Torqueing down a 308 head

Okay, time to get a bit more serious. Tightening things that loosen does not usually cause trouble, but letting loose things go usually does. If the head fasteners are loose, but your experiencing no leakage, tightening them up carefully and by the best described method is not going to make it leak. Leaving it loose it will leak eventually. If your wheel were loose, would leaving it loose be better than tightening it up? Loose carb nuts? Loose distributor nuts? Loose cam covers? Its part of maintenence and is part of the 30K engine service procedure for a reason, they loosen up. 125 years of engine building and servicing has taught people things. If Ferrari says to tighten the darn things, listen to them. While in some cases leaving well enough alone might get you by, servicing machines on a prescribed schedule has proven otherwise.

 

+1

 

Dave, thank you for the torque spec sheet, very important info for me.

 

Paul,

Can I suggest that you don't bother with the cam cover gaskets, just buy a large tube of loctite gasket seal (the blue silicon seal) and use this instead of the standard seals.

Invariably the "paper" gaskets on top of the heads leak on the 308 engine and will drop down on the exhaust or dirty your engine bay over time.

I have given up on the standard gaskets and just use the sealant now for all top end work including the the end plate covers for the cam drives.

I have seen many cars from Foskers and other main servicing agents use this instead.

It does not leak at all (once you put a bead along the full length of the seals) and is fairly easy to remove when needed.

Plus it is a lot cheaper tha a set of gaskets!!

 

You guys carp so damn much about the front bank and timing belts and crap. I'll be 49 in a few months and hurt like a SOB every day I get out of bed, and that front bank isnt "that" hard to work on. Yeah, you gotta contort yourself around a bit, but come on guys. Ya aint gonna let some guy with grey hair out fumble ya, are ya? Come on, its just a Ferrari

 

Christ I am 35 and I hurt getting out of bed in the mornings, what is it going to be like at 60!!!, Joys of the ageing process.

Paul on the sealent, yes the trowel effect is not good and a PITA to remove, a thin bead is fine for me it comes off in one piece usually for me with no problems.

I find even with a good clean surface the gaskets eventually leak, so I have decided to use the sealent. But if it works for you no need to take the advice of a mere young whipper snapper like me !

 

I simply couldn't not do it once I got going! How could you sleep at night? It was likely magnificent yoga-like positions working on it . And the "Verell-style" match head drops of RTV at the cam seal / cam cover gasket junction? Sheer luck getting them there using a mirror as a guide on that front bank.

Consider it a zen experience. Put some appropriate music on in the garage and become one with your 308. I found the medieval vocals of Anonymous 4 or the chanting of monks most conducive to working on the front bank.

Seamus
(who danced a jig for joy when his car ran again after tearing all that apart and putting it back together ... )

 

Some time back there was discussion of someone making neoprene cam cover gaskets. That would be a great improvement both as far as leaks and in not having to scrape the old junk off or use sealers. I made the mistake the first time of putting sealer on the cam seals, and all they ever did was push out. I ended up taking the cam covers back off and cleaning everything up with laquer thinner and putting them in dry.

What I do with gaskets is work a very thin coat of copper silicone into the surface and let them set up a bit. They seal up really well and usually peel off clean. On head gaskets I never put anything on them or the engine, I think it would be asking for trouble. I clean the block and head good with soft towels or fine scotch brights and laquer thinner, so its absolutely clean and free of any oils or whatever.

I remember that VW's would always leak between the case halfs, and everyone would try all kinds of sealers to no avail. But aircraft engines, which are really the same kind of assembly generally never leak. Watching this old guy putting them together I watched him using that red clear gasket sealer, the really sticky stuff, and working a piece of heavy cotton thread along the middle of the seam and around each bolt hole. The thread would crush between the case halfs and form a tight seal without causing any distortion. If that were done on a 308 between the block and the gearbox, it might make it pretty leak free.

 

does any one know of an easy way 2 remove the heads on a 308 gt4?
edwin