[Vwdiesel] Smokey, bubley engine

[William J Toensing]

Mark, you suggested loosen & re-torque to 90 # psi, nothing to loose. My question is, at what point will the bolts or studs brake, or the block crack or the threads strip? On my '81 Dasher diesel, I torqued the original head bolts to the factory/Bentley recommended 50 or 55 #psi, would have to look back in the bentley,but the right front bolt caused the block to crack. On my Model A Ford, several years ago, I was torquing to the recommended (50#psi, I think) & a couple of the studs broke. China or Taiwan sourced from Sacramento Vintage Ford. They replaced the broken studs but not the new gasket I had to buy. That is why I am afraid of over-torquing. From what I recall, on the Model A, it took progressively more strength to bring it up to 50 #psi & then it started getting easier. If that happens again, I will stop when that happens. I raise this question because I think allot of you are far more experienced than I, & would like comments on this as I haven't started trouble shooting my Mercedes SD 300 yet. I first plan to check the glow plugs & do a compression check but do suspect a blown head gasket as the prior owner said it "did over heat a little bit", & can see where re-torquing might correct this but I don't like dealing with broken head bolts or studs, especially when they break off in the block.
Bill Toensing, Nevada City, CA