I replaced the rubber gasket coz it was leaking. I set my torque wrench to 36 ft/lb and so I tightened the bolt and the toque wrench clicked, but I went half a turn more. It's just a stupid habit of mine and I heard that bolt coming loose and starving the head out of oil. But now I'm kinda paranoid as may I have made it too tight? should I retorque again?

 

man, half-a-turn sounds like a lot more torque being applied than specified, I wouldn't be surprised if you are double the spec. amount. I'm not sure what the right answer is, but if it was my car I'd want to know if the bolt is stripped so I would loosen it and re-torque to spec. If it strips at that point then at least you know that you are in for some repairs, better to know now than later.

 

when the torque wrench clicks, you're done. That's kinda the whole point to the torque wrench.

darcy

 

 

Hmm well I retorqued it and doesn't seem stripped. I'll check it every once in a while. Thanks guys

 

i like to apply 10% more torque than required, for safety on crucial stuff. so far this philosophy hasn't hurt me yet. so for this bolt I would have done 40lbs.

 

Hmmm...I'll keep checking the torque at every oil change from now on. Is there a way to see if the bolt is stripped with valve cover removed and the bolt loosened? What exactly does the bolt screw into?

 

Applying 10% more torque with a torque wrench can be fine, but turning a bolt an extra 180 degrees can apply several times more torque than specified.

That bolt screws into a threaded hole on the cylinder head, so aluminum threads, you don't want to strip that one. If it is torqued to the right spec now then leave it. To do a full inspection you need to remove the bolt completely, but you risk dropping the rear washer into the timning cover if it isn't done correctly, not worth it at this point. Don't pull out the bolt unless you know how it works.

You probably won't need to touch that bolt again for a few years.

 

Okay thanks I'll report back in 20,000 miles or so.