Chilton and Mitchell1 are both not giving me anything for exhaust manifold to head nut torque specs. I'd imagine the order to torque em is from inside to out, as with most gasket'd pieces, I just don't want to over torque, knowing how much a pain in the *** these studs can be, and how brittle they can become. If anyone knows of a good place to look, or the actual specs, I would greatly appreciate it! thank you! google search just brought me to this forum where I have found no luck so far

 

Look in FSM, but it should be about 23ftlbs.

 

that equates to "good hand tight" I've never seen anyone use a tq wrench mainly cause it's hard to even get a little 3/8th ratchet let alone a big tq wrench.

 

Guess you've never heard of using an extension...

 

Bit hard with an aftermarket full rad, and straight up not possible with a topmount/ramhorn manifold I should know I could barley get a box wrench on the top/bottom middle/ nuts of my ram. Sure this topic is N/A but extension have set sizes 3/6/12'' that I know of, yes I checked snap on.

 

All that might be relevant if the OP was in a similar situation as you. At this point, I doubt a ramhorn manifold or oversized radiator is involved. I'll agree, I dont typically see people use torque wrenches when tightening exhaust manifold bolts. It has nothing to do with the inability to use one in the given amount of space.

There's enough room to access the bolts with a 6 inch extension, socket, and ratchet/torque wrench. An aftermarket dual row radiator with fans wont cause any issues. Its not like the header is pressed up against the radiator core

Snap-on offers extensions in various lengths : 1.5", 2", 3", 4", 6", 8", 11", 18", 24", 36". I dont even recall them offering a 12" extension. There's no small/medium/large set standard for extensions. Maybe your tools designate extension lengths using general size terms, but there is no industry standard in regards to the set length of a ratchet extension.

 

There's enough room for a box end wrench to be used in this situation. Not for a ratchet and socket, but it's an exaggeration to say those bolts are hardly accessible with a box end wrench. What else is limiting you from getting a wrench in there?