Header nut torque

[arthureld]

All right guys, I bought the fuckin book and looked up the torque for the hearder nuts at the head. 100-120 inch/pounds.

I couldn't find a fuckin inch pound torque wrench at Sears. I converted 120 inch/pounds to 10 foot pounds. Foot pound torque wrenches don't usually go down to 10 foot pounds. I suspect the torque wrench is less accurate near the limits anyway.

Well fuck it, I just tightened those fuckers until they at least got a little tight and the leak stopped. They were loose as hell.

How do you do it?

It seems to me that getting a torque wrench on all those nuts would be a bitch anyway. I used a box wrench on the bottoms and a ratchet on the tops.

[coolhawg6622]

They say 15 ft lbs but I use my elbow torque wrench and its never failed me............snug em down good and you will be fine.......

[arthureld]

Thanks bud. I wonder why they were so loose. I think I turned them all a couple turns just to get them snug.

[Wild1Poet2]

You'll be fine with that.
LOL I used to use my elbow torque wrench all the time when I worked in my dads shop. I musta sheered off a dozen bolts and studs. LOL He get all pizzed off and have to drill it out and tap it.

[arthureld]

I used elbow torque when I worked for my dad 35 years ago too. I just forgot what 100-120 inch pounds feels like.
I use wrist torque for inch pounds. No elbow involved.

[Oli1200]

Ouch, yeah this reminds me when I stripped out my front head stud when trying to re-install my previous pipes. Head had to be taken to a machine shop to get a new stud, not fun.

That's why I had my new custom one off set installed by a tech at a shop, can't trust myself enough. Everybody know's putting them on is a lot harder than taking them off.

[FATBACK]

didn't you just have motor work? they had to remove headers to do heads!

[arthureld]

didn't you just have motor work? they had to remove headers to do heads!

Yea, I guess I should take it back to them.
I have no idea why they left the exhaust nuts so loose.
I don't have a torque wrench either so I'm not sure what 100-120 inch pounds feels like.

[Wild1Poet2]

I never got the elbow torque thing down. The tech pro's can get real close to torque specs by feel.

I also hate rusty bolts. I sheer them off by the dozen trying to loosen them up.

[arthureld]

If you do it all the time, you can do it by feel. There's no way in hell I'm going to break anything. I know enough about 10 or 15 ft/pds to know it's not much more than finger tight.
Basically snug. And after a few miles, they probably should be retorqued. The head bolts should probably be retorqued too.
The reason they are torqued so lightly is because everything expands when they get hot and they tighten up.
I'll order an inchpound torque wrench and retorque them again.