After the last time I put the valve cover on it ended up leaking, so I thought I’d just get a new gasket and start over. Relying on my vast mechanical experience, I also thought maybe because last time I just tightened the eleven bolts holding it down by feel I may have under or over tightened them. The cure to hopefully not create another leaker maybe would be to maybe actually read the manual and torque the bolts to the proper value.
The specifications I have, thanks to a friendly Miata.net Forum member, 68.6 to 96.3 in/lbs, but the torque wrench to use, not so much. When I started looking for an in/lb torque wrench I was surprised at how much they wanted for them and I really didn’t want to spend that kind of money on something I might not use very much. I thought maybe I might be able borrow one. I could have bought one off Amazon for $22, but how good could it be for that price?
I had a line on one from a co-worker, but he couldn’t find his or forgot or something or other, so that was a bust. Today we were at a birthday part at a friend’s house and I asked a fellow MMC member who as there too if he had an in/lb torque wrench and if so could I borrow it. He did, so I told him I’d call later to see about getting it. When I called, he told me his was a beam type wrench, but it was for a lot higher range than I needed because the gradient marks were 50 in/lbs apart. That meant I would have to find the spot a little more than halfway between mark number one and mark number two. And even if I did, how accurate would that rating be with it so close to the bottom of the scale?
Figuring I had wasted enough time and effort chasing the whole borrowing thing, it was time to bite the bullet and just buy one., So I did some internet shopping of the local places and there was only one auto parts store that one in stock, but they wanted $120 for it. So I checked the local BBHIW stores and Home Depot had one for $70. I am now the proud owner of a Husky 20-200 in/lb click style torque wrench.
If you compare the above photo of the red valve cover with the one from earlier this month, you’ll notice that while I had the cover off this time I did some more painting on it – the lettering is now black.
Yesterday on the way home from work the Purple Whale slipped past the 62,000 miles.