Smash03

Long story short, I was tightening the very first bolt for the exhaust cam cap and it snapped like a twig. I musta done something wrong or the torque wrench is outta whack. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong, you're supposed to tighten the 1-10 bolts at 20 ft lbs (240 in lbs) and the 11-14 bolts at 7.2 ft lbs (86.4 in lbs) right? And the order is inside towards outside right?

Now that I already snapped the bolt, a piece of the bolt is still inside the head. Is there a way to get it out or am I assed out and gotta buy a new head?

Smash03

Ok so I looked around and I know how to get the bolt out now.

But can someone point me to the right direction as to how I should properly tighten the cam bolts?

cibao2ner

9 5 1 3 7 11
10 6 2 4 8 12 you have the specs right..but hand tighten them in any order 1st then you torque them....if u try to torque them and the cams are not seated right then u **** things up..btw i would take head to machine shop have them do it...also take a bolt of the same thread and cut a line with a dremel and clean ur threads...this is assuming you are using oil to lubricate your bolts 1st..

Smash03

I followed that pattern and I also hand tightened the bolts before I started torquing them. Any idea what could have caused the bolt to break?

PyroProblem

Old bolts that are torqued to many times get stretched out. Then when you try and torque them, they snap. Go slowly and really try and "feel" the bolt as you're tightening it down.
Sometimes you can feel if a bolt is stretched or not...

GagnarTheUnruly

iTrader: (3)

But at 20 ft-lbs? How hard were you torquing? 20 ft-lbs is barely anything... If you feel like you were cranking on the bolt, something is wrong with your wrench. I use one of those old-style deflecting beam wrenches because it's always accurate and never needs to be calibrated.

PyroProblem

I seem to remember a time when there were some cam cap bolts that werent heat treated right or something that had this same issue. Directly from the dealership.

lostforawhile

if you don't know how to get the broken end out, let a machine shop do it, they deal with that every day and won't **** up the head, they also will clean up the threads, if it's broken off flush, it needs to be clamped down to a bridgeport, then drilled until it's thin enough to drive in an extractor, drilling it out relieves most of the pressure on the threads and it will come out easy

cibao2ner

bolt was probably over torqued before..or ur wrench is inacurate...and if u use an old beam type remenber u have to balance the handle thats why it swivels...u have to keep it in the middle while ur torquing...i have 3 wrenches one for lower torque bolts a bigger one for anything over 80ftlbs and a beam type for wheels and harsh use....also remenber that the clicker wrenches u need to lower all the way down when not in use so they dont loose calibration...

mouab18c1

iTrader: (5)

I usually just hand tighten them. Never had a problem.

lostforawhile

they still need to be torqued properly, something drastic was wrong in this case, even if a bolt wasn't heat treated right, thats not enough torque to snap most bolts.

mouab18c1

iTrader: (5)

The bolt was probably worn already. I always check them whenever I take them out. Buying new ones would also avoid this situation.

Smash03

Yea, I shoulda just bought new bolts. Now I got more work ahead of me. Thanks for all the input. Ima just take the head off and take it to a machine shop.

rich7777

Drill a hole in it and use the correct size "easy out" to remove the bolt. Its a pain i know... The exact same thing happend to me the other week. Just make sure you drill slowly and use a magnet to collect metal shavings. You don't want any of that stuff getting around the engine.

Smash03

Ok so one more time just to be sure, the 1-10 bolts torqued at 240 in/lbs and the 11-14 bolts torqued at 86 in/lbs correct? This is for a 95 ls motor. I don't have a torque wrench that reads ft/lbs.

Ci-v-iC

Just out of curiosity, have you lube the bolts before torquing? ;-)

92EGLSVTECEATER

I have had this happen to me before using my fancy snapon digital torque wrench.I determined it was because of the bolts stretching almost like torque to yield boltages.Like others have said may the lube be with u danielson.Peace

GagnarTheUnruly

iTrader: (3)

I just wanted to say that I'm a dumb@$$ and I was thinking cam gear bolt this whole time and I was like: WTF how did you break that?

Now I get it -- those bolts you're talking about are super fragile.

Smash03

Yep I lubed them up right before torquing them down.

Builda'Teg_92

wait im confused? the skinny cam caps right?
im almost positive that on the a1 head its 9ft lbs...i no its a 95 but still.

regardless i got a 93 ls head if ya need it..dirt cheap.

sc34dc4

iTrader: (1)

OP I had one break on me and I purchased them brand new from the dealer. It's happened to many of people honestly. I do the 7.2ft/lbs on the 10mm ones but on the 12mm ones I only use about 16-17 ft/lbs. Never once had a problem using this Tq. I had to use a small drill bit to make a pilot hole and then an ez out to back the broken bolt out.

Smash03

Ok I got everything torqued down but I messed up again. I forgot to check the timing. When I decided to take off the head and have a machine shop take out the bolt, I took out the cams. But when I realized that I didn't wanna go thru all that work and just try to get the broken bolt out, I didn't remember how the cams' position was and realized that after I torqued down the bolts.

Should I removed the bolts and place the cams in the proper position or leave it be and change the timing with the crank? Also, since I removed the cams, do I have to do valve adjustments?

sc34dc4

iTrader: (1)

Take the cam caps off and install the cams with the arrows facing up and the small lines matching horizontal. There's actually a hole in each cam. You can stick a 5mm punch down through each cam rail and hold them in place. You should be able to see what I mean if you look at it all again.

Smash03

so should i put the crank shaft at tdc?

sc34dc4

iTrader: (1)

Yes, If you still have your crank pulley on then you will see 2 sets of marks. There's lll and the l. You use the single one and match it up with your timing cover. If it's all still apart then it's even easier. But yes but #1 pistion at TDC and that will line up your crank. Then install the belt.