tightening the head

[DrMcDave]

i have done the first two cycles of torques on the head. The bentley says to run the engine for xx minutes before doing the final torqing. Is this necessary/will at affect the valve cover gasket at all. i have two so its not a big deal either way. Also race wear studs are in, i had trouble getting them all down an even amount because they didn't have anything (like a hex) to turn them with. We double nutted them down to where they should be, but some are uneven....is this a problem, should i work with them more before running the engine?

[Chris325/325i]

with the newer Torx style head bolts you don't need to wait or heat cycle them. Just torque once, then 90 degrees and 90 degrees again.

[iXer]

Well now he's not using the new torx head bolts, he is using studs.
I'd like to know the answer to the original question as well.

[DrMcDave]

i got the head studs the whole way down. i just took the nuts off the studs and turned them down with my hands, not sure why they wouldn't go down the first time, regardless they are in now.

[RedBaron86325]

When installing new studs, it helps to run a bottoming tap through the threads and use compressed air to clean all the junk out. If the threads appear 'dry', you may want to add a drop or two of oil to the tap. The goal is not to 'cut' but to clean/chase debris from the threads. It may take a lot of air and a couple of passes with the tap. New head studs should install about 1/4 the way down by hand and easily double nutted to the bottom. Also, it helps to measure the depth of EACH hole and transfer that depth with a sharpie to the stud for that hole. It will help you know when you are getting close to bottom. I have even used long Q-tips from my gun cleaning kit to assist in debris removal from the bottom.

[gstuning]

If you dont have air the q-tips are good,

I just put in stefans head th other day and then noticed when adjusting the cam timing that it was completely 180° off so I can´t turn the head unless I remove the head and kinda time it right and then re install for minor adjustments,,

note : this removal and install is not regular practice as we are only doing this to check if the number 6 is running cold ( i.e coolant coming from the valve area into the port) so to see if it´s just like the oher head we pulled to determine the block faulty or the head, block preferably as we have a few :) and that would make 2 heads ok and one block, wich would be perfect for next winters projects

besides stefan already bought another complete engine and is going to use that with a new gasket and torx,,
sorry to go off topic but somehow I just had to express my self :)

[E30/M30]

You can also get compressed air in a can from plumber's merchant's to blow the crap out,i used a can of carb cleaner to losen the crud then blasted it out of the bolt hole's with the tin of air.