I was torquing head bolts wrong for years until a buddy pointed out my mistake

I was putting a 2.4L back together in my home garage and my friend, who used to work at a Toyota dealer, asked why I was going in a circle. I'd always done a criss-cross pattern but started at the center, which he said can warp the block on some engines. How do you guys handle the sequence on inline fours, especially older ones with cast iron?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.avery5h agoMost Upvoted

Wait, doesn't starting at the center actually help avoid warping, @perry.joel?

perry.joel15h ago

Wait, you mean the "start in the middle and work your way out" method isn't just for eating a stack of pancakes? I did the same thing on an old Civic head, felt like a real genius until I found the factory manual diagram stuffed in the glovebox. For my old Datsun L20B, the book shows a real specific spiral pattern from the center, but you don't actually torque the center bolts first.