Raptorlander
Active Member
Didn’t torque mine to any spec except to bottom out and tighten a bit more. I’ve wheeled hard since at merus adventute park (including one black diamond trail), Big bend National park trails, big bend ranch trails, and this past weekend Bridgeport off-road. No issues, no leaks at all. Upgrade to a lube locker gasket and all is still well.You need to torque those grade 8 bolts to a higher spec than the stockers or they will come loose.
Non-graded 5/16 bolt takes approx 5 ft-lbs to properly stretch. Grade 5 5/16 bolt takes approx 10 ft-lbs. Grade 8 5/16 bolt takes about 20 ft lbs to properly stretch the bolt and achieve a clamp load.
You also need to make sure the material the bolt is threaded into can take the higher torque rating when you start making changes. Probably not an issue here given the cast iron diff and realtively small change in torques- but it can be a major problem in engine blocks. You can't swap from stock head bolts to ARP 2000 bolts that take another 75 ft-lbs to achieve a clamp load in every engine block, as it can deform the block or rip the threads out entirely, depending on the engine.