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Is torquing the valve cover crucial?

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Old May 14, 2018 | 06:14 PM
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Is torquing the valve cover crucial?

hi guys so I recently did a lot of work to my evo 9 made 376 whp on the dyno runs great very powerful however I’m just starting to worry about something stupid right now, I didn’t torqu the bolts for my valve cover and I’m not having any issues with leaks or anything, but I’m just being paranoid about it and was just curious to know if I could have any future issues from not torquing them down, thanks
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Old May 14, 2018 | 06:28 PM
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Chances are, you over tightened it. So it shouldn't leak if you didn't snap the bolts.
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Old May 14, 2018 | 06:29 PM
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There is likely a lot of variable that the cover will take, but heres the manual:

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Old May 14, 2018 | 06:43 PM
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The torque on them is only like 30-35 INCH-lb's. So, it's more likely they're overtorqued. So just leave it..
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Old May 14, 2018 | 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by letsgetthisdone
The torque on them is only like 30-35 INCH-lb's. So, it's more likely they're overtorqued. So just leave it..
LOL Sean. Was going to stress INCH pounds but hoped he understood. Some young chap could throw 35 ft lbs to it
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Old May 14, 2018 | 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by MinusPrevious
LOL Sean. Was going to stress INCH pounds but hoped he understood. Some young chap could throw 35 ft lbs to it
No way to torque that much. Bolts will break at maybe 15-20 ft-lbs.
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Old May 14, 2018 | 06:59 PM
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Originally Posted by 2006EvoIXer
Chances are, you over tightened it. So it shouldn't leak if you didn't snap the bolts.
yea I’m sure that’s a risk you run, I knew the torque spec which is like 31 inch pounds , which is almost finger right, so I just snugged them up , I just heard of people cracking they’re valve covers from overtightening which made me get second thoughts haha, don’t even know how that’s possible , I feel like the bolts would snap before you crack the metal cover
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Old May 14, 2018 | 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by evoix234

yea I’m sure that’s a risk you run, I knew the torque spec which is like 31 inch pounds , which is almost finger right, so I just snugged them up , I just heard of people cracking they’re valve covers from overtightening which made me get second thoughts haha, don’t even know how that’s possible , I feel like the bolts would snap before you crack the metal cover
On the ones who cracked their valve cover, were they using oem bolts or aftermarket STM allan bolts?
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Old May 14, 2018 | 07:18 PM
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Oh I’m not sure man, just came across a thread that mentioned they overtightenes the jolts and cracked the valve cover and that’s what had me grow paranoid about not torquing them lol
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Old May 14, 2018 | 09:59 PM
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If you're worried, loosen and torque it down properly.
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Old May 14, 2018 | 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by evoix234

yea I’m sure that’s a risk you run, I knew the torque spec which is like 31 inch pounds , which is almost finger right, so I just snugged them up , I just heard of people cracking they’re valve covers from overtightening which made me get second thoughts haha, don’t even know how that’s possible , I feel like the bolts would snap before you crack the metal cover
The cover is magnesium, lightweight but fragile and also expensive.
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Old Jun 1, 2018 | 12:56 AM
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the cover is actually magnesium which is super soft. not metal. as barney mentioned so easy to crack. you also need to use the factory crush washers. I made the mistake of removing these once and couldnt get a good seal. also cracked one of the bolt holes.

Ive upgraded to cap screw type bolts with factory crush washers underneath and i use the allen key to tighten but only with the ball end to prevent over torquing. so no u dont need to do the specific torque but if it isnt torqued enough it will weep. and if u over torque it or use the wrong hardware you could potentially crack it haha.
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Old Jun 1, 2018 | 10:00 AM
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Magnesium is certainly a metal LOL. Elemental Mg is quite ductile (like lead), but in it's alloyed form for automotive uses, its also very brittle, which is why it's easy to crack.

Last edited by letsgetthisdone; Jun 1, 2018 at 10:23 AM.
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Old Jun 1, 2018 | 03:36 PM
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Correct! I also hear that magnesium used to be used in air frames. Fires on aircraft carriers are too risky too deal with. As a result they just push the jet off the vessel into the ocean....where it continues to burn because magnesium is self fueling. Lucky us...we have a flammable magnesium valve cover and a passenger airbag that shoots shrapnel XD
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Old Jun 2, 2018 | 05:05 AM
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yes but the original person to say it was implying its metal as in like steel lol thats what i meant. of course magnesium is an alloy lol.

Mag wheels used to be made of magnesium also hence the nickname mag. but were deemed too dangerous lol
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