Headstud nuts backed off!

I did a valve adjust today and found that all of the head stud nuts on the left side took torque. They took a half turn of the torque wrench before clicking at the designated 24 ft. lbs. I retightened them in the propper order. I'm hoping this was the oil leak problem I was experiencing around the heads. The rockers looked fine with no evidence of leaking. I cleaned the bottom of the motor with break kleen. I'll check it a week or so to see if it's still leaking. Has anybody else experienced head stud nuts backing off. I've heard of the studs backing out, but not on a 3.2, only on a 2.7. They are Raceware headstuds, nuts, and washers. The other side was fine.

[DonE]

Did you use the lube that Raceware supplied? Did you do the prescribed "break-in" for the nuts?

Are your heads leaking where the cylinder mates to the head, or where the head mates to the cam assembly?

Did you use the lube that Raceware supplied? Did you do the prescribed "break-in" for the nuts?

Don,
The directions that came with the stud nuts recommended the following: "a small amount of engine oil or Optimoly paste". I used engine oil. I also torqued the nuts in the three steps they recommended: 15 ft/lbs, 20 ft/lbs, then 24 ft/lbs. All done in a cris-cross pattern. What strikes me as odd is that the other side was at the right torque.

Are your heads leaking where the cylinder mates to the head, or where the head mates to the cam assembly?

It was kind of hard to tell, but I think they were leaking from the head/cylinder mating area. The view was obscured by the heat exchanger. I did check all the rocker shafts on the affected side and they looked fine with no sign of leaking. I wasn't experiencing any lose of power. As a matter of fact, I had it dynoed two weeks ago and I pulled 203 RWHP. The oil leak (dampness) was mainly around the #3 cylinder.
I guess I'll have to drive it and see if the tightening stopped the leaking problem.

[JBO]

My guess is you were distracted and never did the one side at the 24 lbs. I know, you would swear you did, but if you had it is HIGHLY unlikely that they would all be loose on that side. No harm, you should be in good shape now, and I'm sure that next time you are in there they will be fine.

JBO, I hate to admit it but I think you're right. The fact that they ALL took the same rotation to get to the proper torque makes me think I DID skip the last step. Serves me right for thinking I could do the rebuild at night and with a one year old running around.

[vichang4]

Originally posted by DonE
Did you do the prescribed "break-in" for the nuts?

I think what DonE is getting at is the break-in for the nuts and studs. The nuts should be torqued, un-torqued, and re-torqued 3 to 5 times to break the threads in on the nuts and studs. This gives you the best chance at the proper stud stretch on the final torque.