Hi there,

  As I'm going through the efforts to reassemble the H6 in our 2001 Outback, the manual says to torque the cover to a whopping 6.3 N-m, or 4.6 ft-lb. Which was just barely enough to make the 55.2 in-lb click on my torque wrench. That's just a tad tighter than hand tight, it seems. OK, so I'm new to Subaru, and I've dealt with 'hand tight, plus a 1/4 turn', in the past.

  Will they really not leak? The instructions didn't call for locktite. They didn't specify dry or lubed bolts - so I just cleaned them well... And installed them.

Is it me? Is this just a feature I'll have to get used to? Are the gaskets really that good???  Or are leaks in my future....?

 

Mike

I’d be using new gaskets an sealing washers. 5ftlb is just keep the bolt in, on the EJs, it seems the thread is all taken up and the bolt bottoms out on the cam retainer plate. Any tighter and you risk stripping the bolt or the thread the bolt fits in to. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Yep, and they are thin bolts too. But no extreme pressures or forces inside the valve covers. 

Remember that cars used to have cork gaskets here and they would split if forced too much. My old mini would gush oil if anything over firm finger-tight was used.

7 hours ago, el_freddo said:

I’d be using new gaskets an sealing washers. 5ftlb is just keep the bolt in, on the EJs, it seems the thread is all taken up and the bolt bottoms out on the cam retainer plate. Any tighter and you risk stripping the bolt or the thread the bolt fits in to. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Thanks, and yes, new gaskets almost everywhere.

14 minutes ago, Mitchy said:

Yep, and they are thin bolts too. But no extreme pressures or forces inside the valve covers. 

Remember that cars used to have cork gaskets here and they would split if forced too much. My old mini would gush oil if anything over firm finger-tight was used.

When I worked on VW bugs, people would over tighten on the cork gaskets, then wonder why they leaked. I'm following the manual here, but I think in a few hundred miles after shes running, I'll check a few bolts..

There’s always a good reason to open the hood now and then!