As title says....

Just need to know so I get the right size tourque wrench to suit my socket set....im assuming 10mm....but as they say, assumption is the mother of all you know whats!

Yep 10mm head

I doubt you will be able to get any torque wrench besides 1/4" that goes down to 3.5nm

Either way, if you can, you would ideally get the torque wrench that suits you most and then if need be get a single socket for your need

Some 1/4" torque wrenches go down to about 2 Nm, IIRC. Some start at 5 Nm so check before you buy.
I bought a cheap one off eBay, had a quick look but they don't seem available at the moment.

Needs a 10 mm socket, any cheap 1/4" socket set will do, try to get one with an extension because you will need it.

You need to do a few laps of the 6 bolts as you tighten one the others slacken off a bit. Go around until they don't move at all at 3.5 Nm.

Hmm, really not convinced the torque wrench is necessary, despite the many posts to the contrary. If you spend the time to reshape the covers, including flattening the holes where they've cupped in, you can use common sense tightening them. I recently replaced cover and plug cap seals, spent the time to carefully reshape the gasket slot, flattened the holes, tightened with 'sensible' torque by hand: no leaks. You should be able to feel when they are tight enough, just take it easy and don't crunch them down hard or you'll just distort the covers. A bit loose is better than too tight, the plenum comes off easily enough so you can always tighten them up a bit if necessary.

Sensible tourque is subjective, it is well known the issues caused from overtightening rocker cover bolts, and I have dont even have the slightest clue what 3.5mn of tourque feels like, so I am going to go on the safe side and invest on another tourque wrench, my 10mm socket is 1/4in, so thats what I need, just need to find the right one...

I've experimented with the "you can feel the right torque easily" concept, on sump plugs, wheel nuts, spark plugs and axle shaft nuts. In all cases, I was way off. Way over, too.

Torque wrench, buy it, use it, sleep well at night. Anything else won't do.


But you lot never listen to me, so carry on as you are. lol

I used a torque wrench when I did my rocker cover gaskets and to be fair 3.5nm was tighter than I expected it to be considering what I've read on the forums

:yeahthat:

I undertightened mine because of the multitude of stories on AMC about people warping the covers.

I thought mine were done very consistently - exactly the same. Then I put the torque wrench on... Some did another turn, some did another 3-4 complete turns.

Just buy the wrench.

I managed to access all 12 bolts with a 1/4" torque wrench without taking the plenum off again.

I'm a big advocate for the use of torque wrenches in most places, particularly when alloy components are concerned or there's a chance of warping (front wheel nuts for example). However, 3.5Nm is lower than either of my wrenches go (min. 5Nm) and I don't see the benefit in getting another one for 12 bolts. I'm also not at all sure I'd trust a cheap wrench to be properly calibrated. The oil in question is under no pressure, so long as the gasket is in even contact with the head all round there will be no leaks. Even contact can be pretty much assured so long as the head surface is clean, the cover gap is consistent, and the valve cover is undistorted through over-tightening. I generally under-tighten rather than over-tighten if left to my own devices, maybe that's why mine has remained leak free.

The debate rages on . . .

All I know is they are done up at 3.5 Nm at the factory, and last for 100,000 km before the gaskets go brittle and start to leak. If I do it the way they do it at the factory, then I'm likely to be leak free for another 100,000 km. Good enough for me. Anything else will just keep me awake at night. lol

Fair enough, no wish to feed the debate. To each their own, whatever works and lets you get a sound night's sleep. Interestingly, it doesn't look like mine had ever been changed at almost 300,000. They weren't leaking but there was oil in the plug tubes so did them with the cap seals. The old gaskets were hard like bakelite and were buggers to get out (in many, many pieces). Lesson learned: some things that ain't broke may still need fixing!