When rebuilding the 430 for once I went by the book on all the Tq specs. In the past it was only for the big stuff that "really mattered" Bought a 1/4" digital tq wrench to do the little bolts as the other 3 I had just would not work. Have a 3/8 beam style that was the closest thing but no where near accurate. What surprised me most was how tight 4 Lb really felt while doing the oil pan and valve covers. I had been probably under tightening them for years going by feel. Only time will tell if it leaks but so far so good.
I really have to lean into my valve cover gaskets to get them tight. And if I don’t, I smoke out the cars behind me on hard acceleration
I agree completely with you, Steve. I build business jets (well, I DID, and may yet again), where virtually every nut, bolt and screw have torque specs. We get recertification annually, and it struck me as odd in class when we were told to tighten something by hand and check it with a torque wrench. My human torque meter is WAY lower than a mechanical one.
Hate to hi jack but I learned that tin valve covers need cork gaskets to seal. I had a vendetta against cork gaskets as I thought they were outdated garbage so i ran rubber gaskets all the time. The rubber gaskets need to be much tighter than the corks to seal, so much so the tin distorts before that happens. Alluminum covers dont have this issue. So maybe that will help or maybe you already knew that!
You can use a inch-lb torque wrench 48 in-lb = 4 ft-lb. Also, beam type torque wrenches can be very accurate.
Anyone want this? THREE THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED INCH POUNDS and 3/4" drive...on a beam! A little more manageable unit in 1/4" drive 600 inch pounds... ws
I had a heck of a time with rubber gaskets on aluminum heads. The aluminum was so smooth the gaskets would squish out before I could get them tight. (TA valve covers) a little Gaska cinch worked but I didn’t feel I shouldn’t have had to use it there. Anyone else have this issue? Cliff
I use spacer plates so I can run roller rockers under my stock valve covers. In the past, everything was glued together to seal it up. That makes it very difficult to remove the covers for inspection or adjustment. When my engine was built at Tri Shield, JW donated a pair of iron spacer plates. Like I said, everything was RTV'd together, and it sealed. Over the winter, I removed both covers. (Had to beat them off with a rubber mallet) I went to a different set of spacers, these billet aluminum ones. https://medicemfg.com/product_view.php?pid=14 They have a relief cut in the surface of the spacer to better seal the gasket. What I did was glue the spacers to the heads with RTV. The spacers have a much wider surface that contacts the gasket than the head has. I glued rubber gaskets to the valve covers, and used Gasgacinch between the gasket and spacer. In addition, I used these Almack valve cover brackets to more evenly compress the gasket, http://www.almackclamps.com/34801.html I have high hopes that this will provide a superior seal while still allowing me to remove the covers. The Almack site recommends rubber gaskets with the clamps. We will see how well they seal.
Cliff, With TA heads and TA valve covers, Use the Rubber valve cover gaskets and then use black weatherstrip adhesive to glue the gaskets to the covers.. works great, will give many years of service including on an off cycles.. it's what we do with the race car motors, and valve cover leaks are unheard of. Factory/oem/repro stamped steel valve covers don't fit TA alum heads properly.. the heads are missing an undercut at the intake flange, which allows the lip of the cover to go over the valve cover rail. Using standard 1/8 thick gaskets, the lip of the cover will bottom out on the upper rail long before the gasket seats. You will never tighten it, and will destroy the covers. You have to use their thicker gaskets to accommodate this.. but then the bolts are not long enough... I find it a real PITA... so on my builds, when TA heads and steel valve covers are specified, we recently went to machining the intake flange at the valve cover rail, so the covers fit properly. It's an added expense, but also eliminates the need to buy expensive valve cover gaskets, possibly multiple times.. good investment in doing it right, and very possibly a money saver in the long term. Look at an iron head if your curious about this.. JW
Several years ago I bought a set of the Almack clamps and the stamped steel chrome valve covers I had at the time still would not seal around the back lower edge. Finally gave up on that and hadt e factory 430 covers chromed. Use the thick cork gaskets from TA and dont have a problem any more. Still have those clamps hanging on the peg board over my work bench.
Tom, Look just below the valve cover rail, and you will see the undercut that narrows the valve cover rail, on the intake flange.. easy to see on the RH head here. ON the pic below, with TA STG 1 SE heads, you see the undercut is missing. Also, compare the width of the valve cover rail, above that front valve cover bolt hole, that shows up in each picture on the Passenger side head. JW
Jim, I see what you are pointing out about the under cut on the stock heads. Every valve cover leak I have ever had occurs at the back of the head on the outside (exhaust side). You smell it immediately as it smokes off the exhaust. I would expect the intake side to be less of a problem, but I guess it could leak there as well.