Head Bolt/Torque issues.

[mycargoesvroom]

So I'm putting my heads on the other day and I notice bolt/hole "C" is resistant going down. About halfway down the bolt starts to resist just a bit. As soon as I noticed it, I removed the head, checked the bolt/threads for shrapnel, and everything checked out. I decided to switch the bolt going in to "C" to see if anything changed and it went down much better. So I start the torque down and everything is gravy until step 5, 11ftlbs. Every other bolt was fine, but that one was already above 11ft lbs. I'm afraid at this point if I continue to step 6 and 7 (90deg, then 90 again) that the final value on that stud will be more then 180deg and cause an issue. I oiled the threads/washers as per the manual.

Any suggestions? This is my 3rd HG changed on a SOHC EJ25 and this is the first time I've had any trouble.

[r3v_v3ng3]

Did you clean and chased the threads on the block? This is a must because if there's leftover gunk in there it will throw off your torque

[Thomistopheles]

Definitely run a thread chaser through it, then clean it out again.

[Dead91silvia]

Did you clean and chased the threads on the block? This is a must because if there's leftover gunk in there it will throw off your torque

+1

I had this problem with my dads Toyota 22re. I had to use a breaker bar to to pull 3 of the head bolts out. Before I re-installed the head, I spent about an hour cleaning to threads. Lots of carbon/burn oil in the threads. Not so common in Subaru's, but I have seen it happen in them as well.

[mlitz]

And DO NOT! use a tap... make sure it is a thread chaser, ARP has them.