2.4 case bolt question

[tigerbillsbikes]

I just finished putting my case halves together yesterday. All fasteners torqued to correct specs and crank is turning free. My question is regarding the long case through bolts. They are torqued and the nuts are tight. The bolt however seems to be a bit "springy" that is, not tight like the nuts. Is this a due to the o-rings and is it any concern? Thanks, Bill

[crummasel]

To My opinion one of the strange things in the design of the engine: The rings sit quite straight on the shaft side as in this area you have an even, unthreaded shaft circumference. If you did not chamfer the engine half bore where the O-ring comes to sit, you will quite likely have destroed and squeezed it out below the washer.
OK.
(or not OK)
Different picture on the nut side: here the bolt is still threaded in the area where the O-ring sits and thus the ring finds some uneven space where it can slip in when tightening. Does this design alow an O-ring to seal properly?
Question: Do by design seal the rings at all on both sides?
Thinking about that i made 2 engines for myself without these O-rings at all but well maintained contact surfaces and some Loctite 274 instead with no leakage on high mileage at all.
A huge amount of engines i made for friends i shurely made with the std. O-rings also with no fail.
What does this tell?

[tigerbillsbikes]

Perhaps I am over thinking things. I was curious why the bolt side has some movement after torqued as opposed to the solid feel of the nut side of the case. I do not think this condition will pose any problems considering the expansion of the case due to normal heat build up. I was looking for opinions from anyone that have seen this before. There is a bunch of talent on this forum and I certainly welcome any suggestions.
Once again, Thanks for your response.
Bill

[crummasel]

Originally Posted by tigerbillsbikes

.... I was curious why the bolt side has some movement after torqued as opposed to the solid feel of the nut side of the case.
...

That is because there are squeezed rubber particles from the damaged o-ring sitting between the washer and the flat surface. That creates the strange feel. Much less likely to have this effect on the nut side as the o-ring can escape into the threads and the bore. Still questionable gasket design, this o-ring portion i guess...

[tigerbillsbikes]

Thanks for the reply. I have spoken with another P-car engine builder and he experienced the same thing on engines he has assembled. I think it is something of no concern that is attributed to the o-rings on the bolt side of the block maybe due the bolt length? Anyway, I am going to proceed with the rebuild and see how things work out.
Thanks again,
Bill