Nuts and Bolts You Should Annually Check

J

jg61hawk

Senior Member
I just read a post about a blown head gasket and the question came up about retorquing the nuts...It occurred to me while reading the post someone who is new to Model A cars or just us old guys getting lazy probably overlook a lot of real simple preventative checks that could save us a lot of trouble...like a blown head gasket. Here's a few I like...please add yours if I miss it:

Head Nuts at least twice a year...
Carburetor Mounting Bolts
Valve Cover
Oil Pan
Rear Differential "Banjo" Bolts...three are loose every year!
Lug Nuts

The Les Andrews Red Book has a section in the rear that addresses PM items.
 
I use blue LockTite and don't worry about loose fasteners. I do re-torque heads and manifolds until they don't need more.
 
so I put the head on in 1985,tightened it with the original tool kit wrench,tightened it again after hot,then the next day and still no leaks either internal or external .
most likely when the car was new it might have been tightened before delivery and possibly at first service and not touched again for many miles .
How come now it is considered a bi annual event?
If you have bolts coming loose every year then there is something wrong with the bolts or the threads..
 
My head went on in 1953 and I’m regularly told I have one or more screws loose. No amount of tightening seems to help.
 
I torque the cylinder head nuts once upon installation and once about 100 miles later. That is all. As for blown head gaskets, every one that I have experienced in my A's has been a burn thru between Cylinders 3 & 4. In my opinion, this occurs because 1) the over bore size head gasket does not have enough material between the cylinders, and 2) the cylinder wall between Cylinders 3 & 4 gets too hot for the shy gasket material to withstand. The Model A's coolant flow bypasses Cylinder 4, so the wall between Cylinders 3 & 4 gets too hot. What makes the gasket last for awhile is that Cylinder 4 has the most iron around it to conduct & radiate heat away.
 
I understand the reasoning by the head gasket manufacturers wanting to make it for the largest bore but it would be nice to have the option to have a standard bore head gasket my engines actually been sleeve back to standard and I would much prefer the extra gasket material in between the cylinder walls as compared to the ones designed for the 125 overbore.
 
Fullraceflathead said:
I understand the reasoning by the head gasket manufacturers wanting to make it for the largest bore but it would be nice to have the option to have a standard bore head gasket my engines actually been sleeve back to standard and I would much prefer the extra gasket material in between the cylinder walls as compared to the ones designed for the 125 overbore.
Click to expand...

I agree.
 
I agree that there should be gaskets that fit several bore sizes: 0.040" OS; 0.060" OS; 0.090" OS is my recommendation.
 
Slightly beyond fasteners.

The rule with a 6 volt electrical system, all connections need to be 'tight & bright'. Tight & clean battery cables, especially the ground strap. Don't over look connections in the terminal box and behind the dash. Check & create good grounds for the lamps & horn.
 
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