What’s the procedure for re-torqueing the cylinder head on my 1970 series 2 E type FHC? Slacken the dome nuts off about half a turn in the reverse order to torqueing them then retorque in stages, say, 30,40,50 and 58 lb ft?
I don’t know whether the head has ever been off the engine.
If the head hasn’t been off why are you thinking of doing a re-torque?
That’s normally a procedure after a head job.
If you want to check then personally I would just start in the middle and torque up to spec.
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I retorque mine, one at a time, in the same order as torquing them down (ie start at the centre of the head as per the manual). I loosen, then tighten to about 30 foot lbs first then 58 second. Then on to the next.
I mark all the dome nuts with a felt pen by marking a line on them pointing to the front of the car so I can see how much the retorquing changed their positions. Sort of a satisfying thing to do and see the result!
Dennis
69 OTS
Personally I would never loosen cylinder head nuts when retorquing. Just make sure they’re tight, loosening them first is asking for trouble.
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I believe general consensus is 55 ft/lb and not 58ft/lb as recommended by the manual.
I understand the fear associated with this, but the “data” doesn’t really support that concern. I’ve never heard of anyone who has created a problem by doing this.
Just throwing a torque wrench on the nuts, and checking them against the spec doesn’t really accomplish much. You’re having to overcome static friction break-away, not to mention corrosion and oxidation, so that can really fool you that the fastener was properly torqued, when it’s not.
Backing the fastener off a bit allows you to get it moving as you tighten, so you get a much more accurate reading.
3 ft/lbs is lost in the error of most torque wrenches. I can’t see how lowering your target torque from 58 to 55 ft/lbs would make a meaningful difference.
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If you do not loosen them first, retorquing will usually not work because the breaking torque to move them will be high and they will likely not move.
I have never had a problem with the way I outlined above
Dennis
69 OTS
If a 1970 is a long stud engine should that come into consideration before messing with anything on original engine studs that are currently not having any issues ? Reading articles and posts over the years I think I am glad my '68 engine is a short stud type and may not have some of the corrosion problems that might occur with a later long stud engine. Just a thought since I am not sure when things transitioned.
David
68 E-type FHC
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It has always been my clear understanding that heads are only retorqued after a set mileage has been achieved after the head has been fitted. This has applied to all of the classics I have owned, so, to be clear, after an engine build or a head off job when the car has achieved 500 miles then retorque. On an engine that has no issues that has not been rebuilt let sleeping dogs lie.
Torque in the manner of the rebuild, starting in the centre working out evenly.
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… ESPECIALLY wrt an older long-stud engine.
It aint broke? Don’t fix it til it is.
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He’s trying to rectify an oil leak without lifting the head.
He’s got nothing to lose….unless a stud snaps 
Didn’t see the comment about an oil leak, where from and how much would be two questions I would address before retorque. Do we know what year the car is?
Oil leaks should only be possible in the rear and at the front. The front- and rearmost pair of studs are short but I wouldn’t touch any of them unless the head studs are known good. Reason? I tried and had one snap. And another. And another, and then another. At the bare minimum one should be inspected through a freeze plug hole.
I saw that, and I’ll reiterate: if I wasn’t 100% sure about the condition of those long studs, I wouldn’t touch them.
I would simply clean the back surface (assuming that’s where the oil leak is coming from) between the head and the block, make sure it’s spotlessly clean, put some black RTV on it, and hope for the best.
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Thanks for all the comments. Yes I am trying to stop an oil leak from the rear of the head. The consensus seems to be that loosening the studs is fraught with the possibility that whether the stud is long or short it might snap… Hence the safe way to proceed is to try to seal the leak using RTV or , as Dennismo has suggested, use “The RIght Stuff”. Then if this doesn’t stop the leak I think that the head needs to come off.
Stuart
If you’ve eliminated the cam feed lines as a source of the leak are you positive the leak is not coming from the very rear of the cam covers?
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