SlowMaro

anyone have any tips before i put my new heads on this weekend??

any definate do's and dont;s??? yes i know how to adjust the valve lash.

let me know before i haul off and find out the hard way

oh, what lbs should i set my torque wrench at to tighten the head bolts.

i never used a torque wrench before --sad huh-- but i never felt the need, ...i just go by *ok its as tight as its gonna get without stripping or breaking*

i dont feel the urge to do that method with heads so yeah, torue wrench it is.

RB83L69

Use Loctite PST (pipe sealer with Teflon, whatever its new part # is) on the head bolt threads and under the heads of the bolts; they go straight into the water jacket.

Torque the head bolts in their sequence in 3 stages; to something like 30, then 45, then 60 ft-lbs. Spec is 60-65 ft-lbs; aim for 60, and slightly exceed that as you torque. Make sure the bolt is still moving when you get to 60 ft-lbs: that is, don't measure breakawy torque, but rather the torque as the bolt is turning. DON'T overtighten them!!!! Slightly loose is better than too tight; too tight will make the gasket blow in between cylinders every time. Go over every bolt, in sequence, at least one extra time after they all reach 60 ft-lbs; more than likely you'll find a couple of loose ones.

Use Fel-Pro blue head gaskets. You can smear a bit of silicone around the water jacket holes if it makes you feel better; but DON'T put anything on the fire rings.

Obviously make sure the block deck and the head deck are absolutely clean, wipe them with lacquer thinner immediately before bolting them down.

ede

i do what rb said, or he does what i do except i use k&w copper sealer in a spray can on the head gaskets and no rtv.

SlowMaro

my torque wrench is the type that has the roating handle that you dial in the lbs. im looking at it lik e"wtf is this" since ive never used one. ill play around with it and figure it out and use it to take the head bolts off .....

other than that it seems pretty easy/self explainitory.

great now im worried about over tightening lol.....

id HaTE to blow a head gasket, thats alot of work to replace...i want this to be done right , and done once. no errors ya know.

Oh..Am i supposed to replace the head bolts? ive heard they stretch? can i use the same one or not

Squeeks83

i just replaced one in my boss's 81 dully GMC, it sucked, i snapped off 2 head bolts because they couldnt hold 45FT LBS. so then i had tot ake off the head, and redo everything.

took off the heads, replaed the gasket and threw everythign back together in like 5 hours. would have been shorter if it wasnt for those dam bolts breaking.

just go in a squence like he said, never more then 15 to 20 LBS at a time in the incrimantes. so like 30, 45, 60. and then recheck.

good luck.

ede

no you don't have to replace head bolts on a SBC, you do on engines with TTY fasteners. easy way to tell TTY is a funny torque spec, like 45 ft/lbs and 90*.