Valve cover grommets Q

[icey756]

I need new grommets for my valve covers. I have been looking around and i was wondering if anyone knows if the felpro grommets come with that metal ring around the top. I was also wondering where i can get them cheap. It doesnt seem like you're getting much for almost 30 bucks.

[a400tool]

Originally Posted by icey756

I need new grommets for my valve covers. I have been looking around and i was wondering if anyone knows if the felpro grommets come with that metal ring around the top. I was also wondering where i can get them cheap. It doesnt seem like you're getting much for almost 30 bucks.

http://www.suprasport.com/Valve-Cove...Kit_p_295.html


Try these. Works well for me. Comes with bolts, washers and allen wrench.

[icey756]

did the washers have rubber on the bottom of them like the stock ones?

[a400tool]

Yes they do. http://yfrog.com/nw37kynj

[cre]

That link won't open for me. Whatever washers you use make sure the rubber is either a butyl or silicone with a HIGH shore rating and absolutely NOT Neoprene; The material used for Neoprene backed washers generally has a low shore strength and is not very tolerant of engine heat resulting in quick breakdown and compression and thus loose bolts... you're better off with just copper washers over these.

[icey756]

alright. Ill go and get some washers if need be. But i just looked and they have washers on them. Im going to ask them about the material now. thanks again cre

[cre]

Don't over torque the bolts (22INCH lbs, NOT 22ft lbs) and if needed apply a little medium loctite.


EDIT: Additionally, I don't recommend allen screws. Don't use anything for which you'll need a new tool in your in-car toolkit to service. Get some bolts with an 8mm or 10mm hex head... a flange bolt with a fiber washer would be even better.

[icey756]

So you think i would be better off just getting hex bolts, washers, and rubber grommets? I was thinking about doing that if the felpro ones i was looking at was just the rubber piece. I did already buy 6 of the 12 bolts i need from a hardware store locally and i was going to go back and get 6 more when they were in stock. Also I dont have a torque wrench. I plan on getting one next week but the think is the one im looking at is 20-150 foot pounds. So the lowest i could get in inch pounds is 240. I really dont have the money 2 of them and besides that, the lowest one they have only goes down to 20 inch pounds

[cre]

12 in lbs is equal to 1 ft lb (seems obvious but many people miss it). Just a hand tightened screw will meet this level without exceeding it by much; I suspect this is a strong reason for Toyota's decision to employ Philips screws on many of their vehicles for this purpose. If you're set on switching to bolts and don't have a suitable torque wrench for the job then I recommend you tighten them by hand using a long extension as you would a screw driver.

If you can find some resiliant rubber washers then sure, your own combination will work fine. If you're using something other than rubber such as fiberglass washers you don't need to use metal washers if the bolt has a flanged head (kind of like a washer cast into it for greater contact area). Don't use a flanged head bolt with a rubber washer without something in between to prevent the washer from "winding up".

The best (albeit overkill) setup would be a constant tension setup. Like the OEM hose clamps it's a setup that allows for the expansion, contraction and movement of the materials it binds. This would use a longer bolt and two washers sandwiching a spring. You'd want a spring which is compressed around 50% to 75% when the fastener is torqued to the desired level.

In all cases lubricating the parts prior to torquing for accuracy isn't a bad idea. I'd just use graphite... maybe moly on a constant tension setup.



EDIT: I'm not sure if there are any economic low range torque wrenches on the market. Mine is Snap-On and cost a crap load more than would be worth it to most people. As the wrench's length is a function of the torque it wouldn't be difficult to make an attachment to function as a divider..... then again, maybe you should just see if someone will rent you one.

I see in your sig that you say you have ARP headbolts at 90ft lbs.... I hope that's a typo and you mean headSTUDS.... you don't want to exceed 75ft lbs on ARP or OEM headBOLTS (unless you lubed them with something less lubricating than the molybdenum grease they originally ship with).

[cre]

Originally Posted by icey756

Also I dont have a torque wrench. I plan on getting one next week but the think is the one im looking at is 20-150 foot pounds. So the lowest i could get in inch pounds is 240. I really dont have the money 2 of them and besides that, the lowest one they have only goes down to 20 inch pounds

When selecting a torque wrench for a given job you are best choosing one where the desired torque falls within the middle 50-60% of the wrench's scale for the best accuracy. Leave a 20 to 25% margin on the top and bottom as most types of wrenches are not terribly accurate at the end of their scope. A beam type is easily one of the most consistent and accurate and calibration is a one second affair. Whatever type you get make sure to always zero it out (or set to whatever the lowest setting is) before storing. Periodic testing and calibration is recommended for anything other than a beam type wrench (You can use a beam type to test the others yourself. ).

You can extend the range of a torque wrench with a multiplier. This is an extension of sorts for the torque wrench. The basics of it are if you add an extension which doubles the length of the wrench it doubles the wrench's capacity (so you then double the reading on the scale.... for 20ft lbs you'd only aim for 10ft lbs).