2006 - 2008 Chevy Uplander 3.9L Torque Specs

2008 Chevy Uplander 3.9L Complete Torque Specs List

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Chevy Uplander 3.9L OHV Repair Information

Chevy Uplander 3.9L OHV Engine Repair Information

Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Chevy 3.9L OHV engine. In this guide we will start from the inside of the engine including the crankshaft, connecting rods, and piston ring installation and then move outwards all the way to the pulley belt system. Along the way correct procedures and torque specs will be given to aid in the assembly of the engine. Feel free to start from the beggining and work your way outwards or skip ahead to your current position in the engine for what you may need.

Crankshaft Main Caps Installation

Chevy 3.9L engine block
The 3.9L engine block main bearing caps should be inspected for any defects or flaws before installation. Be sure to lubricate the bearing surfaces prior to installation. Once prepared you can place the caps onto the crankshaft and begin tightening the bolts down in a multi stage process. The first being 10 ft-lbs starting from the middle and going outwards. The second time around you can go to 37 ft-lbs and then for the third time you do an additional 77 degree turn for each bolt. Be sure to do each side of the caps before moving to another cap. Once finished you should be good to continue with the rest of the engine.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Main Cap Torque Specs : 37 ft-lbs + 77°

 

Piston and Connecting Rod Installation

Chevy 3.9L OHV piston ring installation
To install the pistons and connecting rods you must first install the piston rings into each piston. Be careful not to stretch the rings or break them during installation. Make sure to put the correct rings in the correct positions, this can be determined by looking at the instructions given with the new rings. Each ring manufacturer is different so be sure to check for your specific rings. Once the rings have been installed you can now fit the connecting rod bearings into the end caps and lube them up with oil or lithium grease. The piston can now be lowered into the cylinder, make sure the dot or mark is facing the front of the engine and that you don't scratch the cylinder. Once installed you can match the connecting rod caps with the correct rods and start to torque the connecting rod bolts to 18 ft-lbs and then an additional 110 degree turn for each bolt. After all are done rotate the crank to ensure all pistons move smoothly in and out of their cylinders and nothing binds.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Connecting Rod Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs + 110°

 

Oil Pump Installation

Chevy 3.9L OHV oil pump installation
When installing the oil pump be sure to use the proper sealant around the pump base if neccessary to ensure that oil pressure doesn't drop due to leakage. Both surfaces should be cleaned and preped prior to installing. After preparing the contact surfaces carefully install the oil pump onto the bottom of the engine block right onto the rear most main cap. There should be two pins which hold the pump in place so that it does not shift during installation. When placing the pump onto the engine be sure that you have the pumps drive shaft held in place and that both sides are well connected. It should easily slide into the holes without much force. If everything is good you should be able to place the pump and shaft into place and then hand tighten the single pump bolt. Once hand tighten be sure that the pump functions when the shaft turns. The single oil pump bolt can be tightened down to 30 ft-lbs. The oil pump pickup tube gets installed onto the pump directly and simply presses into place. Be sure to have the pickup at the proper angle for you oil pan. Having this wrong will cause the pan to hit the pickup or the pickup to not access enough oil. The angle should be about 15 degrees from the engine block flat surface. I personally will spot weld the pickup tube onto the pump so that it does not shift. However this step is not neccessary. The oil pump drive gear clamp bolt can be torqued down to 27 ft-lbs if removed.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Oil Pump Mounting Bolt Torque Spec : 30 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Oil Pump Drive Gear Clamp Torque Spec : 27 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Oil Pump Cover Bolts Torque Spec : 8 ft-lbs

 

