eob 7 Posted June 29, 2008 Will nothing ever go marginally right? Being determined to get this engine done right, I bought a decent low value torque wrench rather than use the Aldi one I borrowed off Alfarocks a few weekends ago. So, torquing everything up, and 55nm seems to be rather more than I expected it to be. Scary stuff infact for an alloy head. So I enlist the help of a my father, a short stocky quarterback type to hold the engine, while I reset the torque wrench to 95nm for the final sequence and something definitely doesn't feel right. The wrench doesn't clack at all even though I'm now putting stupid pressure on bolt 1. So, I whip out my sacred Aldi torque wrench and set it to 95nm. At 95nm, the Aldi wrench clacks away like mad, when the other torque wrench says they're only done to 55nm. So I've got two torque wrenches both claiming different values, I feel in my gut that the Aldi wrench is correct. I've done a few head gaskets using my old Aldi one and when it came to dialling in the final pie dimensions or doing up the wheelnuts I felt the values were spot on. My questions are: 1. How the f**k am I going to figure out if the values are right? 2. Have I just screwed my engine? It really felt when I went for 95nm on bolt 1 that it was beginning to stretch something nasty, either the thread or the bolt. 3. Do I now whip the head back off and fit a new HG or what? Yours worriedly, eob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miamistu 1 Posted June 29, 2008 I can't help you with your problem I'm afraid - but where did you get your wrench? I'm popping out to halfords tomorrow to buy one and don't want to pick up a duff one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ethos 0 Posted June 29, 2008 Only thing I can think so suggest is to borrow a good known wrench of someone else? Might be able to hire one out somewhere as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti-si 0 Posted June 29, 2008 I wouldn't panic as yet. What you need to do is get yourself a quality torque wrench. 95nM is a lot of pressure, I remember when I did the gasket on my 6 it was very hard work torquing up to spec, never mind keeping the engine steady while I did it. If, you get a good torque wrench on the scene and find you've overtightened it, I'd imagine you'll have to whip the head of and check to see if it's warped. You may then need a skim. To be honest, I think the bolt would snap before you'd do much damage, assuming you've done the sequence correctly. Is there a figure in degree's? I.e. toque to 30nm, then 55nm, then so many degrees using an angle thingy mabob... There very accurate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eob 7 Posted June 29, 2008 Basically what I'm going to do is not go near it. I know they're all torqued to X figure, whatever that figure is, and I know it's more than 95nm, my guess would be 100 or 120. One bolt might be slightly more than that, number one. So I'm going to run the engine and see what happens. If there's a problem, popping the head off and re-torqing all the bolts won't be the end of the world, but it is endlessly depressing that it would happen after being so f**king careful all along. It wasn't a Halfords wrench, Valley is the brand, supposedly some sh!t hot American tool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doof 11 Posted June 29, 2008 You can always calibrate it with some weights and a good bench vice... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cameron 16 Posted June 29, 2008 How long is your torque wrench though? If it's fairly short then yes it will take a lot more force to make 95Nm than with a longer one. I have a 24" (I think) one from Halfords and it's pretty damn good for the money. Only thing I can find wrong is that it takes a lot of movement to go another tooth on the ratchet. But yes, 95Nm is a fair bit of effort, even with that so you may not have damaged anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eob 7 Posted June 30, 2008 I'm a 6ft 1 15 stone farmboy, and I couldn't physically turn a 15" torque wrench to dial in 95nm. Not a chance. I put a metre and a half long piece of scaffold pole on and turned one of the bolts about 45 degrees and suddenly thought to myself... this isn't right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cameron 16 Posted June 30, 2008 Sounds f**ked then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number2301 1 1 Cars Posted July 2, 2008 Doesn't increasing the length of the torque wrench affect the amount of torque applied? I know my Halfords Pro torque wrenches say not to add any length onto them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,657 Posted July 2, 2008 Doesn't increasing the length of the torque wrench affect the amount of torque applied? I know my Halfords Pro torque wrenches say not to add any length onto them. it only affects the amount of torque you can physically apply not the point at which the wrench clicks to indicate a particular torque. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
