it was a 3/8, not a 9/16. for some reason i thought it was a 10mm. i had a 10mm socket but not an adaptor so i used the wrenches i had. i doubt i could have applied that much torque with a small wrench anyway.

my question about the gaskets is if it was leaking because the valve cover was loose, will tightening them stop the leak or is the gasket now useless if its been saturated in oil?

shbox

You could easily apply 106 lb. in. with a wrench. It's not much. The live rubber, stock gasket does not absorb oil.

1995blacktattop

iTrader: (2)

well i didn't hear anything snap and i tightened them till they stopped. i took a paper town behind the nitake and valve covers earlier and i didn't really come back with oil, hmm.

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

Simple torque wrenches are like $25 at walmart in the automotive section. If you don't have one, and plan on havin the car a while and dealing with stuff like this yourself, I'd probably be a good idea to buy one. they come in handy for more than you'd think (valve covers, strut tower braces, even oil drain plugs have a specific torque...you can use it lots of places). It's just nice to have around. But for now, snug should do-just keep an eye on it.