Showerthought: everyone's skipping the torque wrench on aluminum heads

I've seen three warped heads this year from guys just cranking down bolts by feel. The spec on a Ford 5.0 Coyote is 22 ft-lbs for the intake, then 90 degrees, and people are just reefing on them. How many of you actually check the manual for the sequence and final angle?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy_wood12d ago

Grab the damn manual and a torque wrench, it's not a suggestion. I watched a buddy turn a simple gasket job into a boat anchor because he thought "good and tight" was a spec. Those aluminum heads don't forgive anything, they just bend. The sequence matters just as much as the final number, skipping steps is how you get leaks and cracks. Spending ten minutes to do it right beats eight hours fixing your mistake later.

paul_ramirez12d ago

Totally agree with @nancy_wood, that "good and tight" mindset will wreck your engine fast.

gracethomas12d ago

Been there, done that, got the stripped bolt to prove it. My first time doing valve covers, I cranked them down like I was trying to win a contest. The sound of that aluminum thread giving up still haunts me. A torque wrench felt like overkill until I had to drill out the mess.