I replaced the valve cover gasket on my 02 Saturn SL2 but I tighten the bolts by converting 89 inch lbs to ft lbs in my torque wrench. The bolts didn’t snapped. I am lucky… There are no leaks, but I am afraid maybe the bolts are getting stretched because of the incorrect torque.
What should I do?
1- Should I take all the bolts out and put new ones? Where should I get the replacement bolts? Junkyard or an autoparts store?
2- Should I loosen the bolts and re-tight them again? Do I need to replace the valve cover gasket with a new one? Do I need to re-apply RTV in the seams of the timing chain cover?
3- Or should I just leave them alone and replace the bolts for the next time I replace the gasket again?
I converted that to ft-lbs and I tried to aim for 7.4 ft-lbs in my regular torque wrench. I know now this is not accurate and the wrong type of torque wrench to use, which is why I am asking what should I do next to correct the problem.
hum… I thought the type of wrench I am using is not accurate below a certain spec?
Because of this I am not sure… Not leaking though. Would you keep using the same bolts, say for the next time you have to replace the gasket again or would you use new ones?
If I would like to retight em again, like using a proper torque wrench that reads inch lbs… Can I just loose them and retight them or do I need to do more than just that? Like, reapplying the RTV in the timing chain cover seams? Or maybe even replacing the gasket with a new one?
If you really want to, You can try just loosening and re-tightening them properly. And if there are no leaks, call it good.
It’s not the bolts I’d be worried about, it’s the gasket that may now be deformed and needing replaced and loosening and re-tightening could cause them to leak.
Again, That’s why I myself would leave them alone until there is a problem and the valve covers need to come off.