Cylinder Head Installation

Chevy 3.9L OHV cylinder head installation
The first thing you must do when installing cylinder heads is to ensure both the block and head surfaces are completely clean from dust, oil, and any debris. The next thing you must to is to set the camshafts to their correct positions to prevent any valves from hitting pistons during installation and torquing of the head bolts. Much the same you have to set the pistons to their correct locations, typically this means putting the #1 piston to TDC or Top Dead Center. Once everything is ready you can install the head gasket onto the engine block by aligning the alignment dowels. Something I usually do is spray down the head gasket with some engine copper spray from permatex which you can find here, this ensures that any gaps that could be present between the 2 surfaces gets filled with the spray. It also helps to transfer heat between the 2 metals. With the gasket in place you can set the cylinder head onto the gasket and block, if needed have someone assist with this process as the head can be heavy and you don't want to scratch anything or drop it! Once the head has been placed you will want to start installing the head bolts to make sure it doesn't move. Be sure to buy new head bolts as many manufacturers use TTY or Torque to Yield head bolts meaning they stretch during torqueing and cannot be used twice. Also make sure to lubricate the bolts in clean engine oil before installing them into the head. On Chevy OHV engines there is occasionally bolt holes on the engine block that cross into water passages. Any hole that does this should be installed with some silicon sealant. A little goes a long way in this step and you can check holes by shining a flashlight down them and looking in the water jackets. Once all the head bolts have been installed and finger tightened you can start the torqueing process, almost all head bolts have a multi-step process for torqueing. The 3.9L OHV engine uses a single set of head bolts per cylinder head make sure to use new head bolts as old bolts can be stretched and will not torque down properly. The cylinder head bolts tighten down to 44 ft-lbs and then a 95 degree turn for each bolt. Be sure to go through each bolt during each step before moving onto the next value.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Cylinder Head Torque Specs : 44 ft-lbs + 95°

 

Timing Chain and Camshaft Installation

Chevy 3.9L Timing chain installation
On the Chevy 3.9 OHV engine the timing system is ran by the use of a chain. This chain system consists of a sprocket on the single center located camshaft and one sprocket on the engines crankshaft. Since the camshaft is located in the center of the engine it needs to be installed from the front side of the engine. The camshaft bearings get installed using a special cam bearing installation tool. The tool simply presses the bearings in and out of the bearing holes using different sized plates to press on them. Be sure that all of your camshaft bearings are in good condition prior to installing the camshaft and building the engine as this is a critical part of the engine. If all bearings are good and in place the camshaft can be lubed and placed into the engine. It should slide into the bearings with ease, if it gets caught do not force it as you risk damaging the bearings. Simply move the camshaft end around until it slides in. Once all the way into the engine you will need to install the camshaft retaining plate and its bolts. Depending on your specific chevy engine the camshaft retaining plate gets installed impediately after the camshaft is slide into place or after the timing gear has been installed. Depening on how you took apart your engine and the new parts you are installing you will need to adapt accordingly. The retaining thrust plate bolts need to be tightened down to 8 ft-lbs. The timing sprockets simply slide onto both the crankshaft and the camshaft end. Be sure that you install the system all together with the timing chain marks lined up with the dots on both sprockets. On the camshaft side it aligns using a dowel pin that sticks out of the camshaft and on the crank side there is a woodruff key that aligns the sprocket onto the crank. With the sprockets in place you can begin to tighten down the camshaft sprocket actuator bolts to 12 ft-lbs. Since the engine can turn while tightening be sure to hold the engine components and to use a proper torque wrench. On this engine there is also a timing chain tensioner that is held onto the left side of the timing chain. This tensioner needs to be installed and torqued down to 15 ft-lbs. From here you can install the rocker arms and lifters with their retainers before installing the cylinder head.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Camshaft Sprocket Torque Spec: 12 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Timing Chain Tensioner Bolt Torque Spec: 15 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Crankshaft Position Sensor Torque Spec: 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Camshaft Thrust Plate Bolts Torque Spec : 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Rocker Arms Torque Spec : 25 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Valve Lifter Guide Bolt Torque Spec : 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Valve Oil Manifold Cover Bolts Torque Spec :18 ft-lbs

 

Timing Cover Installation

Chevy 3.9L Timing cover installation
The timing cover on the 3.9L is used to cover up the internals of the engine and hold in massive amounts of oil. For this reason I recommend using some silicon sealant along with a new gasket during installation. Be sure to clean all of the metal surfaces prior to installation and placing the silicon onto the metal. With everything ready to install be sure to double check your timing and engine internals before placing the cover in place. Another tip is to lube up the crankshaft seal with some oil so it seats better. If everything is good to go then place the cover onto the engine block and begin to tighten down the bolts hand tight. Once all of the bolts have been hand tightened be sure to follow your sealant manufacturers specifications and then tighten the bolts down to 18 ft-lbs. Most silicon sealants require you to wait a specific amount of time before torqueing so be sure to follow that to ensure no oil ends up leaking out.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Timing Cover Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs

 

