2014 Chevy Cruze 1.8L Engine Torque Specs| Chevy Specs (2024)

2014 Chevy Cruze 1.8L Complete Torque Specs List

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Chevy Cruze 1.8L Engine Repair Information

Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Chevy 1.8L engine. In this guide we willstart from the inside of the engine including thecrankshaft, connecting rods, and piston ring installation and then move outwards all the way to the pulley beltsystem. Along the way correct procedures and torque specswill be given to aid in the assembly of the engine. Feel free to start from the beggining and work your wayoutwards or skip ahead to your current position in the engine for what you may need.

Crankshaft Main Caps Installation

The 1.8L 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 crankshaftand 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 45 degree turn for each bolt and finally another15 degree turn for each bolt. Be sure to tighten each bolt down in a cross pattern while going through each step one bolt at a time.Once finished you should be good to continue with the rest of the engine.

Chevy Cruze 1.8L Main Cap Torque Specs : 37 ft-lbs + 45° + 15°

Piston and Connecting Rod Installation

To install the pistons and connecting rods you must first install the piston rings into each piston. Be carefulnot to stretch the rings or break them during installation. Make sure to put the correct rings in the correctpositions, this can be determined by looking atthe instructions given with the new rings. Each ring manufacturer is different so be sure to check for yourspecific rings. Once the rings have been installed you can now fit the connecting rod bearings into the end capsand lube them up with oil or lithium grease. The piston can now be lowered into the cylinder, make sure the dotor 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 connectingrod bolts to 26 ft-lbs and then an additional 45 degree turn followed by a 15 degree turn for each bolt. After all are done rotate the crankto ensure all pistons move smoothly in and out of their cylinders and nothing binds.

Chevy Cruze 1.8L Connecting Rod Torque Specs : 26 ft-lbs + 45° + 15°

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 pressuredoesn't drop due to leakage. After preparing the contact surfaces carefully install the oil pump onto the timing cover and ensurethat it can turn over smoothly. From here you can install the oil pump cover and tighten down the screws to about 5 ft-lbs.Be sure to not overtighten these as they are rather small. Once the cover is installed be sure the pump still turns properly before installingthe timing cover onto the engine block.

Chevy Cruze 1.8L Oil Pump Cover Torque Specs : 5 ft-lbs

Cylinder Head Installation

The first thing you must do when installing cylinder heads is to ensure both the block and head surfaces arecompletely clean from dust, oil, and any debris. The next thing you must to isto set the camshafts to their correct positions to prevent any valves from hitting pistons during installationand torquing of the head bolts. Much the same you have to set the pistons to their correctlocations, typically this means putting the #1 piston to TDC or Top Dead Center. Once everything is ready youcan 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 canfind here, this ensures that any gaps that could be present between the 2 surfaces gets filled with thespray. Italso helps to transfer heat between the 2 metals. With the gasket in place you can set the cylinder head ontothe gasket and block, if needed have someone assist with this process as the head can be heavyand you don't want to scratch anything or drop it! Once the head has been placed you will want to startinstalling the head bolts to make sure it doesn't move. Be sure to buy new head bolts as many manufacturersuse TTY or Torque to Yield head bolts meaning they stretch during torqueing and cannot be used twice. Also makesure to lubricate the bolts in clean engine oil before installing them into the head.Once all the head bolts have been installed and finger tightened you can start the torqueing process, almost allhead bolts have a multi-step process for torqueing. The 1.8L starts off with 15 ft-lbs andthen requires you to back them off a full turn. Then you must torque them to26 ft-lbs and then a 90 degree turn followed by 2 more 90 degree turns and then finally a 45 degree turn by going through each bolt with each step.Be sure to tighten down the bolts in a cross pattern starting from the middle and going outwards.After torquing the heads are completely installed and you can now move to intalling the timing.

Chevy Cruze 1.8L Cylinder Head Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs + 90° + 90° + 90° + 45°

Timing Belt and Tensioner Installation

On the Chevy 1.8 engine the timing system is ran by the use of a timing belt. This belt system consists of asprocket on each camshaft, a tensioner, a guide sprocket, and a crankshaft sprocket. Before the belt can be put into placeyou need to make sure that all of the sprockets are in their proper positions. Make sure the timing sprockets on the camshaftsare tightened down to 37 ft-lbs plus an additional 165 degree turn. Also ensure that both camshafts are installed correctlyand the bearing caps are tightened to 8 ft-lbs. Next the timing belt tensioner and guide can be intalled and torqued down to15 ft-lbs plus an additional 135 degree turn. The crankshaft timing sprocket can be installed by sliding it onto the crank. From herethe timing belt can be installed and ran around the sprockets. Be sure that the 2 camshaft sprockets dots line up with each other as shown in the picture andthat the crankshaft sprocket is aligned with its mark as well. From here the tensioner can be released and the belt should tighten up and be properly installed.If you want you can turn over the engine a few turns to ensure that everything turns and operates smoothly.

Chevy Cruze Camshaft Sprockets Torque Spec: 37 ft-lbs + 150° + 15°

Chevy Cruze Crankshaft Position Sensor Torque Spec: 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Camshaft Bearing Caps Torque Spec : 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Timing Belt Guide Torque Spec : 15 ft-lbs + 135°

Chevy Cruze Timing Belt Tensioner Torque Spec : 15 ft-lbs + 135°

Timing Cover Installation

The timing cover on the 1.8L is used to cover up the timing belt and does not do much more than protect the belt and timing system from debris.The cover is plastic and gets installed by simply placing it into its location and then tightening up the bolts to 5 ft-lbs. Be sure not to overtightenthe bolts as it can be really easy to do so.

