Valve cover Torque spec on a 2G

[Arjun Panesar]

Doing my Valve cover Gasket in a days. Been looking over the internet and been getting a load of different people saying different specs, some saying 26 in lb, some say 30 in lb, some even saying 4lbs of torque. whats the right torque spec. really dont wanna crack my cover.

[Ryan Singh]

Don have the manual with me but I'd say that as soon as you get some resistance it's good enough. Our valve covers are too easy to crack.

[Tony Leong]

From my 1995 factory service manual, page 9A-31 (assuming 2G and Turbo):

2.5 ft.lbs for the valve cover to block
2.2 ft.lbs. for the black/plug wire cover to valve cover

Truth what Ryan wrote, the wire covers strip out of the valve cover quite easily.

[KevinBuckham]

And if you just use torque spec, the gasket will leak oil.      I find I torque them down again after the first few heat cycles. 

[CamWeiss]

I find that about half of sweet fuck all is just right for VC torque. Otherwise you stand a good chance of cracking the cover.

(quarter drive ratchet, nice and even around all the bolts in a crisscross or star pattern, with about as much torque as is comfortable for your pinky finger to exert. And as Kevin says, retorque periodically)