Hello. I just ran my wagon for the first time in a month or so this afternoon. I got the EA-82 engine rebuilt and installed it myself. The last step in the manual is to re-torque the bolts on the cylinder head after letting it run for a while. Sounds good in theory, but those little devils are really hard to get to. Seems to me like I'd be taking off the valve covers and the cam shaft and all the doodads associated with the cams and valves to get to them. Sounds like a few steps backwards, and a few more hours of work. Any suggestions? I've been working pretty much round the clock on this thing for a couple days now, and I still need to drive the thing out to Utah by Tuesday. Getting kind of frazzled. Thanks

If you are using oem HGs, then you should re-torque the bolts. HOwever, if you are using Aftermarket gaskets you may not need to, as most of htem are 'monotorque' nowdays.

if it's OEM subaru gaskets then you need to retorque. yes it sucks but it's best to do it right after doing all that work.

 

i'm not positive but there might be a way to retorque the EA82 bolts without removing the entire cam and rocker arms??? i thought i heard of people using a special socket to reach the hard to get to bolts....but maybe that was a different motor.

 

if you have to remove the cams, best to not apply any sealant to the cam case when you first rebuild. because you'll be taking it right back off again when you go to retorque. then you end up cleaning up all that sealant off the heads and cam case. after retorquing, then seal the cam case.

...i'm not positive but there might be a way to retorque the EA82 bolts without removing the entire cam and rocker arms??? i thought i heard of people using a special socket to reach the hard to get to bolts....but maybe that was a different motor...

I think that was probably the EA81 that you don't have to remove the rocker shaft if you have the right socket. It MAY be possible on the EA82, but it really doesn't look like it. And it really looks like it would be near impossible in the car.

fel pro has a set of perma torque gaskets, you torque em once and they stay torqued. i sell them everyday at the parts store.i have never had any complaits about the gaskets that ive sold. most are sold to regular customers that are in at least once a week.

I'm now to the point myself where I need to re-torque the OEM HGs I replaced.

 

That's a good tip about leaving all the sealant off the cam tower the first time around. I'll be sure to do that next time.

 

I checked on a set of EA82T heads/cams that I have, and there are only three head bolts that a standard 17mm socket will have trouble reaching (one on pass. side, 2 on driver side). In my case, if I grind maybe 1/8" length off the socket, it should fit in just fine. This would allow me to keep from removing the cam towers & all supporting stuff (tbelts, covers, etc).

 

*sigh* not looking forward to this job, lol

I'm now to the point myself where I need to re-torque the OEM HGs I replaced....*sigh* not looking forward to this job, lol

Well, let me how this works out. I am just about ready to put my engine back in, and do not look forward to a retorque... I pulled the engine cuz my hands were too fat to get the driver's side cam cover off.

SUBARU made (and its still avalible) a special socket to re-TQ those bolts.

 

I have had all of my OE SUBARU HG equipped EA82s go 20,000+ miles before something happened that required any engine work....24k my 9.5:1 compression engine went, and it was not the HG that went, it was the rings.

the last RX engine went 20k before the head cracked, not the HG....replaced that head and its still going strong.

 

this current one has gone 700 miles so far....

 

I question the re-TQ....and what if I go to re-TQ and the bolts strip the block? then I am w/out anything to drive.

SUBARU made (and its still avalible) a special socket to re-TQ those bolts.

 

I have had all of my OE SUBARU HG equipped EA82s go 20,000+ miles before something happened that required any engine work....24k my 9.5:1 compression engine went, and it was not the HG that went, it was the rings.

the last RX engine went 20k before the head cracked, not the HG....replaced that head and its still going strong.

 

these were all without re-torqueing the headgaskets?

My n/a EA82 has been running fine for over 20,000 with no retorque. I'm curious about what subaru did when they sold these cars...were you supposed to come in after driving the car for a while, or did they run the engine at the factory and retorque, or what?

these were all without re-torqueing the headgaskets?

 

correct.

I was just reading that section in my hayne's manual, and it said to re-torque the head nuts on OHV engines only. Probably 'cos its so much of a pain on the OHC one!

I torqued mine to 55 ft-lbs instead of 47, and did not retorque right away. Since my engine is now out of the car and waiting for another vehicle to go into, I think I'll retorque these and see how much the bolts loosened in 20,000 miles.

Its not a good idea to over-torque heads - it is actually better that they are under-torqued than considerably over.

don't think i'd re-torque head bolts after substantial mileage. i'd ask someone who knows (better than me) before proceeding on that. seems like a bad idea to loosen headbolts on a 20,000 mile motor.

you don't have to loosen them - just tighten them if they are below the specified torque.

Its not a good idea to over-torque heads - it is actually better that they are under-torqued than considerably over.

 

 

A huge increase in torque or unevenly applied torque could definitely cause problems with block warpage, and I'm not saying you're wrong, but I did mine that way after being advised by USMB members that have tried it that I could.