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Head bolt problems

0

01_XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Emporia, KS
Got my new head on the XJ today with the help of CaliXJ, but we ran into a problem when we got to torquing the bolts down. The back drivers side bolt (#14 in the torque sequence) doesn't have enough room under the pinch seam at the firewall to get the torque wrench in there. I removed it by using a breaker bar because of the flexible joint on it and that barely fit. Marc suggested getting a 12 pt crows foot, which seems to be the only solution. Is that gonna be the only way to get it torqued down? Kragen and Sears both don't carry 12 point crows feet, so my options are to either order a set online or call the Snapon buy and pay for one of those :(
 
Modify the pinch seam with a BFH?
 
Using a 1/2" drive deep well socket, right? Can you get at it with a 3/8" drive deep well?
 
I might be able to, but the only 13mm 12pt deep socket I have is 1/2" drive. Even using a 3/8" drive deep socket, I don't think there'd be enough clearance for it to get in there. The other thing we considered was to take a bit off the top of that head bolt. That specific bolt is on the side where there is the about 1" long threaded stud on the head of the bolt. I don't recall that part even being used for anything, so maybe taking a bit off with a grinder would solve the problem. The issue there is that this has to be done with the bolt in the head, because that bolt stays in the head until you lift it out, and then the risk is getting debris into places where it shouldn't be.

One problem after another, haha...
 
That is the stud for the head to firewall ground strap on earlier XJs, and it doesn't need to be as tall as it is.

Is the trans/crossmember in? Want to pull the driver's side engine mount and let it drop to give you some more clearance?
 
That one is a PIA. A deep well is too tall. What I do is use a standard 1/2" socked and a 1/2" drive torque wrench. Put the socket on the bolt, and just put the drive of the wrench like 1/2 way in to the socket. Be sure to keep the wrench as level as possible.
 
Ok. So, i've been helping 01 XJ put his head back together and was given a little piece of info i did not know or see in the FSM. When putting the head back on, should NEW head bolts be used??
 
joe_peters said:
That is the stud for the head to firewall ground strap on earlier XJs, and it doesn't need to be as tall as it is.

Is the trans/crossmember in? Want to pull the driver's side engine mount and let it drop to give you some more clearance?
Click to expand...
This is what I would do. Pull an engine mount or two and lower the engine using a jack... note... put the jack under it first and be careful.

CaliXJ said:
Ok. So, i've been helping 01 XJ put his head back together and was given a little piece of info i did not know or see in the FSM. When putting the head back on, should NEW head bolts be used??
Click to expand...
Yes, if you do not know if they have been reused before or they have paint on them. They can be reused once and if reused should be marked with paint to indicate this.

EDIT: also, modifying the pinch seam isn't as bad as you would think, I've done it with a pair of channel lock pliers before to get my WJ booster to fit. Grab and bend.
 
When I R&R'd the head on my '88 4.0, I drilled a hole in the pinch seam to accept an extension; worked great.
 
xjbubba said:
When I R&R'd the head on my '88 4.0, I drilled a hole in the pinch seam to accept an extension; worked great.
Click to expand...

Gonna probably try this out right now. As far as using a 13mm socket, that's what those are. 1/2" socket also fits, but it's a bit loose and 13mm fits better. Also, there's no use in just relocating that bolt, because all of the bolts on the drivers side have that stud on top of them. If I would have known it was gonna be this much of a pain, I suppose I could have grinded it off beforehand, but that bolt won't come out without the head coming out. I'll try bending the pinch seam again, and if that doesn't work then I'll try drilling it.
 
Huh? 0.5" is loose, and a 13mm is better? That seems backwards, 0.5" = 12.7mm. I'd expect the 0.5" to be a tighter fit.
 
Alright, looks like Marc is coming to the rescue with the crows foot. Just to add for later reference, I think that the SnapOn torque wrench/socket combo is a bit shorter than the tools I'm using because I called Rancho Jeep and two different guys said that they had never had the problem. They also suggested putting a jack under the back of the trans and lifting some to tilt the engine, but I'm thinking it probably still won't work in this case because I'm already parked on a slight incline and I don't think I can lift it enough to tilt it that much.
 
ChiXJeff said:
Huh? 0.5" is loose, and a 13mm is better? That seems backwards, 0.5" = 12.7mm. I'd expect the 0.5" to be a tighter fit.
Click to expand...

True. I don't have a 12 pt 1/2" deep socket though, and was comparing between a 13mm deep socket socket and the box end of a 1/2" wrench. Not sure why, but that was the case.
 
CaliXJ said:
Got it ordered up from McMaster-Carr. Gonna be Red label shipped so we can have it tomorrow. :cheers:
Click to expand...

Awesome! thanks Marc. I was working on how to modify the torque settings, but it's kind of a pain because the torque wrench changes length depending on where you have it set, so it's hard to figure out. Basically it goes as follows:

(Actual torque) = (Torque setting) * (L1/L2)

L1 would be the length of the wrench w/o the extension, and L2 would be with it. Unfortunately I can't know what L1 is because it changes throughout the range. So instead of being able to plug in the needed torques of 22/45/110 ft/lb and get the necessary setting, I'd actually have to plug in the torque setting and L1 and just keep playing with it until I get close to the actual torque I need.

What I think is the easiest solution, and will work nicely since the odd bolt is on #14, is to just put the crows foot on the wrench and adjust the torque setting so that it clicks right away on one of the already tightened bolts. It seems like it should work just fine.
 
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