Oil Pan Installation

Chevy 3.9L Oil Pan installation
Much like the timing cover on the 3.9L the oil pan plays an important role in keeping the engine oil inside the engine. For this reason I recommend using a new gasket as well as some silicone sealant during installation. Using the same technique as before with the cover you clean the surfaces of both the oil pan and the engine block and then install the new gasket onto the block and then follow it up with some silicone sealant. Be sure to follow your sealants instructions to ensure you get the best seal from your application. The oil pan bolts torque to 18 ft-lbs in a cross pattern design. Along with the pan is the oil pan drain plug, this gets removed and reinstalled quite frequently and can be torqued down to 18 ft-lbs.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Oil Pan Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Oil Drain Plug Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs

 

Valve Covers Installation

Chevy 3.9L Valve Cover installation
The valve cover installation is rather simple, there are rubber seals for each bolt hole and a silicone gasket that prevents oil from leaking out of the engine. It is recommended to replace both the seals and the gaskets although if they are in good condition you can reuse them. If you do choose to reuse them I would use some silicone sealant along with the silicon gasket to ensure it does not leak. The valve cover bolts torque down to 106 in-lbs or about 8 ft-lbs in a criss cross order. Be sure not to miss any bolts to avoid having oil leak out onto the exhaust pipes and cause a lot of smoking.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Valve Cover Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

 

Intake Manifold and Fuel Rail Installation

Chevy 3.9L Intake Manifold installation
When installing the intake manifold you want to make sure you have all the surfaces as well as intake holes cleaned out before placing the manifold into position. Once cleaned you can then place the intake manifold gaskets onto the alignment pins. If you want you can also use a little bit of sealant on the gaskets to help ensure there are no leaks. With the gaskets in place you can now put the manifold down onto the gaskets and begin to install the bolts. The intake manifold bolts get tightened down differently depending on whether they are the upper bolts/studs or the lower bolts. The lower intake bolts can be torqued down to 10 ft-lbs while the upper bolts should be torqued down to 18 ft-lbs. The ignition coil module can be tighten down to 18 ft-lbs and the spark plugs themselves can be torqued down to 11 ft-lbs, be careful not to overtorque these as they can snap and cause big problems. When installing the throttle body make sure that all of the gaskets are in good condition and will hold a seal as you do not want to be leaking gas fumes around the engine. If everything looks good you can tighten the throttle body bolts down to 8 ft-lbs.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Intake Manifold Torque Specs (Upper): 18 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Intake Manifold Torque Specs (Lower): 10 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Ignition Coil Module Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Spark Plug Torque Specs : 11 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Throttle Body Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

 

Exhaust Manifold Installation

Chevy 3.9L Exhaust Manifold installation
The exhaust manifold can be installed by cleaning the surface areas on both the head an the manifold itself and then by using the exhaust manifold gasket and putting it in place. Once the gasket is in its location you can put the manifold onto the heads and begin to torque it down to 15 ft-lbs. I always use some copper spray from permatex on the exhaust manifold gaskets to ensure I do not end up with any exhaust leaks once done. When you go to install the engine into the vehicle or if it is already in the vehicle the torque specs for the exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipes or catalytic converter is 18 ft-lbs. The EGR system consists of a series of pipes that range from the manifold to the head. The EGR pipes on this engine can be tightened down to 21 ft-lbs.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Exhaust Manifold Torque Spec : 15 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Exhaust Pipe Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L EGR Pipes Torque Specs : 21 ft-lbs

 

Water Pump and Thermostat Installation

Chevy 3.9L Water Pump installation
The water pump on the Chevy 3.9L engine should be installed by using a new gasket and if desired some silicone sealant to help prevent leaks. Be sure to clean both metal surfaces prior to installing the pump. Once prepared the pump can be moved into placed and then tightened down. On this engine the water pump tightens down to the engine block using 8 ft-lbs of torque. Be sure to tighten down the bolts in a cross pattern to ensure no leaks develop. The water pump pulley can then be tightened down onto the pump itself using 18 ft-lbs of torque.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Water Pump Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Water Pump Pulley Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs

 

