Torque Setting For Sump Bolts?

[mojo1997 0]

Hi there

 

put the sump back on my 205 1.9 Gti at the weekend, used sealant between the spacer plate and the block, then got a GSF sump gasket for between the sump and the spacer plate. Made sure everything was very clean before reassembling, then torqued the bolts up to the 15 lb/ft as stated in Mr Haynes manual.. working from the centre outwards.

 

This didn't seam very tight and as expected oil leaks out of the sump. Is that torque setting right.....

 

Should I have torqued the spacer plate bolts up first and allowed the sealant to go off before fitting the sump.

[Anthony 1,003]

Sounds about right - they're not that tight, and very easy to strip the threads on if you over-tighten.

[DamirGTI 342]

Well 15 lb/ft (20Nm) works for me although yes i tight up the spacer plate first (lightly) then wait for a few hours for the sealant to harden before refitting the sump . Then i fit sump but with gasket and the clear silicone (sealant on the both faces of the sump gasket - down in between the sump and gasket surface and up in between the gasket and spacer plate surface) tight the bolts lightly in criss cross pattern and also wait a bit , when you notice that the silicone starts to harden tight up fully in the same criss cross pattern to 15 lb/ft ..

 

Rgs !

Damir

 

(it'll be good to leave it dry one full day for the sealant to harden completely and then fill it with oil )

Edited May 1, 2008 by DamirGTI

[mojo1997 0]

soundlike I did everthing right, wonder if my torque wrench is knackered. The bolts were not very tight at all when I did it.

[Ahl 4]

You have a torque wrench that actually goes down to 15lb/ft?

 

15lb/ft is nipped up a bit on a small spanner. It shouldn't feel 'untight' though.

[mojo1997 0]

You have a torque wrench that actually goes down to 15lb/ft?

 

No but my brother does, thats what older brothers are for....buying stuff so you can use it

[Rom 0]

I rarely torque anything. But i work on cars all day, so my arms are pretty much calibrated

 

I use RTV type sealer to seal anything i think i can get away with. I despise gaskets, as they fail well before well applied RTV ever will.

I do mine up till i fell happy. Never leaks.

 

Torque settings have thier uses for important stuff, but simple bits like this just use ur judgement,

[mojo1997 0]

I use RTV type sealer to seal anything i think i can get away with. I despise gaskets, as they fail well before well applied RTV ever will.

 

Don't you use the sump gasket then??

[Rom 0]

Nope.

 

Some people like to use one or the other, some liek to use both

 

I prefer just sealer

[boombang 2]

Nope.

 

Some people like to use one or the other, some liek to use both

 

I prefer just sealer

 

same here, I just put sealer round the entire sump pan and have never been left with a leaky sump.

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

How thickly do you apply it?

Next time I try this I'm tempted to cut the 2 bars out of the stiffener and weld it to the sump and them put it back on so you've only got 1 seal to do.

[Rom 0]

Er i probably do about a 10mm bead all the way round. Going on the inside edge of bolts etc.

 

You dont wanna go too nuts, but enough so it squishes out when done up.

[nick 3]

Remember when using sealant to clean the mating surfaces with petrol or some solvent before you apply the bead, if you don't it will just slide out of the gap when you tighten the sump and leak, it needs to "grip" onto something. I'm sure this is why 90% of sumps leak, because people don't clean the surfaces.

 

Nick

[Ahl 4]

I was thinking about this the other day actually. Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude about the torque wrench.

 

It is actually quite easy to over tighten things, especially such small bolts. Its probably worth using a torque wrench to tighten up such things, but holding it at a normal spanner or socket handle's length.

 

That way you'll get used to how tight things feel at different torques when using a normal length wrench/spanner, and not just hanging onto the end of a big ass lever like a torque wrench and never learning how tight 'tight' really is.

[jonnie205 1]

same here i never realy used torque wrenches except for engine and gearbox building, you can get a better feel without one but thats years of experience.