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G O O D E X P E R I E N C E
Cylinder-Head
Bolts
A Practical Guide
Reliability is not a flexible term
2
Absolutely reli-
able seal and
Cylinder-head bolts top engine per-
formance
Elring – even better service.
Cylinder-head gasket Cylinder-head repair
For the current generation of engines, the profes-
sional repairing of the cylinder head sealing
system requires that both components – cylinder-
head gasket and cylinder-head bolts – be re-
placed with new parts. Elring cylinder-head bolts are available for:
Alfa Romeo I Audi I BMW I Citroën I Daewoo I Deutz I
With the new full range of cylinder-head bolts Fiat I Ford I Honda I Hyundai I Isuzu I Iveco I
from Elring, you save time and money. Because Kia I Lada I Land Rover I Lancia I MAN I Mazda I
now everything is available from one supplier: Mercedes-Benz (cars and commercial vehicles) I
the cylinder-head gasket and the matching cylin- Mitsubishi I Nissan I Opel I Peugeot I Renault I
der-head bolt set Rover I Saab I Scania I Seat I Škoda I Ssangyong I
• for practically all cars and commercial vehicles Suzuki I Talbot I Toyota I Vauxhall I Volkswagen I
(see Cylinder-Head Bolt catalogue) Volvo (cars and commercial vehicles)
• of tested quality
• assortments selected individually for each
engine repair
• packed in a special box with thread protection
• practical and fast
• direct from the gasket manufacturer
3
1. Cylinder head bolting
Fascinating reliability.
Cylinder head bolting without the need for
retightening is standard for modern engine
design. There are technical and economic
reasons for this, both when manufacturing
and repairing engines:
• uniformly high clamp force on all bolts
• reliable, functioning sealing system
• cost savings
To ensure reliable cylinder head bolting while
at the same time no need for retightening,
all parts involved in the cylinder head sealing
system must be finely tuned to each other
already in the developmental stage.
4
The cylinder head
sealing system
Cylinder-head bolts
Cylinder head
Cylinder-head gasket
Crankcase
Liner (depending on
the engine design)
5
2. How they work
6
Effective forces.
Cylinder-head bolts are the design elements
of the cylinder head sealing system that generate
the required surface pressure, transmitting it
to the engine components. This requires that the Modern lightweight engine designs have de-
cylinder-head bolts be tightened in close com- manding requirements, such as
pliance with the specified instructions and in the • higher ignition pressures (up to 220 bar)
specified sequence (see section 4). • increasing relative motion of the engine
components
Only the total force available to the cylinder-head • decreasing engine rigidity and greater thermal
gasket can be distributed by the gasket to component elongation due to the aluminum/
the various areas to be sealed (gas, water and oil magnesium construction
seal). We refer to this as the specific sealing • reduction of distortion of cylinder bores and
compression distribution. cylinder head (keyword: reduced bolt forces).
In order to meet these requirements, the
Therefore: cylinder-head bolt has also undergone signifi-
The overall clamp force generated by the cylinder- cant changes in the last several decades of
head bolts and its uniform distribution across engine engineering. Its properties must fulfill
the entire sealing system is a major prerequisite the specific requirements of the engine in detail.
for the function of the cylinder-head gasket.
In addition to the improved materials and
manufacturing processes for the bolts, the most
significant modifications have been made
• in the bolt design (see section 3)
and
• in the tightening procedure (see section 4).
7
3. Types of bolts
a) Thread rolling bolts with b) Thread rolling bolt with c) Helix bolt d) Anti-fatigue shaft bolt
short thread long thread
8
The use of lightweight materials for engine parts
and the modified tightening procedure (see
section 4) are the reasons why primarily the fol-
lowing bolt designs are used for cylinder head
bolting on modern engine designs.
