Torqueing the head bolts

peewee2you

peewee2you

Well-known member
The Vanpelts info says to torque head bolts to 55lbs. I have a 59AB 47 Ford, I'm trying to get the proper torque on the 3 head bolts that hold the cannister oil filter bracket on. How do I get those torque'd, hard to get in there, using extension and swivel with torque wrench don't want to break a bolt off? Any suggestions on accomplishing this, they feel tight and to get them to 55 seems questionable.
 
Unless I am missing something - the 3 bolts that hold the cannister bracket are threaded into the head - they are not head bolts. They are 3/8-16 and about 1" in length. Head bolts are 7/16-14. I've used a short socket in a few places. Seems that a "long" socket allows clearance for the wrench.
 
The best way would be to build a tool from a wrench, this would go around the oil cannister to take a torque wrench on top of the can... Or a guy could take a wrench to see how much torque it feels like, on another bolt done with a torque wrench...
And use that to guess... Or put a fish scale at the end of an open end wrench...
Bet you can guess whitch one I would do... Karl

I might have used 3/8" drive, smaller stuff... hmmm
 
ON a 59 series flathead it should have studs and nuts, not bolts. The oil filter canister on these fit over 3 of the studs and have special nuts with steps where they go through the holes in the bracket. Someone could have changed it to bolts instead of studs and nuts but those 3 are infact holding the head on and need to be torqued in order.
 
wga said:
Unless I am missing something - the 3 bolts that hold the cannister bracket are threaded into the head - they are not head bolts. They are 3/8-16 and about 1" in length. Head bolts are 7/16-14. I've used a short socket in a few places. Seems that a "long" socket allows clearance for the wrench.
Click to expand...

Your correct..........for late '49 and later. He has a 59ab
 
Okay I admit, sometimes I don't call it by the correct name, but I would imagine that most of you out there work on your motors and understand my drift..., so clearly they are studs in the block that use nuts to hold the head on to the block, and it is those nuts that hold the oil cannister on that I want to torque, the bracket that sits between the top of the head over the stud and held down by the nut.

Thanks all that have replied so far, I am reading thru your responses and will approach it based on my finding of your experiences.
 
Duece Roadster may have answered this for me possibly, saying that these three nuts are of special design? Does anyone have a photo of what this nut would look like, and are they still available at a Hardware store, and do they have to be grade 8?
The other question in thought is if the nut goes thru the hole of the cannister barcket what hold the bracket to the top of the head?
 
I think that I have seen some originals, and what I did is to cut a shoulder into the end of a nut, they machine well... This is so that the threaded end can go into the oil can bracket... And contact the head and hold the bracket,both... If you make them fit the bracket just perfectly, there is enough of the nut for strength, mine hold a torque... No way to get these at any hardware store... Clear? Feel free to ask more...
Karl
 
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