14
That thing where people torque head bolts dry on a wet engine
I keep seeing guys slap head bolts in without any lube on the threads or under the bolt head. Then they wonder why their torque readings are all over the place and the gasket blows six months later. I had a guy bring a 6.0 Powerstroke into my shop last Tuesday that had three bolts way under spec because the friction was all wrong. I told him to oil every thread and re-torque, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else run into this on a big inline 6 or am I the only one who noticed?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
noah9171mo ago
Man that's frustrating to hear, especially on a 6.0 where the head gaskets are already a pain. You'd think common sense would tell a guy that metal on metal without lube just ain't right. Good on you for catching it before he had bigger problems down the road.
10
campbell.logan1mo ago
Three of my buddies ran their 6.0s bone dry on coolant for years and they're still ticking, so maybe the guy knew something we don't about letting things wear in naturally. Sometimes a little extra friction just seats the rings faster and you end up with better compression down the line.
8