Injector Seal Torque +90 or +180?

220629

Well-known member
Injector bolt seal degrees 62 inch pounds replace

The Torque +90 degrees vs torque +180 degrees aka 1/4 turn vs 1/2 turn additional question occasionally surfaces. This is a compilation of some information.

But then the + 90° turn puts the bolt into yield.

PS Some manuals say + 90° then + 90° again (ie + 180°). I'm not sure which is correct.

Keith.

... I'm not sure which is correct.

Keith.
I'm not either, but 90 degrees seems sufficient.

Here at the Global Sprinter Research Center I am always eager to investigate Sprinter related technical issues.

Group members have noticed that Mercedes Benz has a published torque spec for the injector hold down bolts that seemingly differs significantly from the long standing DC published specs as shown in DC workshop manuals as well as on the instruction sheets that DC at one time included with replacement injectors.

The extended threaded shank length, 85.83mm long, 6.0mm dia., 8.8 grade, factory hold down bolt, hold down pawl and injector seal ring are identical part numbers for both the 5 cyl. and 6 cyl. engines.

Using my 'test' 647 Sprinter cylinder head, which is permanently mounted to one of my work benches, I have recently performed tests related to hold down bolt torque.

This dedicated 'test' cyl head has been quite useful in my repair tooling fabrication.

As many of you know I have developed in-house tools and fixtures for removal of broken hold down bolts, repair to stronger than new stripped hold down threads, and various custom black death repair tools for my in-house use.

This test head features my custom carbon steel hold down threads making it ideal for these hold down bolt torque experiments because data is not compromised by any aluminum thread deformation or failure.

After careful measuring of bolt length (before and after torquing) and injector seat seal thickness to 0.01mm tolerance, and using a calibrated Snap-on electronic 1/4 inch drive torque wrench set to display in/lbs and accurate to 0.1 in/lbs, I have the following observations to report:

TRIAL 1- A fresh, factory hold down bolt torqued to 62 in/lbs (approx 7 Nm) and then an additional 90 degrees, results in 0.08mm crush of a fresh factory seal ring.

The Sprinter's copper seat seal ring features a double convex cross section and the clamping force induced 'crush' creates narrow sealing flats on each side of the ring.

Monitoring the bolt torque during the 90 degree rotation reveals a peak of 180-190 in/lbs before full 90 degrees is achieved and remains at this level all the way to 90 degrees. This peak/plateau signals bolt yield has occurred.

TRIAL 2- A new seal ring and a fresh, factory hold down bolt torqued to 62 in/lbs. (approx. 7Nm) and then an additional 90 degrees X2 (FULL 180 degrees), results in the same 0.08mm crush of the seal ring as well as a steady 180-190 in/lbs torque reading during angle tightening.

Being a stretch to yield, non-reuse, bolt it was not surprising to see permanent elongation. Elongation was approx. 0.30mm for each increment of 90 degrees of tightening rotation (after the 62 in/lb initial torque).

TRIAL 3-A fresh hold down bolt tightened to failure. The bolt tolerated several additional 90 degree sequences PAST the initial 62 in/lbs and 2x90 degrees.

It has previously been reported that fresh hold down bolts have failed when several group members had torqued to 62 in/lbs and then 180 degrees (mistaking 1/2 turn for 90 degrees).

I now suspect this occurred because of bolt bottoming in the base of the blind bore. Bottoming can occur because of debris at bottom of the blind hole.

CONCLUSION:

Tightening the fresh hold down bolt and seal ring will produce the same  clamping force (defined by seal ring crush thickness) regardless of which of the 2 torque specs are used.

The desired residual bolt stress (to achieve essentially infinite cyclical fatigue life) is achieved by both specs but the 2X 90 spec does allow for less care and precision during the tightening procedure.

Torque spec #1 (62in/lbs +90) is certainly less risky if contamination may be lurking at the bottom of the very deep blind bolt hole. I suspect it is also somewhat less risky if the aluminum threads are not in 'as new' condition.

Be sure you test your cyl head's bolt hole threads by using a wire brushed  used hold down bolt with an indexing paint mark, turning in by hand while counting turns, to assure threads are clean and bore is unobstructed to full depth.

