Messed up valve clearance

[Slickvic]

OK guys. I opened it up again. I found out why oil leaked. Well, all 4 of the bolts on the cover were loose. They were so loose that I could undo them with my hand.

I thought I torqued them properly, but I didn't have a torque wrench. I tightened them what I would consider to be pretty good. Eh. Is there a reason they would be loose? Did I not tighten them enough?

Please buy a Torque wrench if you are going to perform your own maintenance. You can get a 3/8-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench for about $30 on Amazon.com or even $10 at Harbor freight if you are strapped for cash.

You were lucky that you under tightened your bolts. Most beginners over tighten and break bolts and then it does get expensive.

Someone else recommended using blue thread locker. I also agree.

[yttikeiram]

Awe, shucks. Thanks kramnala! I actually insisted on doing it because I'm extremely meticulous with details and I knew I could do it. When I explained to him what I've learned, and what the issue was, he had no idea what I was talking about. I will have to supervise him with any maintenance. My husband told me to fix the seat latch for him today...

Slick, this is actually quite funny. I was going to get a good torque wrench that was about $60. My husband poo pooed it, and his mechanic cousin apparently never uses one. One of the reasons I insisted on doing this is because my husband tightens bolts WAAAYYY too much. Luckily, I already have read a lot and learned what damage can be done from over tightening something. He actually stripped one of the threads for the grab rail, so I will have to repair that.

Fortunately, I didn't need thread locker, but I will keep it on hand. Hopefully with a torque wrench for next time, I will be good to go. With father's day coming up soon, I might go a bit crazy with a few decent tools because of sales...