Torquing upper head studs
 

I was torquing the lower head studs on my 2.7S motor. They were a bit loose, but took the torque (for now). I thought it would be a good idea to also torque the upper head studs, but I am having difficulty getting my torque wrench in there.

Do I need to drop the engine for this? Anyone who has done a re-torque with engine in the car please let me know the trick!

Thanks!
Kay

Just a matter of the right size extensions and moving a few things to gain access. A little concerned that you torqued the head bolts out of sequence however. Hope it doesn't create issues.

Torquing on a mag case causes issues
Bruce

Advice I got 20 years ago from a shop owner about 2.7 motors and buying one used: torque the head stud nuts. If they torque to spec, all is good. When in there to check valve lash or whatnot, check torque as you drive the car. . Only when one won't torque to spec do you need to pull the motor to do the case insert routine. Of course, that was when these mag cases were all 20 years younger. Made sense, though, on the "if not broken, don't fix" notion. .

I've always torqued them in a kind of pattern, but the pattern in Wayne's book is the first pattern I have seen for the 911. The VW factory workshop manual was careful to give a pattern, so I was surprised when I acquired a set of Porsche 911 factory manuals to find that no pattern was shown.

The lower studs all took about a 3/8 turn to be torqued to 21 ft/lb. So they were definitely a bit loose, but all took and are holding the torque. I will also do the upper ones and will do them in a star pattern while re-torquing the lower ones.

This means that I will have to slightly loosen the lower ones again before torquing with the pattern.

Reason I torqued them was that I had a bit of a phat/phat/phat sound similar to an exhaust leak, mostly on the left bank of cylinders. Also, there was quite a bit of oil coming from the cylinder head and cylinder mating area.

We'll see how it turns out...

Is this a 73? Or a later mag case? If its a 73 I'd drop the motor and retorque them in sequence and forget about it. If its a 74-77 2.7 and hasnt been time-certed I'm afraid you're done, I would park it. You can burn the cyl, notch a head or burn a piston. It's the classic 2.7 pulled head stud. As you torque them you're actually just pulling the treads out of the case. If its already sounding like a Harley not too much to be done.