Cometic HP retorque?

[vtecds1]

Has anyone ever ran one of these gasket and retorqued them after xxx miles? Reason is, that I started to notice a slight oil leak coming from the front passenger side corner. Never did retorque the head down after my build becuase Cometic says that it's not neccessary. But after talking to a couple of people, they said I should of done it. If so, how many ft/bs as I`ve heard of people going 95, 100 and sometimes higher.

Btw, I`m running ARP studs and the leak is not from the half moon or the oil passage.

 

[524of1000]

ARP headstuds are 80ft/lbs with moly lube. I've never had to re-torque them, but it's not a bad idea to check. I usually do the butterfly pattern on them in stages (40, 60, 80) then check them at 80 again when I'm done.

 

[vtecds1]

Is there a specific way of retorqing them or than doing it in sequence? I`ve read that some people back it out 1/2 turn first them tighten them down or can I just have a go at it? Before I forget, I'm assuming that I don't have to put any more molylube on the ARPS when retorquing them. Just on the initial install, right?

 

[Galantvr41062]

I always torque ARP head studs to 100ft/lb. I would pull the valve cover and put a torque wrench on then at 90ft/lb and see if they turn at all.

 

[PreskitVR4]

usually only new ARPs need retorque. were yours new, or were they previously tourqued/heat-cycled?

 

[vtecds1]

^^^ARPs were new when I had the motor rebuilt.

I will open the motor up tomorrow since it's going into hibernation anyway. Hopefully it's an easy fix. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[vtecds1]

Ok, I lied...Have'nt had the chance to open up the valvecover yet. Looking to do it this weekend since it will be pretty nice out(50 degrees /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/uhh.gif). Does anybody know the size of the allen for the ARP headstuds? I keep hearing people say its a 10mm, 12pt or 13pt torx.

 

[Jesh]

I know its a 12pt nut, and I think its a 14mm but not positive on that. Could be SAE too for that matter. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif

 

[GSX_TC]

It's a general rule of thumb that when building a motor using ARP's you have to go back a re-torque them after a few miles.

 

[FlyingEagle]

14mm 12 pt for the ARP nuts

 

[vtecds1]

Thanks for the two that posted the size...

Quoting GSX_TC:
It's a general rule of thumb that when building a motor using ARP's you have to go back a re-torque them after a few miles.



That's what I was thinking but Cometic says that I didn't need to with their hg. But since there is a slight leak, I might as well try it.

 

hhmm I have these and didn't re-torque mine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

Are we talking re-torque the studs, the nuts, or both?

 

[GSX_TC]

whatever you torqued down to 100 foot pounds, re torque them.

 

[vtecds1]

Damnit...now I'm getting really confused. I should of stated the ARP nuts not the studs. So which ones gets re-torqued?

 

[turbowop]

Well I hope you're not torquing the studs, as they just get threaded into the hole until they bottom out. Then the nuts get torqued after you drop the head down over the studs.

 

[vtecds1]

I was refering to the nuts but reading different post from the net get confusing at times.

It's going to be a long night...wish me luck and hope this solves my leak issue.

 

[GSX_TC]

Goodluck man

 

[vtecds1]

I set the t-wrench to 80lbs and they all were good and tight. Not one was loose. Was really hoping to start the car and test drive it in the morning but ran into a couple of problems. My 1/4 t-wrench decided to take a crap and my ofh install didnt turn out the way i wanted it. I decided to call it quits about 10minutes ago so i can get some rest...

 

[Larry Parker]

I had bad luck with 2 different Cometic head gaskets in two different engines in my rally car. My car with a fresh block and head would push coolant or pressurize the water jackets under boost (18-23 psi) and cause much overheating and pain... I popped my motor at one event as a result and rebuild a new setup using a 20K block and head and again used a cometic. Same thing! I re-torqued etc and it didnt help... The only thing in the end was going to a Mistu gasket.

lp

 

[vtecds1]

^^^Just out of curiosity...which Mitsu gasket did you go with? I will be pulling the head off this winter and will most likely replace it but I really don't know which to go with. Also, which studs did you go with and did you reuse them? Here's a pic of my block before the install...




I wish I would of done a little more research back them before going with a Cometic.