Valve cover gasket torque

[shelby4130]

Okay, so the torque on the acorn nuts on the valve cover should be tightened to 8lbs. BUT, how can I measure this without a torque wrench? I have one, but doesn't seem to be accurate with anything under 20lbs.

I put in a new one the other night and hand tightened only. It started to leak pretty quickly so I tightened a little with a ratchet, but the leak persists. It was put on dry after cleaning the mating surfaces with a little Loctite RTV at the timing cover joint.

I just got home from picking up another from the local BMW dealership and am about to try again. Speaking of, does anyone know what brand BMW uses? It isn't cork, but a gray paper(?) with metal core but no sort of brand labeling at all. Just sandwiched between two non-descript cardboard sheets.

Anyway, how tight do these need to be????

-Michael

[BiggyC]

I have a cheap-o Stanley 1/4" torque wrench (think of the skinny bendy-rod w/ pointer) that measures torque in inch/pounds. I think I got it for around $10....Divide by 12 to get your 8 ft/lbs....I found it in the Ocean State Job Lot, but can probably find something similar at a Harbor Freight..

[Dev02]

I've done mine a number of times and always had good results with tightening by feel (snug but not OMG tight). But one time I decided to be precise and use a torque wrench and stripped on of mine.

With just tightening by feel I haven't had any leaking and wonder if something else is going on with yours, there's really not much pressure for the head cover to worry about.

As for gaskets I have used 2: Elring (I think that's what you have), and a Fel-pro (thicker and cork-y). I got my last one from Blunt and has worked great.

[layers]

Hi--

I often use a Pittsburgh click-type 1/4" drivewrench (cheap @ $25, cheaper now, but do you trust it?). With the low In-Lb range I could not check it at a torque wrench party a few years back, where a Snap-On rep appeared with a digital torque transducer. We mounted that in a vice and out of perhaps 25 wrenches my Craftsman from about 1979 (I bought it to properly install aluminum wheels, but it has been handy since) was most accurate. The least accurate was a 1/2" drive Pittsburgh wrench; the owner complained of snapped studs when working on his head and then found it was 100 % off! Airplane mechanics must keep a wrench calibrated, and mine visited Hughes Airwest when fairly new.

I also have a hand t-type wrench fixed at 15 In-Lbs for military coolant hoses. As new military surplus it was cheap, and it says it came from Richmont Inc. in Monrovia Calif. Unfortunately I did not get it's lower torque brother.

Oh, I like Stan Simm's Shade Tree Mechanic comment about using disk brake wheel bearing grease on the engine drain plug and I also put a tiny layer on a valve cover gasket. Most of the time it works pretty well.

Larry

[ray_]

I've read that some gaskets are thinner than the original spec'd one. You may encounter a situation wherein the acorn nut bottoms on the stud before achieving a proper seal.

HTH,

Ray

[O2guy]

I've read that some gaskets are thinner than the original spec'd one. You may encounter a situation wherein the acorn nut bottoms on the stud before achieving a proper seal.

HTH,

Ray

This may sound dumb...but like the old days of doubling head gaskets...would doubling VC gaskets be an issue or create more problems than it's worth?

[layers]

I've read that some gaskets are thinner than the original spec'd one. You may encounter a situation wherein the acorn nut bottoms on the stud before achieving a proper seal.

HTH,

Ray

A nice stainless steel washer under the acorn nut helps the nut snug smoothly. I just now remembered that Lowery (the airplane electrician) made sure I had these washers when he finished rebuilding/installing my first rebuilt engine.

Larry

[shelby4130]

Well, I put in the new valve cover gasket that I picked up from BMW and I still have burning oil. I did realize that some of the acorn nuts were bottoming out before they were snug so I added an extra washer under each, now they all have two. I kinda wonder how I had just a trickle with the old gasket/cover. It seems like the studs on the bottom side are sunk in just a tad more so the top may have been a little more loose all along.

I also picked up a $20 Pittsburgh torque wrench with inches from Harbor Freight. According to it, 8lbs is considerably more than I was originally applying. BUT, still leaking. I'm thinking the cover itself is warped and will soon swap out with another and report back...

ALSO, I read a lot about tightening them in a particular order. I can't find anything about this in the Haynes manual. What is the correct order? I have been tightening the middle two first, and then the outer four in sort of an X pattern similar to wheel lug nuts. The forward most bolt last. Should I do this differently?

Thanks all for the input.

[BillWilliams]

If you have a flat head and valve cover, a dab of goo at the timing cover joints, and a reasonably good gasket, torque is really not that important to keep a leak from happening. I just tighten with a 1/4 socket and jump down on them until they are just snug. Never paid attention to torque or a tightening sequence.

So I think your suspicion of a warped valve cover is reasonable.

[Napes]

Your acorn nut tightening-sequence sounds fine. I use the same sequence - snug first, then tighten down to what I feel is about the proper torque.

If you need two washers under a nut to keep the stud from topping-out (Bottoming-out?) inside the acorn nut, then a couple of things are probable. 1) Incorrect studs were installed in the head; or, 2) The studs were installed upside-down, i.e., one leg is longer than the other, and the long leg goes in the head.

The correct stud (I believe) is M6 x 50, P/N 07 12 9 908 106. The MSRP at the dealership is only 71¢ each, so replacing all six will not break the bank.

Bob Napier

[RoulerCo]

For what it’s worth there are some torque specs on this pelican parts post in the very last step

 

BMW 2002 Valve Cover Gasket Removal (1966-1976) | Pelican Parts DIY Maintenance Article

WWW.PELICANPARTS.COM

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Replace your valve cover gasket at the first signs of leaking

 

[zambo]

May I make a suggestion as a check - just remove all the acorn nuts and replace with simple hex nuts with a washer under it. 
 

If it still leaks, it’s the mating surfaces that are probably out. If it stops, more investigation on the acorns - are these the taller ones designed for the 02 valve gear cover and not similar looking shorter ones sold at most hardware stores. I’ve made that mistake once 😁. 

[SydneyTii]

Yep spot on same thing happened to me , I added washers to a set of acorn nuts I had of unknown origin a while back, fixed the leak I had from when I changed the gasket and acorns.

Edited Thursday at 11:18 AM by SydneyTii