i have a couple of questions

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73dartsport318

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well i got problems, my dads torque wrench we found out was like 20 lbs too much, i havent had a chance to tear down my motor to see if it needs new main , rod and head bolts on my 72 318. i know my mains where torqued to 85 or 90 on the wrench but that comes out to 115 or 120 lbs. so i would like to know how much stock bolts can take before they strech. also i would like to know if the mopar head gaskets that have a .024 -.028 thickness is alright to use with the #302 heads with a 61 cc chambers. my brother tore down his 350 and his mains bolts were junk but thats about right for some dinky a$$ chevy pieces.
thanks in advance, if u need anymore info ask and ill try to get it on here as fast as i can
 
I would not use it.How mutch damage to the block and bolt's could happen with an unsure torque wrench,Alot
And when you got it built how much will you worry about the motor?
Then you take it back out and do it again if you don't brake a bolt off.then tiu would be looking at alot of work to replace it!!!!
You can rent a rench or barrow a good one. :thumbup:

I do not know about the 302's ,Some one will get to you soon.
 
ok hmmm.... so how would i check to see if that messed the block up. im not that worried about this motor but i put too much money it in for a 318 ie broke college student now. thanks for the help i hope it aint messed up
 
The Mopar gaskets will work fine with the 302 heads. As for the wrench ..get a new one. If in doubt about the bolts replace them cheap insurance.
 
I'll Add MP sells the head bolt, and main kits cheap...The rod bolts are the ones that you really need to watch. When I was young and new at things I stretched and ARP rod bolt almost 1/8" overtightening it...lol. I still have that package as a reminder of things...
 
If have had the block milled for zero deck clearance, your pistons will hit the head with that gasket. If your pistons are .015 or more in the hole at TDC, you'll be just fine.

Sorry to hear about the torque wrench fiasco. I would replace the rod bolts, main bolts and head bolts before running the engine. It is still on the stand, right?
 
I doubt the head or main bolts are hurt much, the block wont have suffered any significant damage. if it did it would have ripped the threads out of the block. I'd replace the bolts anyway.

Are you certain the torque reading is off that much for the rod bolts ? Remember its a lower torque reading. check them with your reference. You might find they arent that over torqued.

The kicker are the rod bolts. In order to replace them you need to install (press them in) when you press them - the big end distorts to some degree and thus changes the roundness of the bearing cavity. This means the heads have to come off the pistons and rods out as well, and be sent to the shop for the bolt replacement and checking for out of round, you might get lucky and have no change in out of round. Sorry for the bad news.
 
yea i hope im just making it sound worst than it really is. this is my first motor and stuff just keeps happening. thanks for the help and advice
 
What I meant by the rod torque being off a lesser amount could be factual. I doubt the torque reading on them is off by 25ft lbs like the head bolts. Its probably not a linear relationship. I bet its a lot less, considering the stock torque is 45 ft lbs, they might only be 5 lbs high, in which case I would not be concerned about it. Of course this depends on the type of problem the torque wrench has.

Bottom line is to check and recheck to make sure you are doing the right things. Dont get discouraged by this experience, It happens to everyone especially when you are starting out. Building a motor is a learning experience.
 
Wouldn't worry too much about the torque being out no more than you stated.

Obtaining an absolute and precise torque is more difficult than most people realise..

There is the condition of the threads, the tolerance and finish of the threads, dry or lubricated, bolt head friction against sholder, etc...
And of course, any torque tool is allways a bit out.

The torque is not really the main issue, its the tension in the bolts resulting from the torque applied, and the condition of the threads determines how much of that torque is translated in to bolt tesnion and how much is lost in thread friction.

The only way to have this 99% under controll, is to use a calibrated torque tool, and measure the actual bolt tension obtained with the specific bolts in the specific threads, i.e, to qualify the torquing procedure.

This is only done in critical engineering aplications.

So my point is, for "ordinary" applications, there is usually a good deal of slack involved ,and there is often a relatively good margin of safety designed in.

Of course, some areas are more critical than others.
For instance, if you over-torque big end con-rod bolts, you might deform the big end (usually only elastic deformation) to the extent where the rod and rod bearings bind.

This is however quite noticeable when you try to turn the engine over by hand.

I know someone that did this on a Willy's jeep, they just wrenched upo the big-ends, and the engine could not even be started!
Once they realised what they had done, they just undid the bolts and used a torque wrench and everything was fine!

The only reason to change bolts after torquing, is special applications where bolts are tensioned past the yield limit of the steel. This is not unheard of in many engines, tybically big-end rod bolts. But this is usually mentioned in any maintenance literature relevant to the engine.

But get a torque wrench, and save up for a good one, a good wrench is an investment for life.

I hope this was of some help! :)
 
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