Thread: torquing head gaskets (what not to do )

Have a look at these pics of a 3.9 I pulled apart today .
Im guessing one of 2 things . Either someone reused stretch bolts or not torqued with proper wrench . Both sides have compromised gaskets but only one was real bad .

Stretched Bolts !!! Hardly ! if they did stretch past their elasticity limit then they wont tension up, besides the Threads in the alloy block will pull way before the bolts fail. Thats one weird tensioning sequence , if thats what it was ! Probably why no Motor manufacturer builds engines using Tension Wrenches anymore , they all use the Torque Turn , stretch method . Rememeber than torque on the bolt does not necessarily mean Clamping power, and its the clamping power that does the work.