Retorqueing the head on 232's?

Does the AMC-232 need to be retorqued periodically, as is needed on their earlier straight-six's?

Jaybird

I'm curious as to why you even ask that question. We had one when I was a teen in a '65 Rambler wagon, never even considered it. Seemed to be a good engine. John

TJ, I had a Rambler American that did indeed needed a retorquing periodically: someone had put a 196-OHV in a 1959 and it was one of THE BEST cars I've ever owned... I saw this on Wikipedia:

"The 196 OHV requires more periodic maintenance than newer-model engines. The head bolts must be re-torqued (retightening process) regularly. Factory service manuals recommend that head bolt torque be checked every 4,000 mi (6,400 km) and to re-torque them every 8,000 mi (13,000 km). With modern head gaskets this service interval can be extended to re-torque the bolts every 12,000 mi (19,000 km), or every other year. The cause of the headbolts loosening over time is believed to be thermal expansion and contraction of the head due to the rather massive design. The head expands and contracts by as much as 0.020" in length during normal operation. This loosens the bolts over time and eventually causes the seal between the head and block to fail. This maintenance is imperative to prevent the engine from running hot (the first sign of a blown head gasket) and thus warping or cracking the head. The cast-iron liners in the aluminum block version can also shift if the head bolts are not properly torqued and the engine is run hot. Good replacement heads and aluminum blocks for these engines are now difficult to find."

I'm trying to teach Goathouse a thing er two 'bout his car. He has a '65 American 440-H with a hinky-carburetor and remembered that my American needed the afore mentioned servicing. I found it for him on Graig's List 'bout a year ago, dang fool was tryting to buy a '64-66 Ford Falcon: "Friends don't let friends drive Fords..."

So I guess it doesn't, no?

Jaybird

Our family had 2 AMCs/Ramblers with the 232 6 cylinder - a 1966 and 1970. We never had to re-torque the heads