This is especially critical when performing black death surgery.

Doktor A   
And for those who wonder about a scheduled injector seal service interval, I uncovered this during my searching.

For my Million Mile Club fleet clients, I have performed scheduled injector removal and copper seat seal replacement at regular 180k intervals.

Keep in mind that these are deep pocketed businesses that cannot tolerate unscheduled downtime and accumulate lots of miles very quickly. I do not necessarily recommend this for the average Sprinter owner.

Doktor A
:2cents: vic
Forget this stupid BS imperial torque ratings ,it only leads to silly mistakes and broken bolts or torn out threads as a result.

Use a verified/calibrated 1/4" drive torque wrench set at SEVEN NEWTON METERS .
Plus one pass of angle tightening of 90 degrees.
Let the bolt normalize for a few minutes and do another 90 degree pass.

Needless to mention it, but only use new bolts every time. Don't re-use a bolt in any circumstance.
Dennis
Vic comment.

I believe that Dennis is referring to the possible confusion between 62 inch pounds vs 62 FOOT pounds. Some DIY types have made the inch pounds vs foot pounds fatal mistake on injector hold down bolts, transmission pan bolts, and other small fasteners.

For my DIY work I am not inclined to buy a Newton Meter torque wrench. The 62 inch pounds conversion works for me.

Feel free to add information to this thread, but not questions related to your specific vehicle problems.

:cheers: vic
 
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doug022984

Sporadic Member Since 2015
One other tidbit I thought I'd offer for those who are reading from the service manual and reinstalling a cylinder head cover.... and this only comes from my limited experience of working on just one sprinter engine (mine).....

In the service manual section for Installation of the cylinder head cover, it specifically says to install the cylinder head cover bolts hand tight, then torque the injector bolts per their procedure, then torque the cylinder head cover bolts... in that order. I of course followed this but discovered that due to perhaps some flex in my cylinder head cover as well as the softness of the cylinder head cover gaskets (both around the perimeter and under each injector), the injector was actually hitting on the cover first and not its copper washer seal. Due to reading how critical the injector torquing procedure was to get right, I elected to fully torque the cylinder head cover down FIRST, then proceed with the injector torquing procedure. Had I done the installation in the order prescribed by the manual, I feel that a majority of the initial 62 in-lbs + probably some of the 90 degree turn would have gone in to compressing the cylinder head cover rubber gaskets and NOT the copper washer and I'd likely have repeat black death. Perhaps other shops or even the assembly line that followed the steps in the order the manual describes are the reason so many vans experience black death.
 

BubzI

Member
One other tidbit I thought I'd offer for those who are reading from the service manual and reinstalling a cylinder head cover.... and this only comes from my limited experience of working on just one sprinter engine (mine).....

In the service manual section for Installation of the cylinder head cover, it specifically says to install the cylinder head cover bolts hand tight, then torque the injector bolts per their procedure, then torque the cylinder head cover bolts... in that order. I of course followed this but discovered that due to perhaps some flex in my cylinder head cover as well as the softness of the cylinder head cover gaskets (both around the perimeter and under each injector), the injector was actually hitting on the cover first and not its copper washer seal. Due to reading how critical the injector torquing procedure was to get right, I elected to fully torque the cylinder head cover down FIRST, then proceed with the injector torquing procedure. Had I done the installation in the order prescribed by the manual, I feel that a majority of the initial 62 in-lbs + probably some of the 90 degree turn would have gone in to compressing the cylinder head cover rubber gaskets and NOT the copper washer and I'd likely have repeat black death. Perhaps other shops or even the assembly line that followed the steps in the order the manual describes are the reason so many vans experience black death.
Curious how this approach turned out for you. I’m about to embark into injector replacement territory myself. Thanks
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
For accuracy snug down the valve cover first--It has stop bosses on it to limit compression of the gasket.
Then tighten the injector hold down bolts with a suitable torque wrench. I insist on using an electronic NM graduated torque wrench by Snap On to avoid silly mistakes mixing up torque settings.
Dennis
 
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