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Ask Cars: Valve cover gasket replacement
(lemmy.world)
c/Cars is the largest automotive enthusiast community on Lemmy and the fediverse. We're your central hub for vehicle-related discussion, industry news, reviews, projects, DIY guides, advice, stories, and more.
There's a few things I would recommend to someone wrenching for the first time to save many headaches, all having to do with reassembly:
First, when reinstalling screws, turn them counter-clockwise until they "click" and fall down a little before turning clockwise to tighten. This ensures that the screw is lined up in the proper thread and won't cross-thread.
Second, buy a cheap Harbor Freight torque wrench, for a valve cover you'll probably just need a 1/4" flavor. Screws with a 8mm or 10mm head (M6 thread) often get torqued down to 80in/lbs and no more. This'll avoid stripping the threads in the soft aluminum head, which will be a super expensive fix if you can't do that yourself. In general I look up torque specs as much as I can to get a feel for how much I need to tighten a fastener.
Finally, finger tight all bolts first, and then go around again and tighten all bolts in a criss-cross pattern. Once you tighten one bolt, tighten the bolt farthest away, and repeat until all are tightened. This will prevent parts from warping and gaskets from deforming.
Good luck fam, wrenching is a fun and valuable skill. Be proud that you can do it!