Head torque

[weefek]

I don't doubt that it happens. The threads on the studs vs the nuts are terrible as I have noticed. But it's like wheel studs. You hand thread them to make sure they're threading right before you do any tightening. How many tightening sessions to take won't make any difference with regards to the threads stripping. If they're gonna strip, they're gonna strip.

 

[Wrench]

Part of routine maintenance is to resurface the head because these Chinesium heads need it

 

[weefek]

Part of routine maintenance is to resurface the head because these Chinesium heads need it

deck it with a glass pane background. like i've done on cpu heatsinks for the last 25 years.

 

[Wrench]

deck it with a glass pane background. like i've done on cpu heatsinks for the last 25 years.

Plate Glass 120 then 220 grit does it for me. 120 to take the carbon off then 220 to finish.
I find no need to go any finer. But some guys go for a mirror finish and go all the way to 3k grit

I mark up the head surface with a black sharpie pen, when all the black marks are gone I know it's flat.

Don't forget to resurface the Cyl deck every so often, it gets low spots from the exhaust or the bolt hole edges rise a little from the torque of the head bolts,

 

[weefek]

Plate Glass 120 then 220 grit does it for me. 120 to take the carbon off then 220 to finish.
I find no need to go any finer. But some guys go for a mirror finish and go all the way to 3k grit

I mark up the head surface with a black sharpie pen, when all the black marks are gone I know it's flat.

Don't forget to resurface the Cyl deck every so often, it gets low spots from the exhaust or the bolt hole edges rise a little from the torque on the head bolts.

Agreed, some people take it way to far and goto 1000 1500 2000 mirror finish. For an old school cpu heatsink yes. For a head / jug no. Honestly I do 120 / 400 / 800 on heads / jugs / intake / exhaust ports. No reason to go any higher than that.

I don't even use an intake gasket anymore. Both intake port and 'intake manifold' flattened and sanded to 800. A little bit of black gasket sealer and the deal is done. ( A VERY LITTLE BIT )

 

[Wrench]

Agreed, some people take it way to far and goto 1000 1500 2000 mirror finish. For an old school cpu heatsink yes. For a head / jug no. Honestly I do 120 / 400 / 800 on heads / jugs / intake / exhaust ports. No reason to go any higher than that.

I don't even use an intake gasket anymore. Both intake port and 'intake manifold' flattened and sanded to 800. A little bit of black gasket sealer and the deal is done. ( A VERY LITTLE BIT )

If it's working for you keep doing it

 

[Wrench]

Agreed, some people take it way to far and goto 1000 1500 2000 mirror finish. For an old school cpu heatsink yes. For a head / jug no. Honestly I do 120 / 400 / 800 on heads / jugs / intake / exhaust ports. No reason to go any higher than that.

I don't even use an intake gasket anymore. Both intake port and 'intake manifold' flattened and sanded to 800. A little bit of black gasket sealer and the deal is done. ( A VERY LITTLE BIT )

From 120 to 400 must take alot of elbow grease might save ya some work if ya hit it with 220 too

 

[ImpulseRocket]

Agreed, some people take it way to far and goto 1000 1500 2000 mirror finish. For an old school cpu heatsink yes. For a head / jug no. Honestly I do 120 / 400 / 800 on heads / jugs / intake / exhaust ports. No reason to go any higher than that.

I don't even use an intake gasket anymore. Both intake port and 'intake manifold' flattened and sanded to 800. A little bit of black gasket sealer and the deal is done. ( A VERY LITTLE BIT )

The "too far" mirror finish is ideal when a gasket being used is a non-annealed material - IE Soda or Beer can aluminum that people sometimes use to make head gaskets with. Since the metal is already work hardened and so thin that annealing is pretty much impossible to do that highly polished finish on each end helps create the best seal possible since the gasket material really can't compress.

For anything else there really isn't a reason to go beyond 400 in my opinion.

 

[Chainlube]

As far as a head go, I only use 220. It's coarse enough to check for flat, but fine enough to clean it up. Once the head is clean, there is no need to go further.