afterbang Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 i recently replaced the valve cover gaskets/grommets on my 98 dohc legacy. i crawled underneath my car to check the bolt tension and noticed the bolts will get top a point where they will just spin and not tighten up to the point where you can't get them any tighter. my first thought was stripped bolts but they loosen smoothly and go back in the same way fine. if anyone could give me some advice or ease my stripped thread anxiety i would greatly appreciate it. i dont know if you wrench down on these as tight as you can get them or if they don't allow for you to tighten after a certain point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 i recently replaced the valve cover gaskets/grommets on my 98 dohc legacy. i crawled underneath my car to check the bolt tension and noticed the bolts will get top a point where they will just spin and not tighten up to the point where you can't get them any tighter. my first thought was stripped bolts but they loosen smoothly and go back in the same way fine. if anyone could give me some advice or ease my stripped thread anxiety i would greatly appreciate it. i dont know if you wrench down on these as tight as you can get them or if they don't allow for you to tighten after a certain point. SOunds like you have stripped threads. Two of the biggest causes of valve cover leaks, loose bolts and over tightenend gaskets (improper tightening pattern too). There is a reason there are torque specs on bolts. Sounds like you have tired / damaged threads. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Nipper is probably right, most likely it is stripped, get a Haynes manual and see if it gives torque spec. for that bolt. If it is stripped but will tighten some you can put a small amount of J.B. weld on the threads and run it back in snug and it should hold fine. I stripped the threads inside of my steering gear unit where the hose connects and J.B. weld held it fine, and it is under pressure where yours wont be. i recently replaced the valve cover gaskets/grommets on my 98 dohc legacy. i crawled underneath my car to check the bolt tension and noticed the bolts will get top a point where they will just spin and not tighten up to the point where you can't get them any tighter. my first thought was stripped bolts but they loosen smoothly and go back in the same way fine. if anyone could give me some advice or ease my stripped thread anxiety i would greatly appreciate it. i dont know if you wrench down on these as tight as you can get them or if they don't allow for you to tighten after a certain point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 i recently replaced the valve cover gaskets/grommets on my 98 dohc legacy. i crawled underneath my car to check the bolt tension and noticed the bolts will get top a point where they will just spin and not tighten up to the point where you can't get them any tighter. my first thought was stripped bolts but they loosen smoothly and go back in the same way fine. if anyone could give me some advice or ease my stripped thread anxiety i would greatly appreciate it. i dont know if you wrench down on these as tight as you can get them or if they don't allow for you to tighten after a certain point. My experience with these bolts (96 Legacy 2.2L) is that they bottom out before you can tighten them much more than what the torque specs are (very light if I remember correctly). I may be wrong but I thought that was a kind of safety feature. You can't crush the gaskets but you can strip the bolts if you insist too much. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron917 Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Get some Loctite Form-A-Thread, it's made for exactly this situation. I used it to fix stripped valve cover threads on a VW Golf, it held for 8 years until I sold the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Found this on Autozone's repair site: Position the rocker cover on the cylinder head and install the retainer bolts. Tighten the bolts .... 4 ft. lbs. (5 Nm) for 2.2L and 2.5L engines. When I did my '90 2.2L they didn't get tighter; the bolts just got tight and stopped - I couldn't turn them anymore to make 'em tighter even if I wanted; that's all the farther in they went. Yours do sound stripped, but why all 4??? That doesn't make sense. Unless, the previous owner/mechanic tightened them too much? If you pull the cover and put the bolts in w/out 'em does that give you any clues? Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 It can be easy to strip these threads. The torque is low compared to steel. My experience is that by hand feel the torque feels good then all of a sudden lets go and whoops it's stripped threads. Haven't heard of that particular loctite product but it sounds good. A few wraps of teflon tape around the bolt might be enough to allow snugging it up as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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