Took me 5 years to realize I was torquing bolts in the wrong order

I was putting a cylinder head back on a 2000 Civic at my shop in Tacoma last Tuesday and had the torque wrench dialed in. Started tightening from one end to the other like I always did. My buddy Mike walked over and asked why I wasn't doing a crisscross pattern from the center out. I told him that's how I learned and it's always worked. He grabbed the manual and showed me the sequence printed right there. I've been doing it backwards on every engine job since I started. Felt pretty stupid but at least no head gasket blew on me. Has anyone else had a basic habit they just never questioned?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyj1121d ago

Read they changed the factory sequence on some models years later.

taylorshah21d ago

Which models and what years exactly? I'm curious if the changes were just cosmetic or actually affected how the car drove.

lewis.terry21d ago

Bro honestly @taylorshah the changes went way deeper than just looks. I had a buddy who daily drove a 2018 model and then upgraded to a 2021 and the difference in how the steering felt was night and day. The older one had this vague, disconnected feel in corners but the newer one actually communicated the road back to you. They switched the rear suspension geometry on the sport trims starting mid 2019 from what I remember, plus tweaked the engine tune so the throttle response was way more punchy. If you're looking to buy one, go for a 2020 or later or youll be stuck with a car that looks fast but drives kinda numb.