Re-torque head gasket from 56 ft./lb. to 75 ft./lb. (Good idea or bad idea)

cre · 04-23-2011, 07:23 PM

It's roulette.... the upside is that it's roulette with an 18 shot revolver. There always exists the possibility that a jacket's hardened, got brittle and may be crushed or cracked when you increase the pressure.

The head bolts should have been retorqued at about 1-2K mi... There's some argument about this not being needed when reusing fasteners, but it's cheap insurance (especially with composite type HG's which squish more than MHG). As you're only sitting at 10K I'd be pretty confident about it, but ONLY if I knew everything in the initial job was done dead right (including chasing the threads in the block; VERY important). The critical factors are getting an even torque--> MUCH harder than most people think; Especially on an engine which has been heat cycled a number of times.

Do keep in mind, the average factory HG lasted over 100K miles and 10+ years.... if done right and the engine's stock the replacement should last as long.

I've detailed my usual routine for retorquing here before; A search should turn it up... try searching "striction" and "retorque".

(I'm not doing very good taking time out from here.... My wife may be right about the addiction thing and counseling MAY indeed be in order.)

04-23-2011, 07:23 PM	#3
cre Toyota Racing Development Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 5,038	It's roulette.... the upside is that it's roulette with an 18 shot revolver. There always exists the possibility that a jacket's hardened, got brittle and may be crushed or cracked when you increase the pressure. The head bolts should have been retorqued at about 1-2K mi... There's some argument about this not being needed when reusing fasteners, but it's cheap insurance (especially with composite type HG's which squish more than MHG). As you're only sitting at 10K I'd be pretty confident about it, but ONLY if I knew everything in the initial job was done dead right (including chasing the threads in the block; VERY important). The critical factors are getting an even torque--> MUCH harder than most people think; Especially on an engine which has been heat cycled a number of times. Do keep in mind, the average factory HG lasted over 100K miles and 10+ years.... if done right and the engine's stock the replacement should last as long. I've detailed my usual routine for retorquing here before; A search should turn it up... try searching "striction" and "retorque". (I'm not doing very good taking time out from here.... My wife may be right about the addiction thing and counseling MAY indeed be in order.) __________________ If something breaks or you need to contact a member of the administration please post HERE. Unless it's a private or administration matter please post it on the forum. It benefits no one else if car related questions aren't posted for future users and takes away from the time I'm able to spend helping on the rest of the forum. If you're so inclined I'm always more than happy to accept tips via PayPal. Tip Jar --->