Chevy Cruze Timing Cover Bolts Torque Specs : 5 ft-lbs

Oil Pan Installation

Much like the timing cover on many engines the oil pan plays an important role in keeping the engine oil inside theengine. For this reason I recommend using a new gasket as well as some silicone sealantduring installation. Using the same technique as before with the cover you clean the surfaces of both the oilpan and the engine block and then install the new gasket onto the block and then followit up with some silicone sealant. Be sure to follow your sealants instructions to ensure you get the best sealfrom your application. Also make sure that the oil pan baffle has been installed and if it has not then install it and torque the bolts downto 8 ft-lbs. The oil pan can then be installed and torqued down to 8 ft-lbs.Along with the pan is the oil pan drain plug, this gets removed and reinstalled quite frequently and can betorqued down to 10 ft-lbs.

Chevy Cruze Oil Pan Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Oil Pan Baffle Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Oil Drain Plug Torque Specs : 10 ft-lbs

Valve Covers Installation

The valve cover installation is rather simple, there are rubber seals for each bolt hole and a silicone gasketthat prevents oil from leaking out of the engine. It is recommended to replace both the sealsand the gaskets although if they are in good condition you can reuse them. If you do choose to reuse them Iwould 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 missany bolts to avoid having oil leak out onto the exhaust pipes and cause a lot of smoking.

Chevy Cruze Valve Cover Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

Intake Manifold and Fuel Rail Installation

When installing the intake manifold you want to make sure you have all the surfaces as well as intake holescleaned out before placing the manifold into position. Once cleaned you can then placethe intake manifold gaskets onto the alignment pins. If you want you can also use a little bit of sealant on thegaskets to help ensure there are no leaks. With the gaskets in place you can now putthe manifold down onto the gaskets and begin to install the bolts. The intake manifold bolts torque to 15 ft-lbsand can be tightened starting from the inside and going outwards. The COPs or the coilsfor the spark plugs get torqued down to 60 in-lbs or about 5 ft-lbs and the spark plugs themselves can betorqued down to 13 ft-lbs, be careful not to overtorque these as they can snap and cause big problems.When installing the fuel rail make sure that all the fuel injectors are in good condition and that all theo-rings are in place andare in good condition. If everything is good you can place the fuel rail into position and push the injectorsinto their holes and start to torque the rail bolts to 90 in-lbs or about 8 ft-lbs.

Chevy Cruze Intake Manifold Torque Specs : 15 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Ignition Coil Torque Specs : 5 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Spark Plug Torque Specs : 13 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Fuel Rail Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

Exhaust Manifold Installation

The exhaust manifold can be installed by cleaning the surface areas on both the head an the manifold itself andthen by using the exhaust manifold gasket and putting it in place. Once the gasket is in itslocation you can put the manifold onto the heads and begin to torque the fasteners down to 15 ft-lbs. I always use somecopper spray from permatex on the exhaust manifold gaskets to ensure I do not end up withany exhaust leaks once done. When you go to install the engine into the vehicle or if it is already in thevehicle the torque specs for the exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipes or catalytic converter is 15 ft-lbs.The EGR system consists of a series of pipes that range from the manifold to the head. All of the EGR pipes can be tightened downto 14 ft-lbs.

Chevy Cruze Exhaust Manifold Torque Spec : 15 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Exhaust Pipe Torque Specs : 15 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze EGR Pipe Torque Specs : 14 ft-lbs

Water Pump and Thermostat Installation

The water pump on the Chevy 1.8L engine should be installed by usinga new gasket and if desired some silicon sealant to help prevent leaks. Be sure to clean both metal surfaces prior to installing the pump. Onceprepared the pump can be moved into placed and the bolts should be torqued to 8 ft-lbs. When installing the water pump pulley onto the pump itself be sureto tighten down the bolts to 15 ft-lbs.

Chevy Cruze Water Pump Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Water Pump Torque Specs : 15 ft-lbs

Front Dress and Pulley 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 eitheroil or coolant inside the engine then feel free to add some sealant along with the gasket. Always be sure toinspect your gaskets and replace them if there is any deteriation or flaws with them. For thebelt system the crankshaft pulley gets torqued to 70 ft-lbs and then an additional 60 degree turn. The belttensioner assembly can be tightened to 41 ft-lbs. When installing be sureit turns smoothly and if it does not then replace it with a new one as the bearing can go bad. The enginemotor mount can be installed onto the engine block if it hasn't been already, the torques forthe mount to the block is 46 ft-lbs and then when installing the mount to the vehicle or frame it can be torqued to50 ft-lbs. Finally the throttle body can be installed on top of the intake manifoldwith a good gasket and some added sealant using 7 ft-lbs in a criss cross pattern. For installing the belt youcan use a tool to move the tensioner into its springed state and install the belt as shown in thepicture. The power steering pump should be tightened down to 27 ft-lbs. The A/C compressor can be tighteneddown to 18 ft-lbs.

Chevy Cruze Crankshaft Pulley Torque Specs : 70 ft-lbs + 60°

Chevy Cruze Belt Tensioner Torque Specs : 41 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Motor Mount to Engine Torque Specs : 46 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Motor Mount to Frame Torque Specs : 50 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Power Steering to Engine Torque Specs : 27 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze A/C Compressor Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs

Chevy Cruze Alternator Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs