i put in my new headgasket on my d16y7 and it is now leaking a little. tested my old harbor frieght torque wrench against my neighbors craftsman torque wrench and the difference between the two is by 16 ft lbs thats what i get for trusting in HF. question here is..................can i just retorque with the craftsman? the only thing the new headgasket has experienced is about 30 mins of idling.

also, if i retorque, do i still need cylinder one at TDC? and can i retorque 10 ft lbs past oem specs since it has already experienced a leak? still on used oem head bolts.

TIA HT.

 

You'll want to stay at OEM torque specs.

Take the head-gasket off and put some gasket sealer on there.. You'll also want to make sure the gasket is perfectly flush and that it mates up 100%.

 

you can take the gasket off and spray it with copper gasket spray

 

I would just retroque it down first and see what happen before taking the head off again. And it doesn't need to be TDC for you to retroque the head.

 

That scares me now, I used a Harbor Freight clicker on my last motor build...No leaking and I sold the truck as it was lol

 

Was your head warped? Did you check it? Something else to look at.

 

yup i bought a torque wrench for HF too and that thing is not really that accurate..

 

Does that copper spray work??... or is it a cheat?..

 

Agree wouldn't go through all the trouble to find out just re torquing them and then you could be good! Cause then after that if it still leaks, then new head bolts yes because they have already been stretched! Head gasket can depend on how many miles were on it

 

warped thread.lol

 

I would try re-torquing them first but I would go like 3 ft/lbs past OEM specs. If it still leaks, I would pull the head off and have the head checked and replace the head gasket. I would never re-use a head gasket that has been torqued already.

 

This is why I spend a little extra on good tools, especially when you're working on cars or other high dollar items. I'd re-torque then run it for 20-30min. Then keep a good eye on it over the next few weeks if it's good. If not pull the head check to make sure it's level and the block is as well. Did you make sure to get all the old gasket off?

 

did you ahve the head milled and prep your surface. if not take it part and do so no question . if you dotn mill the head then you will have a problem. but that being said if you DID do those things then go ahead and re tourque. in the correct pattern as well. and try it. if it dosnt work tear it down get a enw head gasket and start over the RIGHT way. i woudl tear it town unless the retorque dosnt work. and use stock tq specs when using stock stuff.

 

get a new head bolt set, replacing one at a time and snugging it down, then once you get all new ones in, retorque in proper sequence(idk if you have the sequence but its basically starting in the center and working your way out) if this works then great. if not, get a new gasket and bolt set, have your head checked out and fixed if needed, then try it again.

 

NEVER use HF for anything that needs to be accurate.
hammers, screwdrivers, socket wrenches are ok. No micrometers, scales, or torque wrenches