I was just researching valve adjustment, and found comments in here about using an allen wrench to remove and retorque the cap bolts. I wanted to add a tip about that.
Torque is just a particular force acting at a particular distance from the fastener being torqued. It is defined as acting at a right angle. So, you can combine an allen wrench (or any other kind of wrench) with a fish scale and end up with a torque wrench. Here's how (I'm using foot pounds but for metric guys the same principles apply).
I have a fish scale, a spring device that reads up to 50 pounds. Say you have a wrench you want to use on the fastener, and it is exactly one foot long
between centers (imagine the center of the bolt being turned and measure from there, up to the place the fish scale is going to be hooked on - not the overall length of the wrench). If the torque setting is 20 pounds, all you have to do is hook the fish scale on the end of the wrench, at an angle of 90 degrees from the wrench, and pull until the fish scale reads 20 pounds.
Well, what if the wrench is 7.3 inches between centers, not 12 inches? Obviously you have to pull harder because you have less mechanical advantage. The factor would be 12/7.3, so the reading on the fish scale should be 12/7.3 times 20, or about 33 pounds, to apply a torque of 20 pounds.
What if the torque setting is 70 pounds, more than the fish scale reads? Then what you want to do is lengthen the wrench (using a cheater bar or a vice grip) to give you more mechanical advantage, so you have to pull less. Say your lengthened wrench is 17 inches long between centers. The factor would be 12/17, so the reading on the fish scale should be 12/17 times 70, or about 49 pounds.
Make sure your fish scale is reasonably accurate. Always try to get the angle 90 degrees to the wrench; eyeballing it is good enough.
I use this method at least as much as a conventional torque wrench. It is easier to carry a fish scale in your tool box than a torque wrench. Also works well in small toolkits. There have been times I have torqued an oil drain plug in a car without a lot of room underneath, by hooking a coat-hanger wire to the wrench and pulling that with the fish scale.
Getting back to the valve adjustment, I wonder if most people just buy the tool? Camshaft removal looks like a pain. Also it's good to read I might be able to get by without silicone, which to me sounds crazy to use in an engine.
I was looking at the coolant change too. The shop manual calls it a "permanent" coolant. It also calls for changing every two years in the maintenance chart. It also calls for changing it every 18k miles or 6 years in the same chart.
Anyone got an idea? Should I just go to the dealer for the right coolant?
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