is there really a torque spec for the valve cover gaskets??? or can i just tighten them tight enough with some locktite??

 

I think it's 15 lbs... but I'd have to look up the specs in the manual @ home...

 

yeah 15 sounds reasonable due to it being aluminum you are bolting to plus really there is barely any thread depth, I already stripped one hole in my head ....

 

ouch, alright, thanks for the...HEADS up....haha...ha...kay..stupid joke

 

now all i have to do is get a torque wrench

 

Its 10 lbs actually, but make sure you tighten them in a cris-cross pattern. Also, if you tighten them too tight the gasket will get squeezed out from in between the head and the valve cover and allow oil to leak. It's really kind of tricky to get it perfect so that oil won't leak a little. If you get it close, then run the engine for awhile and get it hot, then recheck the tightness of the bolts you can probably get it.

 

haha gabrie..nice joke...
dont ever do it again, ive killed a man for less...like one time this guy told me hey is that a 280ZEEx, i said no its a 280ZEDX then roundhouse kicked him into the face...

jk but i guess its 10 then.....oh oh...foot pounds or inch pounds...oooooo!!!

 

You Canadians and your reefer....

 

wow! deja vu! ah... I remember now.... I did the same thing to a guy that called a 280zx "280zedex." What a small world! ok ok.... that's all been covered in a diff thread. Canada rocks!

 

When I replaced my valve cover gasket. I just put all the bolts on snug, and I haven't had any leaks as of yet.

 

Nobody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing my american flag pants!

forget about it

 

Peace out Napolean...

 

Torque specs guys, torque specs!! I dont think there is one thread on here that stays on track. haha

 

nope welcome to 280zx forums...
well hes got hes specs so now we just destroy the threadMUAHA ...which is bad any other admin/moderators woulda gotten rid of 50% of people here...

 

50%? Pro'ly more like 85% if first offenses count. 50% is pro'ly more for the 2nd or 3rd offenders getting kicked off. Hey, kinda like this. If he's got his specs this thread should no longer need the useless jargon I'm typing right now. Man I'm glad this isn't HybridZ. I'd have like 3 posts and a banned IP address

But anyways to contribute something useful, I use my 3/8" rachet (not socket) and grab it at the head and turn it until it's tight that way. No pulling on the shaft of the wrench to tighten it. Once I get good solid pressure on my palm I stop. Also, tighten them down in many steps to ensure no leaks. Metal this old tends to distort rather easily. I've tightened quite a few valve covers this way with no leaks yet. Overtightening is the main cause of valve cover leaking. It's usually not from under tightening. What helps is to put some oil on either side of the gasket to help it seal good. Antisieze is supposed to work good too, but I just use oil.

 

Exactly what I was going to add. Do not use locktite. If anything, use antiseize to keep it from locking. You do want to remove the valve cover easily. Usually this is not a difficult point on the engine for keeping oil leaks away.

 

just put it on last night, no leaks yet

 

New valve cover = new PCV valve. Might as well keep it leak free