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I have a 91' m30 that im replacing all the gaskets on. I got new headbolts but they didnt come with washers and I threw the old ones away. Do I need them? The bolts are by Febi. Thanks.

Yes, you need them. They distribute the load, prevent galling, and will provide the proper torque. If you leave them off, it's almost guaranteed that you will not get proper bolt stretch when you torque them.

You MUST have them for the reasons Shawn mentioned. Order new ones, but reusing old ones (if you had them) would be acceptable if they are not worn excessively or damaged.

Whats the part number for them? If not, I can grab some at the local pull-it. Thanks.

p.s what size tap do I need for the block holes?

I suggest you familiarize yourself with realoem.com.

It has complete parts diagrams with part numbers and parts interchange. Check here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=11&fg=15

It's a great resource. Good luck.

I know about realoem.... just missed it. Thanks.

also..... I plan on installing the head that way I can wash the block. Can I torque them to the stage1 specs (43 + 1 ft.lb) and leave it like that for a while? Then when the motor goes in I can do the rest of the torquing since I have to run the motor for 25mins. The motors not going in anytime soon...but I want to clean it up before I put it in.


p.s anyone know the tap size for the threads in the block?

also what does the + 1 mean in torque spec? 43 + 1 ft/lb. THNAKS!

If you're looking for a tap to clean out the holes, be careful - a regular tap like you buy at Sears will actually remove more metal from the hole. You need a chasing tap, which is sized so it will clean out the threads but won't cut them any deeper. Personally, unless they are obviously full of rust or other debris, I'd just clean them out with a shop rag and leave it at that.

When I clean head bolt holes, I usually flip the block over and hose them out with brake cleaner and blast them clean with compressed air. Works like a charm and should be all you need to do. I wouldn't torque to only one setting, I'd do all three stages at one time. And it should be 44ft-lb +/-1 ft-lb.

Thanks alot. Im going to do that. As for the torqueing.... all 3 stages at 1 time? So just set my wrench to 44ft.lb and go at it and im done? hmmm. What does +/- 1 ft.lb mean? Sorry if I sound like a rookie. Thanks alot!

The e32 bentley says:

M30 Cylinderhead to Cylinderblock.

Stage 1 (43 +/- 1 ft.lb)
wait 20 minutes
Stage 2 (58 +/- 1 ft.lb)
run engine for 25 minutes
Stage 3 (35 + 5*)

You do all of the bolts in the proper order one stage at a time. You would torque all of the bolts in order to 44 +/- 1ft-lb, then all of the bolts to 59 +/-1 ft-lb in order, then 35 +/-5 degrees. The +/- tolerances mean you can be over or under the target amount by the amount listed, so you could torque to 43 or 45 ft-lb on stage on and be fine.

If it has to sit for a long period of time, I would wait to do the torquing once it is in the car. You should really follow the Bentley on the procedure. Also, I believe a lot of headgaskets will come with their own tourqing specs. I believe those will supercede the Bentley anyway. I just did this on my 1992 535i. The Headgasket came with it's own tourqing specs. The machine shopt told me to always follow the specs for the gasket as those are always being developed and updated.

If you have your motor on a stand, follow BBR's description of cleaning the bolt holes. That works great.

+/-1 pound means you can be on either side of the spec one pound. If spec is 48, you could do 47 or 49 and be okay.

Nice. So I should wait to torque them down? I want to hose this block down. So bigbronze..... did you do them all at once r is this a suggestion. I really want to get everything put together before I drop it in.

Torque you headbolts all at one time (stage 1-3). Like pldlnr said, don't just do one step and go back to it later. While it might not hurt anything, it's just not a good practice and at worse it could come back to bite you later.

PLDLNR - Hes saying wait till I drop the motor in the car. That way I can run the engine for 25minutes for the final torqueing. I want to torque them all at once.. can I? If so what torque should I set the wrench at?

You can torque everything outside the car, with the engine on the stand. You do all three stages of torque in one sitting. Done, put the engine in the car. Start engine, check for leaks, drive off.

Finally the set of words I needed. So what do I torque them to?

I am saying that you should follow the directions of the Bentley or the instructions that come with your headgasket in an ideal situation.

When I recently did mine, the headgasket had its own set of instructions. It was either reinz or elring, I can't remember for sure.

In an ideal world you would do it as the instructions say. If you can't do it that way, do it as close as possible. I don't understand why you can't put the engine in and then do the tourque sequence. If you install the motor, hook up the fuel/electrical first, tourquing is only about an hour long process with waiting period and warm-up.

If you cannot do the way the book says, do it all on the engine stand. To tell you the truth, I am not sure it will make too much difference. I tend to follow the instructions on stuff like that because I like to reduce my future anxiety.

I would wait... but my block needs to be cleaned/degreased and painted before I put it in. I dont think pressure washing it with the head and oil pan off is a good idea. So I want to install ever thing that way I only have to plug the manifold ports and valve cover breather port.

Im going to wait till I have the engine in. BTW this is going in my e30.

It should be no problem to clean the block with it open. Afterwards, dry it out, and then maybe wipe all the surfaces with an oiled rag and prevent corrosion. Or better yet, take it to a shop and have it hot tanked and cleaned with the solvents, inside and out. Then take it home and paint it and reassemble.

FWIW, I think I torqued my head bolts in the correct pattern in 3 stages to 20....40....60 lb/ft. and have not touched it since then. I did not warm up and then angle torque a final stage. I have had no problems in 4 years.

HTH

spinedocab wrote:
FWIW, I think I torqued my head bolts in the correct pattern in 3 stages to 20....40....60 lb/ft. and have not touched it since then. I did not warm up and then angle torque a final stage. I have had no problems in 4 years.

HTH

Agreed. When I put the head on 130K ago, that is the procedure I used. No torque angle, no warm up, no issues since installation in '99.

How long should I waited between each torquing?

flawdaboi407 wrote:How long should I waited between each torquing?

I usually do one step and move right into the next step. No waiting required.

I usually do one step and move right into the next step. No waiting required.

No problem with this, really, but there are those who would say that letting the thing sit for a while (half-hour, maybe) lets the head gasket compress a bit more and then you get a good torque on subsequent steps. I don' t think it matters.

I put everything back together. Now I have ALL NEW gaskets, seals, themostat, tensioner rail, tensioner guide, exhaust studs, exhaust nuts, rotor, dis cap, alt belt, ps belt, oil filter... Still need a e28 535i radiator, m10 sachs stage 3 clutch, custom motor mounts and some other small misc stuff till im ready for the swap 8)