3.8 Mustang Head Bolt Torque. Confused?

Jan 27, 2004 2 Replies

Hi all, Any Ford techs out there?



I'm replacing a blown head gasket on my son's 3.8 liter'94 Mustang and I'm confused about the torque on the head bolts. According to the Haynes manual:



Step 1 15 ft. lbs. Step 2 29 ft. lbs. Step 3 37 ft. lbs. Step 4 Loosen the bolts 2 to 3 turns. Step 5 Long Bolts 29-37 ft. lbs. Short Bolts 7-15 ft. lbs. Step 6 Turn an each bolt another 90 degrees.



My question is is this information up to date? My Haynes manual is a few years old.



Why torque the short bolts to 37 ft. lbs. (Step 3) when the final torque is



7-15 ft. lbs.

What does Torque sequence does Ford state for the 3.8 liter?



Thanks for any help...



Confused...


Those are what's known as torque to yield head bolts. they are good for one use only since you are actually stretching them beyond their limits. You did buy new ones right?

MadDAWG

"MadDAWG" wrote in news:4017a059$ snipped-for-privacy@news.mhogaming.com:

I ordered new bolts when I dropped the heads off at the local auto machine shop to be cleaned and checked. Should get the heads back tomorrow...

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