37 ft lbs and then 120 degrees. ok.. 37 ft lbs in 3 steps.. did 12.3, 24.6, 37.. went by the haynes manual order of torquing them down and used the proper order. torque angle gauge and figure ok 120 degrees should be easy. WRONG. either im weak as ****, did something wrong, or is this really just insanely hard to torque down? 2002 v6 btw.

 

You are using new head bolts, and not the used, already been stretched bolts?
Torque to yield bolts don't want to get reused.

 

yes brand new felpro bolts. ive never done this before but im pretty sure ive done everything right so far. its just this final 120 degree turn is really giving me problems. im a small dude but ive got a bunch of stuff propped up against my garage door so i can push off with my feet to get that final UMPH and im still having to use literally ALL my strength to even move them a small amount. also for the record i cleaned the **** out of the threads too. like spent 2 days just cleaning them.

 

Did you use anything on the threads? Without looking at the book, I don't know for the 3.8, but I do know for the LT1 most need some thread sealant on them since they hit water jackets.

 

you can download the factory manual. 120 degrees is what 1/3 of a revolution.

 

I don't know that it would make matters any more or less difficult, but you're also supposed to install the head bolts dry, meaning no oil between bolts and head. Other than that, maybe start lifting weights in the mean time! lol

 

Yah I put them in dry. They already came precoated with sealant on the threads. I watched a few videos about doing it before hand because I never used a torque wrench or angle gage before and it looked so easy but I should have known better that it's never easy. I swear if this car doesn't run when I'm done I'm gonna cry like a baby lol. Let me ask you guys.. Theoretically speaking what if I'm off that final 120 degrees by a little bit? Like a little bit over or under? What could potentially happen? It was pretty tight at 37 ft lbs and with that extra 120 degrees they are REALLY tight.

 

have the torque wrench tested. what kind is it.

 

Pittsburg 1/2 in 150 ft lb. **** I didn't know that needed to be. Should I buy all new head bolts after having it calibrated? I only did the driver side ones. Do you think I did damage to the threads? Also what places do calibration? I just goggles it for my small town and didn't come up with anything? Or should I just buy a brand new one? This one came from a pawn shop. would a new one be precalibrated? can i just buy a digital adapter and compare the reading on the adapter to the clicking the wrench makes when set to a certain measurement?

Edit well I did a kind of ghetto test. Grabbed a 15 lb weight and hold it up to a secure lug nut and leveled it. Set it to 15 ft lbs and put the weight at the 1 ft length on the handle. It clicks at 15 but not 16.think that's good?

 

Your torque wrench is probably close enough. With yield bolt you are stretching steel. If there is a little dirt in the threads it can make a huge different. I normally run a undersize tap into the threads to clean them out and blow them out with air and I still can get variation.

The angle works best in one smooth motion but at this point I would think you would be better off with what is in there now then uncompressing and recompressing the head gasket to change the bolts, assuming you are not way off. If you have an issue it will most likely be premature head gasket failure.