Could re torquing the head bolts fix my car''If'' my car has a slow head gasket leak ?

[FastLife91]

''If'' my car had a slow head gasket leak with no other symptoms whatsoever, no oil /water mixing, no power loss, no smoke e.t.c. could a set of new head bolts torqued to the specified limit cure the problem ?

thanks

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Worth a shot

 

[FastLife91]

Worth a shot

Great !

I found a cheap set on Ebay at £20.00. are they okay to use ?


oh, and has re torqueing head bolts to cure a possible HG malfunction ever worked to your knowledge ?

thanks my brother

 

[T9 man]

This purely depends on how far the damage has gone. Weigh up £20 of bolts and a torque wrench compared to the cost of adding a new gasket after stripping off the head and ancillary equipment and it is a no brainer. I wish you the best of luck buddy

 

[obi_waynne]

If you undo the bolts and replace them you will usually need to get the head skimmed, if you are just tightening up the bolts that are there then it's worth a try and a skim is not required.

Also observe the correct tightening sequence - this has been designed to prevent warping when doing up head bolts.

FYI - There is also a difference between torque on a wet bolt (oiled) or dry one so don't get caught out by this little anomaly.

 

[obi_waynne]

oh, and has re torqueing head bolts to cure a possible HG malfunction ever worked to your knowledge ?

thanks my brother

It works one in 10 times, most head bolts are correctly torqued but sometimes things drift away from that so you might be lucky - it's worth a shot. Don't over tighten it though or you'll cut the gasket off and make it worse.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

If you are to get the correct tightness then the correct lube has to be applied to the threads and underside of the nuts,washers etc.
Nulon has a head gasket repair product that may help.

http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Cooling_Systems/Permanent_Head_Gasket_Repair

 

[FastLife91]

It works one in 10 times, most head bolts are correctly torqued but sometimes things drift away from that so you might be lucky - it's worth a shot. Don't over tighten it though or you'll cut the gasket off and make it worse.

thanks, what does cut the gasket off mean ? how can I be sure that the person who tightens the head bolts will not make a mistake and over tighten the bolts ?

How long should it take to replace and torque the head bolts ?

If you undo the bolts and replace them you will usually need to get the head skimmed, if you are just tightening up the bolts that are there then it's worth a try and a skim is not required.

I don't get it ? why would the head need to be skimmed if the head bolts get replaced ? if this is the case then obviously I will try using the current ones because if the head had to be skimmed if using new HB's then obviously I'd just replace the head gasket.
Also observe the correct tightening sequence - this has been designed to prevent warping when doing up head bolts.

FYI - There is also a difference between torque on a wet bolt (oiled) or dry one so don't get caught out by this little anomaly.

If you undo the bolts and replace them you will usually need to get the head skimmed, if you are just tightening up the bolts that are there then it's worth a try and a skim is not required.

Also observe the correct tightening sequence - this has been designed to prevent warping when doing up head bolts.

FYI - There is also a difference between torque on a wet bolt (oiled) or dry one so don't get caught out by this little anomaly.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Are the head bolts/studs in your motor reusable ?? one can remove them and re torque a new bolt one at a time without removing the head in an attempt to solve the problem.

 

[gladrags]

They're torque-to-yield bolts, I just can't see how replacing them one at a time would work.

 

[rdp50734]

Replacing one at a time means you don't have to tighten in a sequence.

You don't have to tighten in 2 or 3 stages like you would if you had removed the head.

As you don't remove the head there is no chance of it warping when changed one at a time.

FYI if you apply copperslip the general rule as I know it is to reduce the torque by 15% but check in your manual if such a lubricant is required prior to using and adjusting torques.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

That's correct re removing and replacing and retorqueing sequence
Unsure about reducing torque with lube applied as I believe that the specs are with the recommended lube applied.
IF I was replacing the bolts I would replace them with ARP studs.

 

[gladrags]

+1 for the studs, i'd have then over bolts any day.

Don’t think I’d try to fix a weeping MLS gasket by replacing the fasteners anyway, I’d strip and replace. An old engineer told me once There’s never enough time to do it right but there’s always enough time to do it again.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Good quote

 

[SLEEPER]

''If'' my car had a slow head gasket leak with no other symptoms whatsoever, no oil /water mixing, no power loss, no smoke e.t.c. could a set of new head bolts torqued to the specified limit cure the problem ?

thanks

You say no other symptons............. but you have not given one so have not shown you even have a problem

If you dont have those problems please explain why you think you have a slow head gasket leak cos I doubt you have

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Brian I assumed rightly or wrongly that he was experiencing coolant loss.

 

[SLEEPER]

possibly - he does say (anything ?)

if it is coolant loss its far more likely to be coming from a water hose/joint.

Im still not convinced a small water leak is a head gasket problem

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

^^^ That would be the first thing that I/one should check for coolant loss along with a possible faulty radiator cap not holding pressure and overfilling the reservoir and overflowing.