[alfa] Re: Re-torque the Head

[TJCallahan@xxxxxxx]

In ad v9n1086, Jon writes:

> I have about 500 miles on my 74 Spider rebuilt engine. The mechanic 
> re-torqued
> the head at 600 miles just before I moved from Germany back to the States.
> Should I re-torgue?

Jon,

If it's 500 miles from newly rebuilt, yes, retorque it. Retorque again each 
12 months.

From the digest a few years ago -

**********
Subject: head gasket torque and replacement

While the description by Loyd Heimbruch was basically correct there are a few 
flaws in his prescription for retorquing a 2L head. Upon first assembly the 
head is torqued cold to 59 ft-lbs. the nuts, washers and threads are clean and 
oiled. The head is then retorqued after warm up to 62 ft-lbs. without 
loosening the nuts. The sequence for this is as follows. 

  9   10
  5    6
  1    2
  4    3 
  8    7

The cross pattern is listed in many books but was revised. The old procedure 
seems to persist because it was not widely published.

After 500 miles the nuts are loosened ONE AT A TIME   ENGINE COLD  (remove 
radiator cap first to relieve any excess pressure in the cooling system) in the 
above order and the threads and washer are lubricated with oil. That nut is 
then torqued to 65 ft-lbs. Finish all of the nuts in sequence. ONE AT A TIME 
LOOSE THEN TIGHT! 

This same procedure is used once a year to retorque the head. If the nuts are 
not backed off and oiled before retorquing uniformity can not be guaranteed. 
The torque will be influenced by the friction between the nut
and washer and any rust that may have accumulated on the threads.

Using this technique I have seen many Alfa 2L engines exceed 75000 miles 
before the head gasket has shown any signs of leaking.
***********
and a follow on message ...
***********
I concentrated on the 2L engine and forgot to list the torque values for 
other 4 cylinder engines.  I use the same procedure as for the 2L engine on all of 
these engines. Upon retorque I add 2-3 ft-lbs to the hot value and use that 
for the duration. A problem can occur if the head was torqued to a higher value 
by the previous owner or mechanic. If the head is now retorqued to a lower 
setting it could develop a leak over time. Be sure that your torque wrench is 
correctly calibrated.

1300 Normal Veloce 750 & 101           42 cold    45 hot
1300 105 series (junior)                        45 cold    48 hot
1600                                                     46 cold    49 hot
1750                                                     54 cold    56 hot

Someone else will have to post information on the V6 as I do not work on 
these cars.
*********

The above from Tom Sahines, credit goes to him. I'm reprinting without having 
asked permission first, apologies if that wasn't the correct thing to do.

Tom
Seattle
6310123
7711615 (doing fine with the above procedure)
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