[alfa] Working with aluminum

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Tim Spruill states he is learning about helicoils and wonders if he has 
a bad torque wrench.

Regarding helicoils: Once done (correctly) they should now last the life 
of the engine. Whilst a bit of a bodge, if here are some threads in the 
aluminum which are still intact but rather iffy - and aren't ones which 
most likely will ever be required to be removed again - you could clean 
carefully, run a die into the hole, clean again, then install a fresh 
stud along with JB Weld. Obviously let sit overnight - or longer.

I've not worked on V6 engines but one set of (4) studs in the 4-cylinder 
engine one wouldn't want to do this with are the four lower studs which 
hold the exhaust manifold to head. They need to be removed when 
resurfacing the head.

Torque wrench: If yours is the turn handle to line up the specified 
torque for that application - do you then unscrew it completely after 
every use (to release tension on the spring)? If not, and you've had it 
for years, I'd go buy a new (Craftsman?) wrench, then slightly loosen a 
head bolt, then torque with your new wrench. Then do the same with the 
old one. If they match, return new wrench. It would be best to try it on 
two nuts (or?) which require extreme differences of torque - to make 
sure it reads well at both high and low readings. Craftsman torque 
wrenches, for instance are accurate to within 3 to 5%, so you might find 
slight "normal" variations between the two.

Biba
Irwindale, CA USA
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