Retorque or no?

[Lee]

So I have the engine out while the trans gets its new fourth gear. Exhaust is off so I can get a couple things welded, heat riser pipe fixed, then ceramic coated. I know it's a good idea to re-torque the heads whenever the opportunity presents itself. I also know not to mess with something that's working perfectly, which is the case with the engine. Tempting fate, I removed the rockers and carefully checked the torque on the lower head studs. All of them were fine. The torque wrench clicked right away, and I am sure no additional turning took place on any of the nuts. Do I go to the trouble of removing all the tinware and the intake, or will I only find that all the top nuts are also perfect? The heads were off the engine a year ago because of a nicked pushrod tube and a cross-threaded spark plug (darn CHT sender!). I don't know if that counts as a re-torque, but things look favorable if the lower studs are an indication. Since you all have a lot more experience in this area, I wanted to make this a general post. What are your re-torquing suggestions?

[newmanx59]

Since you have it apart you might as well retorque. It will also give you the chance to see if the fan sucked in any grass, leaves, etc and deposited them on top or between the cylinders. When I pulled my engine down last fall I found an amazing amount of leaves entwined within the fins of the cylinders and my buggy only sees dunes and street.

[myspeedbuggie]

Lee.. Just check em.. and hope you don`t have to tight them... " what " the case saver just striped"

[Lee]

Ok, you guys have me convinced. I hadn't thought about the possibility of debris getting sucked in by the fan, but it makes perfect sense. I got quite a bit of plant material off the skid plate when I dropped it, so the heads and cylinders might have their share. Having the tinware off will also give me a chance to blow out the 5 pounds of dust that accumulates in the fins of the oil cooler.

[allen pierce]

Lee, Do you have a dog house cooler? If you do, and don't yet have a "Hoover Bit" for it, I'd be glad to make you one. The one I make is pretty nice (if I say so myself), not at all like the crude, two piece, bolted together angle iron/aluminium ones you see on the net. Mine is one piece of metal, cut, bent, welded and you grind/adjust to the final fit/clearance for the way your sheet metal is formed/shaped/sized. I developed this design after building my 1915 with The Maniac. Not exactly like stock (I think mine is tighter fitting, with some small amount of work from you). Because you've helped me in the past, special one time deal... free to you.

[jsturtlebuggy]

Usally the top head nuts do not come loose under normal conditions. The lower nuts have more stress on them from the valve train. The only time I have seen the top ones come loose is on an engine that has been extremely overheated.

[Lee]

Allen, I do have a dog house cooler, and the Hoover Bit is in place. My donor car was one of those rare Bugs that actually had every single piece of tin installed (even the thermostat and shutters). Thank you for your kind offer, though. A lot of people don't seem to realize how critical that one little piece of tin is. Your attention to detail will pay off big time! Joseph, Thanks for the info. I was wondering if any of the studs were exposed to greater stress than the others.

[5150bossman]

OK, you got me... What the heck is a Hoover Bit, and do yo have a pic of what it looks like and where it goes?

[MickeyUSA]

This is what I found.

[MickeyUSA]

From the web page http://www.type2.com/rvanness/sealfram.htm. Don't want to show a picture without giving credit.