Quote:
Originally Posted by mrcaptainbob
Since this positive happening for you, maybe the it signals the bad run of luck and you'll be off the hook for a while.
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Oh I hope so. My oldest son just started kindergarten and we've got enough on our plate as it is without having to fix things left and right.
One thing with head bolts.. When I was a young'n (still am I suppose), my dad had me help him build his muscle car. It was a light-weight Duster with a giant 440cu/in V8 with 3 2-barrel carbs on top. I remember I could nearly fit my head into the cylinders
. When we finally dropped the motor in, he tipped me off about a little secret. Start the motor but DO NOT REV IT! If you do, the gasket will blow and you've gotta tear it all down again. Let it run for a minute or two then kill it and put a wrench on the head bolts. The torque may lessen by as much as 30% that first startup! Retighten to spec and drive it gently for a few days. Give it one final tightening (usually about 10%) and it will be good for years (I guess about 22 years from my experiance
). I guess the new gasket mashes down a little more as the motor warms up and compresses it. Also those bolts will stretch from the tension and heat.
It's a picky little procedure he taught me but it's never failed us! When you think about it, the whole operation of the motor relies on what goes on around that gasket. An extra hour of work over the period of a week may save a whole lot more time and money in the long run!