Front Dress and Pulley belt Installation

Chevy 3.9L Pulley and Belt installation
Most of what is left on the engine is just place and tighten objects such as the belt pulleys, belt tensioner, throttle body, oil filter neck, crankshaft pulley, and motor mounts. If the items have a gasket and hold either oil or coolant inside the engine then feel free to add some sealant along with the gasket. Always be sure to inspect your gaskets and replace them if there is any deteriation or flaws with them. For the belt system the crankshaft pulley gets torqued to 52 ft-lbs and then an additional 70 degree turn. This is extremely tight so I recommend holding the crankshaft somehow during the tightening procedure. The drive belt tensioner bracket can be tightened to 40 ft-lbs and the idler pulley bracket can be torqued down to 22 ft-lbs. The idler pulley bolt can be tightened down to 37 ft-lbs. When installing be sure they both turn smoothly and if they do not then replace them with new ones as the bearings can go bad. The engine motor mount can be installed onto the engine block if it hasn't been already, the torques for the mount to the block is 59 ft-lbs and then when installing the mount to the vehicle or frame it can be torqued to 35 ft-lbs. Finally the throttle body can be installed on top of the intake manifold with a good gasket and some added sealant using 7 ft-lbs in a criss cross pattern. For installing the belt you can use a tool to move the tensioner into its springed state and install the belt as shown in the picture. The power steering pump should be tightened down to 25 ft-lbs. The alternator can be tightened down to 37 ft-lbs.

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Crankshaft Pulley Torque Specs : 52 ft-lbs + 70°

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Idler Pulley Bracket Torque Spec (13mm): 22 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Idler Pulley Bolt Torque Spec (15mm): 37 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Drive Belt Tensioner Bolt Torque Specs : 37 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Motor Mount to Engine Torque Specs : 59 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Motor Mount to Frame Torque Specs : 35 ft-lbs

Chevy Uplander 3.9L Power Steering Pump Torque Specs : 25 ft-lbs
Chevy Uplander 3.9L Alternator Bracket Torque Specs : 37 ft-lbs

 


Timing Torque Specs
Timing Cover Bolts Torque specs 18 ft-lbs
Camshaft Timing Sprocket Bolts Torque Spec 12 ft-lbs
Camshaft Thrust Plate Bolts Torque spec 8 ft-lbs
Crankshaft Postition Sensor Torque spec 8 ft-lbs
Timing Chain Tensioner Bolt Torque spec 15 ft-lbs
Cylinder Head Torque Specs
Cylinder Head Torque Specs 44 ft-lbs + 95°
Rocker Arm Torque specs 25 ft-lbs
Valve Lifter Guide Torque specs 8 ft-lbs
Lifter Oil Manifold Bolts Torque specs 18 ft-lbs
Valve Cover Torque specs 8 ft-lbs
Exhaust Manifold to Head Torque specs 15 ft-lbs
Exhaust Manifold to Pipes Torque 18 ft-lbs
Exhaust EGR Pipes Torque Spec 21 ft-lbs
Bottom End Torque's
Main Cap Bolts Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs + 77°
Connecting Rod Bolts Torque Spec 18 ft-lbs + 110°
Oil Pump Mounting Bolt Torque Spec 30 ft-lbs
Oil Pump Drive Gear Clamp Torque Spec 27 ft-lbs
Oil Pump Cover Bolts Torque Spec 8 ft-lbs
Oil Pan Torque Specs 18 ft-lbs
Oil Pan Drain Plug Torques 18 ft-lbs
Intake Manifold and Fuel Rail Torque Spec
Intake Manifold Bolts Torque Spec (Upper) 18 ft-lbs
Intake Manifold Bolts Torque Spec (Lower) 10 ft-lbs
Fuel Rail Torque Specs 8 ft-lbs
Spark Plugs Torque Specs 11 ft-lbs
Throttle Body Torque Specs 8 ft-lbs
Ignition Coil Module Torque Spec 18 ft-lbs
Water Pump & Pulley Torque Specs
Water Pump Bolts Torque Specs 8 ft-lbs
Water Pump Pulley Torque Specs 18 ft-lbs
Crankshaft Pulley Torque Spec 52 ft-lbs + 70°
Drive Belt Tensioner Bracket Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs
Drive Belt Tensioner Bolt Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs
Belt Idler Pulley Bracket Torque Spec (13mm) 22 ft-lbs
Belt Idler Pulley Bolt Torque Spec (15mm) 37 ft-lbs
Motor Mount (Engine Side) Torque 59 ft-lbs
Motor Mount (Frame Side) Torque 35 ft-lbs
Power Steering Pump Torque Spec 25 ft-lbs
Alternator Bracket Torque Spec 37 ft-lbs