Thread rolling bolts. vides uniform tension along the shaft and
Used mainly for car engines. Thread rolling bolts gives the bolt sufficient capacity for plastic defor-
have a rolled thread on the shaft. The bolt mation, ensuring the durability of the entire
then does not require machining. The elasticity cylinder head sealing system.
properties of the thread rolling bolt with long
thread are very similar to those of the anti- c) Helix bolts.
fatigue shaft bolt, which requires machining. Helix bolts are bolts onto which a coarse single
That is why this is referred to as an inexpensive or multiple thread is rolled as a helix. The
type of anti-fatigue shaft bolt. helix increases the elasticity on this bolt also,
ensuring a uniform distribution of tension.
a) Thread rolling bolts with short thread. The elastic resilience of the helix bolt depends
The thread is rolled onto these bolts only up on the core diameter of the selected helix
to the maximum length of thread engagement. profile – the smaller the diameter, the more simi-
The top turn takes on the greatest amount of lar the bolt characteristics are to an anti-
force and therefore usually undergoes a perma- fatigue shaft bolt.
nent plastic deformation.
d) Anti-fatigue shaft bolts.
b) Thread rolling bolts with long thread. This bolt design is often used for engines on
These bolts have a very long threaded section commercial vehicles and is characterized by a
that usually extends to just under the bolt tapered shaft extending from the thread to just
head. This is where the elastic and plastic elon- below the bolt head. Because of the smaller
gation of the bolt occurs during tightening cross section compared to the full shaft bolts,
and when the engine is in operation. The design greater elastic and plastic resilience is achieved.
with the long thread increases the elasticity, pro- The plastic elongation that is important for
repairs occurs in the tapered shaft section of the
bolt without thread engagement.
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4. Tightening procedure
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Tightening cylinder-head bolts
using rotational angle disc
Bolt elongation
1st step: 2nd step: Δ L [in mm]
Tightening Tightening
with torque with rotational
angle
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4. Tightening procedure
12
5. Professional repairs
13
6. Testing the quality
Bolt test bench – the reliable test to determine the characteristic bolt curve
Tested reliability.
Every engine model places certain demands on
cylinder-head bolts that must be fulfilled to
ensure that the entire sealing system functions For that reason, drawings, test reports regarding
properly. initial samples and various chemical and
dimensional protocols for each bolt type are
examined closely.
14
Generation of a characteristic bolt
curve on the bolt test bench.
35000
2 Rotational angle up to drop
in force measured starting at
200
180
torque = 70 Nm
30000 160 To round off the chart of the characteristic curve,
25000 140
180° Characteristic torque curve 120
20000 100 the permanent elongation of the bolt after
15000 80
10000 60 removal from the test bench is depicted in the
40
5000 20
0 0
lower left hand corner. When the bolt is loosened,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Elongation after Angle/60° the characteristic curve moves from the value F1
removal in mm
along the red dotted line downwards. The red
Characteristic bolt curve section corresponds to the permanent elongation
of the bolt after removal.
15
7. Technical details
Example:
M10 x 140 x 1.5 internal hexagon 10.9
Washer
Polydrive®
Installation tip
Before installation, the seating sur-
Note face of the bolt head and the
The nominal length is always meas- thread should be oiled so that the
ured up to the seating surface friction factors are not too high
under the bolt head, even if a wash- and the required bolt clamp force
er is to be used. is achieved. 16
8. Packaging
Cylinder-head bolts –
packed securely.
17
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ElringKlinger AG | Aftermarket Division
Max-Eyth-Straße 2 | D-72581 Dettingen/Erms
Phone +49 71 23/724-601 | Fax +49 71 23/724-609
Phone +49 71 23/724-626 | Fax +49 71 23/724-629 / Europe
Phone +49 71 23/724-650 | Fax +49 71 23/724-659 / overseas
0805 The information provided in this brochure, based upon many years’ experience and knowledge, does not claim completeness.
No liability is assumed for damage claims on the basis of this information. All parts must be installed by trained and specialized staff.
Product range and technical specifications subject to modification. No liability assumed for errata.