Blown head gasket agian....
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iannotts
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tis ok, its similar topic 
iannotts
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does any one reckon its worth checking the head bolts in say 100miles?
Northern Irelander
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They stretch along the whole length, for the k-series, tolerance is < 90mm on the threaded part, otherwise you can re-use them.
aint ya spose to retorque them anyway after a while ?? or am i talkin bollox .... the head bolts that is ...
Trucks have always lost wheels, need to keep an eye on them, we fitted ruck clips to em and it cured it completely, "Christian Salvesen". then went to disclok nuts, the nuts are like in two pieces but joined together and lock themselves, like double locking a bolt with two nuts, Brilliant.
Some times it's a maintenance thing, not unwinding the torque wrench back off, or copper slipping or greasing the studs, copper slip being the worse since it dries out leaving a copper sheet which falls off with the wheels. Wheels need to be retorqued after removal and refitment, after the first run or within a prescribed mileage.
Tell tales are ok if you watch them but during a trip is when a wheel comes loose, so you need something that dont come loose. If the truck is working hard, loads of braking then this heating and cooling causes it.
Fitting an R clip wont work on HGV's because as a wheel comes loose the studs snap.
Usued to be but the angle torque stretchy ones you dont, need to redo the tappets tho.
You can't you have angle torqued them. Used to be able to do that tho.
we have real problems due to the work we do ... we have 8 wheelers haulin scrap metal into liverpool docks and the like so we go through tyres like you would'nt believe .... our transport manager insists on checkin them with a torque wrench every couple of days and i'm convinced thats not helpin with keep swingin on them ... vosa is a good thing but thier hands are tied , its an absolute offence .. and we cant avoid them going into liverpool they are all over the place .... you can see they feel guilty sometimes but its thier job they have to do it ....
The wheels have to be checked after a tyre change, the tyre fitter should issue a retorque ticket, and you should ensure that it is complied with and keep it on file. The torque wrench has to be run back off each time it is used otherwise it gets fooked, also it has to be calibrated on a regular basis.
The problem you have here is overtorqing, everybody gives it a little bit more "to be sure" and it fooks the studs, and there are those who are old school who like to hear them crack. We had to stop drivers doing it for that very reason.
I dont know what your maintenance is like, but I imagine that they are spiggot fittings, so the hubs and wheels have to be in pucker condition, loose wheels wear not only the studs but the area on the hub which locates the wheel, the lugs in the centre of the wheel on the hub. If they are worn then the wheel will never stay tight because this holds the wheel, the nuts only hold the wheel against the hub. If you take a stud you will see it wiggles about in the wheel holes, thats why the hubs have to be perfect.
If you continue to lose wheels you will get the jail, since I presume it's a recorded and detailed issue you have. Worse I guess if one has an accident.
iannotts
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i'll do the tappets, and just make sure they are still tight then
Well here's what you can do, but it's only a rough guide for you. Dub all yer bolts up as per the spec, pre-torque then the angly bit. Then take yer torque wrench and set it until you can just move a bolt when it clicks, and use this torque to recheck them. But I am thinking that you are heading for a broken bolt.
If they are fooked then they just get longer rather than retaining their clamping force, that's why I wanted you to check the length, they also bottom out in the holes and the head doesnt get tightned down.
If you want peace of mind get a new set, or one even and compare it with an old one, dont remove it when the engine is hot though and make sure the pressure is released from the rad cap in case it takes in water. And lastly hand turn the engine just in case it did take water in, and if it did take an injector out to get the water out.
If you measured your bolts when you had them out and compared them all then you know if some are bigger than others and what size they are.
This is not an ideal way to do it but, I think that it might work, and you definately can use the bolts twice, but dont run it for long in case it blows the gasket again.
On trucks we use a small ball hammer to test everything, bolts, u bolts, wheel nuts etc and you learn to know if something is tight by the sound and bounce off it. If you have one take it along the bolts and see if they all sound the same and with the same bounce off them, you will know what I mean when you do it. A dull sound is a loose bolt with no tention on it.
iannotts
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Thanks for the info
, i am going to get a new set of bolts asap. Thiking about it this is the third time i have had the head off. First being cambelt failure.
Thanks for the info
i am going to get a new set of bolts asap. Thiking about it this is the third time i have had the head off. First being cambelt failure.
Cambelt shud have just bent pushrods or worse case burst the rockers, surely yer never bent a valve.
But anyway all the best and hope yer get it fixed, but for curiosity let me know how much the bolts stretched.
iannotts
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yea, the cam belt failure did just bend push rods but had to take head off to get em out
on my subject here....... agree totally with the worn spigot bit but the key to avoiding losing LGV wheels is retorquing. You MUST get the wheels torque rechecked after 50 km if vehicle is used after refitting OR rechecked after 1/2 hour standing time. In both cases this gives time to let the heat (caused by using airguns) to dissipate. Its that simple, no harm checking each day with a torque wrench but you'd better have it calibrated regularly and all users to be trained otherwise VOSA and the TCs wil jump all over you in a PI. Hope this helps (I usualy charge a lot for this sort of advice too )
demitrious1973
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get your heads skimmed properly or your gasket will keep on blowing
on my subject here....... agree totally with the worn spigot bit but the key to avoiding losing LGV wheels is retorquing. You MUST get the wheels torque rechecked after 50 km if vehicle is used after refitting OR rechecked after 1/2 hour standing time. In both cases this gives time to let the heat (caused by using airguns) to dissipate. Its that simple, no harm checking each day with a torque wrench but you'd better have it calibrated regularly and all users to be trained otherwise VOSA and the TCs wil jump all over you in a PI. Hope this helps (I usualy charge a lot for this sort of advice too )
Unfortunatly even when trained, drivers, "no disrespect meant here", tend to want to jump on the torque wrench looking to crack the nuts, and of course they get tighter and stretch the studs and the wheels fall off. Best leaving it to the mechanics, then fit indicators for the drivers or ruck clips, never had a wheel ever come off with the latter. Nice clean wheels, no gold grease on studs just light oil. Sorted!!!
