hey
m changing my valve cover, does anyone know the torque? 97 civic
does anyone know what kind of silicone to use, there are many.
does it matter if i buy from honda or auto zone?
thanks

 

Torque the valve cover fasteners to 7 lb-ft. Do not overtighten; they will snap off if you try to crank them down.

For RTV sealant, use Hondabond, Hondabond HT, Honda Ultra Flange Sealant, or Permatex Ultra Grey. I recommend Hondabond HT as it's the easiest to work with, but the others are fine. Just use a small dab on each of the four sharp corners of the valve cover gasket around the camshaft humps.

 

I stopped torquing those. What I like to do is take a socket wrench and hold it at the head when I am tightening to insure snug fitment without overdoing it.

 

Yea, I went to diagnose an oil leak, noticed a vc bolt was lose and turns out it was broken, barely turned another and it snapped as well.

 

Ha! You and I are alike. Thats what I learned and has never broken off a VC bolt since then.

 

I use these to tourqe VC bolts and other fragile bolts.

 

I like holding things by the head..... :salook: :pedo:

 

Lol.

 

You had it easy. I went to diagnose an exhaust leak and discovered a broken exhaust manifold stud. As I was turning the nuts from the other studs to remove the manifold, two MORE broke off. So I spent a tense half hour with the drill and easy-out removing what was left of them in the head. Naturally, one of them (closest to the timing belt side of engine) was difficult to get at with the drill so I had to remove the alternator and other bits to get access to it.

Figuring Bubba had over-torqued all the nuts when he put it back together, I decided to remove ALL the studs and replace them with new, grade 8 studs. Don't want that happening again.

And yes, I used a torque wrench.

 

Funny, I just bought one of these at Sears. A steal at $29.95; very reliable, accurate, and easy to recalibrate. It's good to have an inch-pound torque wrench as well.