3.0 Head Bolt Help

[eloyc]

I'm very sorry in advance, I really should've came here first. So here is my story, I have a 1994 3.0 Ford Ranger XLT 2wd. It has its quirks but overall has been very good to me, I would like to keep it until im dead so I decided to start working on it down to the headgasket. This is where I think I goofed up. It has 4.5in bolts and I think I used the wrong torque sequence and I keep getting really paranoid about it. The sequence I used was torque to 37ft lb back off a full turn, retorque to 22ft lb then rotate 90° and another 90° After doing this the headbolts are tight and feel good, not sure how to explain that properly but they went in well with that sequence. But since digging even deeper it seems it could be wrong and it's really freaking me out. So I'm just looking for help or advice on if this is okay. If you need any other information to help me please just let me know thank you.

 

[Curious Hound]

Hopefully, someone will chime in with the proper torque procedure for that. A Haynes or Chiltons manual would give you the answer. But, soome other things that matter are;
What kind/ brand of bolts did you use? Some are "torque to yield". These may have a different procedure and should not be re-used. Did you use new bolts? And the pattern makes a difference. I believe it is most common to start near the middle of the head and work out toward the ends in a criss-cross pattern.

 

[eloyc]

Hopefully, someone will chime in with the proper torque procedure for that. A Haynes or Chiltons manual would give you the answer. But, soome other things that matter are;
What kind/ brand of bolts did you use? Some are "torque to yield". These may have a different procedure and should not be re-used. Did you use new bolts? And the pattern makes a difference. I believe it is most common to start near the middle of the head and work out toward the ends in a criss-cross pattern.

I did use new bolts from rock auto, Fel pro brand and did use an outward star pattern