So my engine guy's son torqued the head on my 2001 XJ without sealing up no 11. When I asked him about it he unscrewed the bolt, put the sealant on and slammed it back in. Strangely, it seems totally wrong but possibly no problem at all. The FelPro Severe Duty gasket was on under torque for about 3 days and the vehicle was obviously not run at all.

Should I be worried? Any and all opinions are appreciated...

 

It sould be no big deal it is one of the last ones to get torqued .

 

Not in my wheel house but if this is to be believed:

looking at you head from the driverside...here is the tightening sequence (start at 1 and work your way out)

12 8 4 1 5 9 13
11 7 3 2 6 10 14

step 1...tighten all bolts to 22ft/lbs
step 2....tighten all bolts to 45 ft/lbs
step 3....recheck all bolts at 45ft/lbs
step 4...tighten all bolts except #11 to 110ft/lbs, then tighten #11 to 100ft/lbs...

So 11 falls in the middle for the first 3 steps. Which kinda looks only like 2 steps because step 3 is just to confirm that you did step 2 properly.
But also according to the instructions looks like the last bolt to get torqued is 11.
So I am going to go with what tech said.

 

That's what I'm hoping. I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but at the same time it's got me a little bothered...

 

Thanks for the reply. Just to get a different perspective, let me ask you this. What if this was a bolt in the middle of the torque pattern, say #6? Would you consider it a big problem or no big deal?

 

Again not in my wheel house.
I was a making assumptions and hoping other people, smarter then me, would chime.
One thing did pop in my head. Are these new head bolts or are you reusing the old ones?
Cause I want to say that people say you can reuse them but only once.

 

I understand. I'm just trying to get as much info as possible so I can look at it from different angles. The bolts are new and I used ARP torque compound, so I think I'm good in this regard...
-Thanks!

 

I made the same mistake when i put mine on and did the same thing. No issues after 2000 miles.

 

Coming from someone who has built over 500 engines, you are worrying too much.... just saying. Drive that jeep, enjoy it and carry on.

If it makes you feel any better, I will do a comparison. On my evo, I am about to put in head studs. What I am going to do is pull one bolt at a time and replace it with a stud. I am not worried one bit about it and its pushing 30 psi of boost and soon to be 500 whp. The head will not be removed to do this work either. As long as the end TQ is correct and your one bolt gets sealed, everything will be fine.

 

Good to know, Thanks