Holden 173 help wanted

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gt_escort, Feb 5, 4:04am
can anyone help with the torque settings for the rocker bolts for a 173 holden

kevymtnz, Feb 5, 4:19am
top of my head as a guess
20 & 35 final

http://holden.itgo.com/hq.html

petermcg, Feb 5, 5:16am
I would not go over 20 ft lbs for those.

bigjerry, Feb 5, 5:48am
They should be nuts. I have no such torque settings in my Hayes manual.

gt_escort, Feb 5, 6:45am
yeah nothing in the manual i have either .the head i have has bolts .im putting 173 head on a 186 engine .ill go with 20 ft lbs and see how that works

illusion_, Feb 5, 6:52am
This MAY be what you are looking for

from http://holdenpaedia.oldholden.com/Rockers_and_Pushrods

attitudedesignz, Feb 5, 7:00am
Lot quicker to have head assembled, as you put head on guide pushrods through holes then slowly torque head down. Been there done that lol.

jmma, Feb 5, 7:36am
The 173 has bolts that are torque down, the 186 has nuts that you set by having the motor running and back off till they clatter, then tighten slowly 1.5 turns from memory, to me a bit tricky fitting 173 head to 186, may be wrong!

ralphdog1, Feb 5, 7:57am
My LC/LJ Torana manual says 28ft/lbs for the later gen engines with Bolts (ie not studs and Nuts which involved an adjustment procedure, I think that was for the 161 and 186 versions)

petermcg, Feb 5, 8:13am
Yes you are putting the late model head on an early engine, I think it should work ok, it could lower commpression ratio, if the guys give you a torque setting out of a book you could go with that, I know there only 7/16 studs and they break easy. You have no valve lash adjustment with that system. . I have done it the other way round and had a head with adjustable valve lash from a 186 on a 202, it worked well.

justcruisin, Feb 5, 8:14am
my old hq manual covers 130, 173 and 202 says 28 lb/ft

attitudedesignz, Feb 5, 8:21am
130!

justcruisin, Feb 5, 8:25am
yeh 130HC,(export) 2130cc

jmma, Feb 5, 8:46am

justcruisin, Feb 5, 8:51am
must admit I've owned several old school holdens too and I've never come across 1 either, 161 is the smallest I've had in a car, LC Torana.
But the manual I have clearly says 130 HC export so I assume it never made it here, bit like that rotary HQ lol

justcruisin, Feb 5, 8:55am
they were fitted in hq's sent to sth africa http://holdenpaedia.oldholden.com/130

attitudedesignz, Feb 5, 8:57am
Yep you're right, seems they were for South Africa in HQs. Can't find any info' tho' because the Holden name was dropped in favour of Chev' when the HQ was released.

Chevrolet Kommando and Constantia.

justcruisin, Feb 5, 9:09am
seems they were in a few other holdens too , early HT HG LC and LJ Toranas

illusion_, Feb 5, 9:13am
173 head on a 186 block raises compression due to the smaller kidney shaped combustion chamber in the 173 head

justcruisin, Feb 5, 9:24am
they used heads with high and low compression on a lot of their early engines

jmma, Feb 5, 9:26am
Ok so you end up with non adjustable valves, which pushrods do you use or are they the same, long time since I worked on these, actually they were new, showing my age(o:

pnh4, Feb 5, 9:31am
i tune mine to perfection

justcruisin, Feb 5, 9:34am
hell, its been a couple of decades for me too.lol.but from my limited memory of them times the tappets being hydraulic i used the originals

illusion_, Feb 5, 9:36am
just guessin but I'd say you'd use the 173 pushrods cos the hieght difference is in the head (rocker posts) not the block.

dont need adjusters cos yer usin hydraulic lifters (but then, you knew that)

jmma, Feb 5, 9:45am
That makes sense, thanks illusion, (yeah I knew that)