Enjoyed the video. I can see where to is better to do this test and not have the threads pull out when you are torquing the last nut with the head on. A question that occurred to is: what are your thoughts on reusing lug nuts?
I assume you mean wheel lug nuts. These are fine to re-use as long as the threads are good. There's much less force on them than on the head nuts. The most common failure with wheel lugs is for the studs to come loose from the hub.
It's easy to compensate for oversized washer holes: Just go a size smaller, and also note the difference between SAE and USS sizes. In some cases a metric washer will give the snug fit.
Good suggestion. Washers can still throw off the clamp load, and they don't spread the clamp load like the spacer does. But I agree that, if you insist on going with washers, having a snug fit is critical.
@@alexiskai Why are you torquing the nuts to 65 when the original Ford specs call for 55 ft lbs ? According to Snydars they recommend 55 ft lbs max with their 5.5 head .
@@michaelburns3645 That's a great question and something I should have covered more fully in the video. Several reasons: 1. It's a common misconception that the original specs call for 55 ft-lbs. I've never seen anyone produce these specs. Modern torque wrenches were not used on the factory line. Workers torqued by feel, and it's likely that if anything they applied more torque than was strictly needed. 2. 65 ft-lbs is recommended by some head makers, notably by Larry Brumfield for his Super Brumfield heads - and since this is Larry's procedure, I went with his standard. 3. People sometimes opt for 65 ft-lbs if the block or head (or both) has some low spots, on the theory that it will cause the iron to accommodate a little more and close those gaps. 4. There is a common idea that 65 ft-lbs is Crazy and Way Too Much and will lead to thread failure. The truth is that most heads will handle 65 just fine, even with Class 2A threads as you see on these general-purpose studs. So it's worth showing people in the video that a head with what I consider normal wear is actually pretty strong. 5. There's evidence that torquing a fastener to a higher percentage of its proof load is actually more stable, over a long period of cyclical tension load, than torquing to a lower percentage, so if the block can take 65 ft-lbs then that may be a better setting. This is covered on p. 59 here: practicalmaintenance.net/wp-content/uploads/Fundamentals-of-Threaded-Fasteners.pdf Having said all that, as Larry notes in the written description above, if you plan on torquing to 55 for your head, you could reasonably torque to 55 for the test as well. I'll be doing 55 for my new cylinder head. If 65 gives you the willies, don't do it! Better to test at a lower load than not to test at all.
I love understanding the technical details and you explain things in plain language without jargon. Thank you!
Nice, keep them coming, please.
Got one in the editing bay now.
Very nice video, I have a Brumfield head and I will surely follow your procedure before I put it on. Thank You oh I have a 1930 Coupe B45
Thank you, this is very informative
Enjoyed the video. I can see where to is better to do this test and not have the threads pull out when you are torquing the last nut with the head on. A question that occurred to is: what are your thoughts on reusing lug nuts?
I assume you mean wheel lug nuts. These are fine to re-use as long as the threads are good. There's much less force on them than on the head nuts. The most common failure with wheel lugs is for the studs to come loose from the hub.
It's easy to compensate for oversized washer holes: Just go a size smaller, and also note the difference between SAE and USS sizes. In some cases a metric washer will give the snug fit.
Good suggestion. Washers can still throw off the clamp load, and they don't spread the clamp load like the spacer does. But I agree that, if you insist on going with washers, having a snug fit is critical.
@@alexiskai Why are you torquing the nuts to 65 when the original Ford specs call for 55 ft lbs ? According to Snydars they recommend 55 ft lbs max with their 5.5 head .
@@michaelburns3645 That's a great question and something I should have covered more fully in the video. Several reasons:
1. It's a common misconception that the original specs call for 55 ft-lbs. I've never seen anyone produce these specs. Modern torque wrenches were not used on the factory line. Workers torqued by feel, and it's likely that if anything they applied more torque than was strictly needed.
2. 65 ft-lbs is recommended by some head makers, notably by Larry Brumfield for his Super Brumfield heads - and since this is Larry's procedure, I went with his standard.
3. People sometimes opt for 65 ft-lbs if the block or head (or both) has some low spots, on the theory that it will cause the iron to accommodate a little more and close those gaps.
4. There is a common idea that 65 ft-lbs is Crazy and Way Too Much and will lead to thread failure. The truth is that most heads will handle 65 just fine, even with Class 2A threads as you see on these general-purpose studs. So it's worth showing people in the video that a head with what I consider normal wear is actually pretty strong.
5. There's evidence that torquing a fastener to a higher percentage of its proof load is actually more stable, over a long period of cyclical tension load, than torquing to a lower percentage, so if the block can take 65 ft-lbs then that may be a better setting. This is covered on p. 59 here:
practicalmaintenance.net/wp-content/uploads/Fundamentals-of-Threaded-Fasteners.pdf
Having said all that, as Larry notes in the written description above, if you plan on torquing to 55 for your head, you could reasonably torque to 55 for the test as well. I'll be doing 55 for my new cylinder head. If 65 gives you the willies, don't do it! Better to test at a lower load than not to test at all.