I am doing the valve covers among other things while the truck is in the nice heated garage. The question I have is when you put the cover on after applying the sealer, how tight do you torque the bolts. Do you just tighten them until the sealer squishes a bit to fill gaps or do you torque it to specs. The torque spec I seem to see most is 6Ft-lbs or 72in.-lbs. which is the same. :think:

All in Foot Pounds

Engine Accessories

belt tensioner--37
Engine Mounts:

Front Mount Bolt--44 (59)
Front Mount Nut--33 (45)
Braket-to-Block Bolt--38 (51)
Through Bolt--70 (95)
Through Bolt Nut--50 (68)
Bellhousing To Engine Bolts 30 (40)
Torque Convertor-To-Flexplate Bolts--46 (63)
Cylinder Head:


1988-1995:

First--20 (25)
Second--50 (68)
Last--1/4 Turn or 90* More
1996-1998:

First--20 (25)
Second--55 (75)
Last--1/4 Turn or 90* More
Exhaust Manifold:

Exhaust Manifold Bolts--26 (35)
Flywheel & Ring Gear:

All Models--65 (90)
Fuel System:

IP Nuts--31 (42)
IP Bolts--17 (23)
IP to Injector Line--20 (25)
IP Feed Line--20 (25)
Fuel Filter Bolts--31 (42)
Injectors--50 (70)
Glow Plug System:

Glow Plugs--17 (23)
Glow Plug Controller--25 (35)
Intake Manifold:

1988-1995 Vehicles--32 (42)
1996-1998 Vehicles--31 (42)
Fuel Filter Bolts--31 (42)
Oil Pan:

Rear Two Bolts--17 (23)
All Others--89 in. Lbs (10)
Timing Chain Cover:

Cover To Block--30-33 (40-45)
Baffle--33 (45)
Thermostat Housing & Crossover:

1988-1991---35 (47)
1992-1998---31 (42)
Turbo:

To Exhaust Manifold--43 (58)
Oil Return Tube--19 (26)
Oil Feed Tube--13 (17)
Long Brace Bolt--37 (50)
Long Brace Nut--26 (34)
Short Brace Bolts--19 (25)
Valve Cover:

Valve Cover Bolts--16 (22)
Water Pump:

To Plate--31 (42)
Three Bottom Right to Engine--31 (42)
All Other to Engine--17 (23)
Google search is your friend!

I already have all the specs but 16Ft.-lbs. seems like a lot. Most other motors show a spec of 6Ft-lbs. So anyway with gasket maker do you tighten it to the spec. or wait till it dries then torque it tighter?

tighten it to spec and forget about it, In 20yrs+ I have never left RTV to set then tighten it down. that being said make sure your valve cover sealing area is straight and use a ball peen hammer to dimple the bolt holes upwards, that way the valve cover will be sitting flush with the head. if done properly the valve covers will not leak.

All in Foot Pounds
Engine Mounts:

Front Mount Bolt--44 (59)
Front Mount Nut--33 (45)
Braket-to-Block Bolt--38 (51)
Through Bolt--70 (95)
Through Bolt Nut--50 (68)
Bellhousing To Engine Bolts 30 (40)
Torque Convertor-To-Flexplate Bolts--46 (63)Cylinder Head:
1988-1995:

First--20 (25)
Second--50 (68)
Last--1/4 Turn or 90* More1996-1998:

First--20 (25)
Second--55 (75)
Last--1/4 Turn or 90* MoreExhaust Manifold:

Exhaust Manifold Bolts--26 (35)Flywheel & Ring Gear:

All Models--65 (90)Fuel System:

IP Nuts--31 (42)
IP Bolts--17 (23)
IP to Injector Line--20 (25)
IP Feed Line--20 (25)
Fuel Filter Bolts--31 (42)
Injectors--50 (70)Glow Plug System:

Glow Plugs--17 (23)
Glow Plug Controller--25 (35)Intake Manifold:

1988-1995 Vehicles--32 (42)
1996-1998 Vehicles--31 (42)
Fuel Filter Bolts--31 (42)Oil Pan:

Rear Two Bolts--17 (23)
All Others--89 in. Lbs (10)Timing Chain Cover:

Cover To Block--30-33 (40-45)
Baffle--33 (45)Thermostat Housing & Crossover:

1988-1991---35 (47)
1992-1998---31 (42)Turbo:

To Exhaust Manifold--43 (58)
Oil Return Tube--19 (26)
Oil Feed Tube--13 (17)
Long Brace Bolt--37 (50)
Long Brace Nut--26 (34)
Short Brace Bolts--19 (25)Valve Cover:

Valve Cover Bolts--16 (22)Water Pump:

To Plate--31 (42)
Three Bottom Right to Engine--31 (42)
All Other to Engine--17 (23)
Google search is your friend!

That deserves a sticky or something in faqs

already seen that chart somewhere...

tighten it to spec and forget about it, In 20yrs+ I have never left RTV to set then tighten it down. that being said make sure your valve cover sealing area is straight and use a ball peen hammer to dimple the bolt holes upwards, that way the valve cover will be sitting flush with the head. if done properly the valve covers will not leak.

2x
I'll add both sealing surfaces HAVE to be clean and dry.:)
Use brake clean, it leaves no film and drys fast.;)
Tightening down the bolts after the RTV is dry will only make it leak again.:eek:

OK great guys. That is what I needed to know. Thanks a lot!:)

Big mistake I seen a lot of people make, is use to much of the sealer-- it squeezes out, come loose -- then plugs up filters and drain holes. :eek:

Guys, I'm just reopening this thread despite it being a few years old because me and Racer55 recently referenced it when torquing my exhaust manifold gasket yesterday.

The chart seems a little ambiguous about what figures are what - one is ft-lbs we're guess, but what is the other? Is it newton-meters? It says "All in foot pounds", but then there are multiple numbers which could lead members to confusion...and since this thread comes up when you search for 6.5 torque settings via Google, it seems like it should be a lot clearer.

Can someone with the actual service manuals cross reference and, for the record, state which numbers are which above please? I'll edit the post accordingly.

I'm now wondering if my exhaust manifold should have been torqued to 26 ft-lbs, or 35 ft-lbs.

With all the rebuilding that I am doing right now I'm glad this point was brought up. I have a copy of the military general maintenance manual that I got out of the sticky section and I defiantly see differences in torque values. For example the flywheel, here it says 65 (90) but in the book it says 65 lb-ft (88 Nm), glow plug here says 17 (23) and the book says 8-12 lb-ft (11-16 Nm). These are just a few examples that I posted but it seems that most are in some way different than what is posted here. As for the exhaust manifolds I know the ones on the military are different than what we have. I think I'll be using the manual for my torquing. If there is a min and max torque listed I'll start off at the min, I know some guys like to go right to the max but hey that is just me. Or you could always just use German torque...Goodntight:D

My reference was the diesel page manual which listed the torque specs for the 6.2 first and the 6.5 second. with another column in newton meters in same format. the exhaust manifold for the 6.5 is 26 ft lbs. the 35 number is for a 6.5 in Newton Meters. My Chilton agrees. hope that helps

confirmed. I converted the numbers to Newton Meters and it came up with the numbers in brackets

and google search brings it up as its the reference for torque in the 6.5 FAQ section

some are missing, as i didn't see harmonic balancer (200lb) and my numbers in in/lb converted differently than what was listed