I was torquing head bolts in the wrong order for a decade

I was rebuilding a 5.7 Hemi in a 2012 Ram at the shop last month, and the new guy, Jake, asked why I was using the factory manual's sequence instead of the star pattern I always used. I argued with him for five minutes before he showed me the TSB about block flex on that specific engine. I've been doing it my way on everything for years. Has anyone else had a specific procedure they were taught that turned out to be flat wrong for certain models?

3 comments

3 Comments

hollyl251mo ago

My buddy swore by a certain brake line flaring tool for every import job... until he did a late model Toyota and the factory flare was a totally different angle. He had to eat the cost of the line and lost half a day. Sometimes what works on ninety nine cars bites you on the hundredth.

emmaclark1mo ago

Yeah, that line about "what works on ninety nine cars bites you on the hundredth" really hits home. I used to be the guy with one flaring kit thinking it was good enough for everything. Then I ran into a weird Mazda bubble flare that just would not seal right. Now I double check the service manual for the flare type before I even touch a line.

carter.julia1mo ago

Exactly, and it's not just flares either. I mean, take brake line fittings for example. Some older Fords use that weird inverted flare with a 45 degree seat, while a lot of European stuff is totally different. You can get the flare perfect but if the fitting angle is off by a few degrees it'll just weep forever. Makes you realize how many little specs are out there that we just assume are standard.

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