Weekend Work

Roger Harmon
Roger Harmon Expert Adviser
edited November -1 in HUDSON
This weekend I want to re-torque my (iron) 262 cylinder head, and check the adjustment on my (Wasp) steering box.



Can someone post the steering box adjustment procedure for me? I don't have a manual yet.



The head gasket is seeping oil on the driver's side. I don't want to back the bolts off; I'll follow the '53 service bulletin procedure and work my way up to 75 lbs, cold, but which way is forward on this picture?



R/ Roger.



(I can't type below the pictures either!)

Comments

  • hudnut1tmr
    hudnut1tmr Expert Adviser
    Good question Roger. I always did it from the driver's side! (Just because the carb's get in the way on the passenger side) BUT... I don't really think it matters. As long as you go inside - out, you should be OK.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Umm that looks familiar
  • Roger Harmon
    Roger Harmon Expert Adviser
    51hornetA wrote:
    Umm that looks familiar



    Yeah; the other thread was kinda long so I copied the picture to this one.



    R/ Roger.
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    There is a mistake in the factory instructions in the last paragraph. Only the alloy heads should be torqued cold. The iron heads should be done hot. Also there is a better sequence for tightening, working alternately from the centre to each side in a radiating fashion.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    I have seen 5 separate references in the factory lit to torquing cold. They must have got that wrong a lot.
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    51hornetA wrote:
    I have seen 5 separate references in the factory lit to torquing cold. They must have got that wrong a lot.



    I guess they must have had their reasons, but I fail to understand their logic. Cast iron does not expand much at all when hot, but steel does, hence the necessity to torque the bolts down when hot. Theoretically, when the engine cools down, because of the shrinkage of the bolts when cold, the torque settings would be higher, hence torquing down cold will have no effect, as they will already be above the setting. Alloy, on the other hand expands more than iron (that's why piston slap disappears when hot - the piston expands more than the cylinder bore). If you torqued an alloy head hot, when it cooled down it could cause distortion as the shrinkage of the bolts would increase the torque and cause stress, warpage or cracking of the head. Any other thoughts on this?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    I know I am looking through all my lit to see if there is a reasonable explanation for their choice. I have a ton of factory manuals and even some engineering docs from Baits. Might just be a sign of the time the docs were written. Though I have always torqued the heads on my Hudson engines cold and never had a problem so I cannot say. And yes I have used the alternate torquing sequence and had no problems there either.
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    Geoff & 51HornetA-

    I probably shouldn't even chime in here, 'cause I'm just a shadetree, but, ironically I was having this very conversation the other day with a couple of acquaintances (mates).

    Geoff, essentially your assessment listed above is logically sound. Only addition I would add, and food for thought, is that the denser the material, the less "warpage" or change in the metal under low-heat conditions, such as in an internal combustion engine. Hence, torquing cold or hot on cast iron heads has a minimal effect on physical changes in the head. Actually, there's more change by comparison on the bolts themselves, as you mentioned. Again, with hardened head bolts, the change is negligible, so that torquing hot or cold on cast iron heads is acceptable either way.

    I have always contended that re-torquing heads after initial break-in was due more to vibrational changes than it was due to hot and cold shrinkage, but I have never known for sure.

    Interesting stuff though. I'm always more fascinated by the "hows" and "whys" that makes something work.
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    The other factor of course is compression of the head gasket, which with the old fashioned copper/asbestos type is considerable.
  • Roger Harmon
    Roger Harmon Expert Adviser
    Well,



    I re-torqued the head bolts, but it's still blowing bubbbles, so I will have to change the gasket. As long as I'm pulling the head, does anyone have a (re-surface-able) 232 iron head that I can purchase?



    BTW; the only slop I could find in the steering was at the center steer bearing.



    R/ Roger.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories

In this Discussion