Socket suggestions?

[rust in the eye]

The squeeze should be relieved evenly, hard to do with a zip gun.
Old stuff with heavy cast iron heads probably no big deal.

 

[Burt Shaver]

The squeeze should be relieved evenly, hard to do with a zip gun.
Old stuff with heavy cast iron heads probably no big deal.

Yep, from outside in

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

The squeeze should be relieved evenly, hard to do with a zip gun.
Old stuff with heavy cast iron heads probably no big deal.

Your saying a room temperature aluminum cylinder will warp by unevenly un bolting it? Or a aluminum cylinder head will be so warped after its been overheated that its going to bust the head bolts off during removal?

I have literally done hundreds of head gasket repairs on all types of cylinder head designs and never took this into consideration. I have always zipped them off front to back. If it has been overheated its going to the machine shop. If your working on a Hemi or a LS you have to pull the heads to replace the lifters and I have never had an issue with those either.

 

[rust in the eye]

Your saying a room temperature aluminum cylinder will warp by unevenly un bolting it? Or a aluminum cylinder head will be so warped after its been overheated that its going to bust the head bolts off during removal?

I have literally done hundreds of head gasket repairs on all types of cylinder head designs and never took this into consideration. I have always zipped them off front to back. If it has been overheated its going to the machine shop. If your working on a Hemi or a LS you have to pull the heads to replace the lifters and I have never had an issue with those either.

I'm not saying it will but this is the way I do it, by hand in opposite order as they would be installed.
This is an avocation for me so time saved with another method means nothing to me.

 

[Burt Shaver]

Your saying a room temperature aluminum cylinder will warp by unevenly un bolting it? Or a aluminum cylinder head will be so warped after its been overheated that its going to bust the head bolts off during removal?

I have literally done hundreds of head gasket repairs on all types of cylinder head designs and never took this into consideration. I have always zipped them off front to back. If it has been overheated its going to the machine shop. If your working on a Hemi or a LS you have to pull the heads to replace the lifters and I have never had an issue with those either.

I’m not saying it will cause any damage to the head but when I was changing the lifters in my 6.4 Hemi my friend who works at the dealership gave me the torque values/sequence, if I remember correctly I believe it was 8 steps before finally doing the last torque to angle and yes, the dealer service manual did say to release the clamp on the cylinder head in increments and in sequence.

 

[Notgrownup]

I’m a casual user, beat my stuff up if I need to. I only buy Harbor Freight stuff now. I can’t see spending tons of money on a tool when if I break it, I can drive 15 minutes away and they will replace it free without much hassle. Lowes won’t do this. I know there is HF hate but it’s save a many of snafu in Sunday repairs in the home garage.

 

[Ohio Andy]

I’m a casual user, beat my stuff up if I need to. I only buy Harbor Freight stuff now. I can’t see spending tons of money on a tool when if I break it, I can drive 15 minutes away and they will replace it free without much hassle. Lowes won’t do this. I know there is HF hate but it’s save a many of snafu in Sunday repairs in the home garage.

I think I would categorize it as harbor freight. Love from some and harbor freight hate from others.

I tried some harbor freight stuff. I disliked so much. I went and bought crazy expensive stuff. And I bought some harbor freight stuff that I absolutely adore...

So conflicted...

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Lots of good brands out there in the modern times.

Tekton
Duralast
Kobalt
Capri
Icon
Pittsburgh
DieHard
Power Torque
Husky
Williams
Proto

Really any modern sockets are ok. I use all of those brands listed at work and home and they are spectacular and don’t break the bank. Even new Craftsman is at least somewhat decent especially the Taiwan made stuff. Carlyle used to be really good too but I haven’t bought any since they switched to the green color labels so I can’t give a fair opinion on those until I try them. Gearwrench isn’t bad but pricey these days. I prefer to get most of my tools that don’t come off the trucks from one of the parts stores as they have really came a long way with tools.

 

[Notgrownup]

I think I would categorize it as harbor freight. Love from some and harbor freight hate from others.

I tried some harbor freight stuff. I disliked so much. I went and bought crazy expensive stuff. And I bought some harbor freight stuff that I absolutely adore...

So conflicted...

I get it. I picked a Dewalt miter saw instead of Bauer, a Delta Table saw but I buy a lot of HF stuff to have on the bike. And spare tool kits in my cars.

 

[Mecha]

I agree with the Capri, Williams, CAT, Wright, Tekton, Icon for Chrome.

I also really have had excellent luck with Capri, and Pittsburgh stuff for impacts. I'm a home gamer, but often get into repairing things and have a set for factories when I build up work areas. Also, harbor freight is in small towns now and can quickly exchange things when needed.

Capri and Tekton labeling and complete sets are quite nice. I think the key in the budget zone is US and Taiwanese made pieces, and excellent customer service.

 

[AEAdam]

Why not? I've done it many times. Am I missing something?

Yes! You are missing something. Stop thinking bolts are rigid and instead think of them as springs and the parts they hold together are upholstery foam. Think about what happens as you tighten each spring incrementally. The foam compresses evenly and uniformly. Taking them out is exactly the same.

Now you guys who have done this a million times and never once had a problem, I can predict you didn’t start at one end unzipping bolts. You probably left middle bolts for last, which is smart.

Smarter is to release each bolt in the same sort of pattern you used when you torque them. Failure to do so could cause internal stresses you don’t want. You are basically stress relieving a head that’s been deformed elastically for a long time.

I don’t know the numbers off hand, but 80ftlbs may translate (depending on the thread) to 1000lbs of tension or more. Threads are ramps. You are converting rotation into translation (bolt tension).