Torque specs - cam cover hex nuts

[Roycape]

Can someone please tell me what the torque should be for the 4 long hex nuts that secure the cam covers on a 1981 Spider? I'm a little concerned that I might be overtightening it. I heard a creak when I was tightening it last and backed it off. The IAP manual does not have these torque specs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Roy

[So Cal Mark]

as a general rule, 6mm bolts will take about 6 ft lbs of torque

[BEEK]

ive seen people crack the stud bridges out of the cam housings, if you thing you heard a noise , you might check

[pastaroni34]

I have in my posession 3 cracked cam covers. Guess how they got that way.

Mark is right, they don't require much, 7.7lb-ft - 11lb-ft depending on how you classify them.

[Roycape]

Thanks for the input. Once I heard the creak, I got scared and removed the cam cover to see what I broke. Luckily, the cam cover was not cracked and the mounting studs in the cam housing were not cracked as well. I was able to replace the cover and torque to the right specs. Whew!! Thank goodness everything appears Ok. I'm hoping the creak was the washer against the cam housing since I had just painted them. I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep positive thoughts in my head.

[Adam]

One of my mounting studs is cracked. Tried to JB weld it so that I could torque the cam cover, but it is not holding. Any tips or things to be aware of having the stud spot welded to the bridge?

[ventura ace]

Is the stud cracked or the cam tower 'bridge'. If the stud, replace the stud. If the cam tower bridge is cracked, then you may be screwed, and need to replace the cam tower. You could possibly drill and tap the cam tower deeper for the same diameter stud, or maybe drill and tap for a larger diameter stud (and use a stepped stud that has large diameter on one end and small diameter on the other end. Or, you might weld as you suggested. I'll look at a cam tower tonight to see if there is room to drill deeper or larger diameter without causing problems.

Alvon

[Adam]

The bridge is cracked, PO torqued it too much. That's why that side of my cam cover has always dribbled oil. Any tips to welding the stud and bridge? Is it steel or aluminum?

Thanks,

Adam

[ventura ace]

It is aluminum. Sorry, I don't have much experience with welding, so I can't advise. I took a look at the bridge on a cam tower this morning. There's not much material to work with, that's for sure. Is it possible to get a longer stud that is assisted by a nut on the underside of the bridge? It looks that there would be plenty of room there to clear the rotating cam shaft. If you do something like that, you should definitely loctite or JB weld the nut in place to keep it from accidentally backing off and causing further havoc.

Alvon

[Adam]

Hey Alvon,

Thanks for the suggestion about using a longer stud with a nut on the bottom. I made the modification yesterday. Once I got everything in place, I covered the nut, bottom of the stud and the cracked side of the bridge in copious amounts of JB Weld. Bumped the engine this morning and the nut clears fine. The valve cover is now hand tight, but I want to let the JB weld cure another day before I change the gasket and tighten the bolts.
If this fix doesn't hold, then I'll have no choice but to get another cam tower. Bayless has one for $90 bucks or I can keep searching the parts page. Are the cam towers interchangeable for the various years?

[pastaroni34]

They're interchangeable, if you need one I have a few, I'll send one your way for the cost of shipping. I know it is more work but I would not keep a cracked cam box around.

[Adam]

Hey pastaroni34, I have a bit of oil on the top of my engine from the valve cover leak; I know I should have cleaned it by now. When I fired the car up for a second time yesterday after having torqued the head, I noticed some bubbles coming up through the oil surrounding spark plug #3. Unless I can use thread sealant on the spark plug, looks like I am in need of a new head and have earned a winter project.