Ok, well if it's straight (truly flat) and the torque is relatively uniform then the most significant concerns come down to the yield strength of the fasteners and the head. You can't back it off a lot without possibly compromising the HG. I suppose if I ended up in your shoes and wasn't able to redo the job I'd try go the route I suggested.... lighten the load what little bit I felt was safe and then leave it alone.

Everyone would do well to actually read the service manual and the spec sheets for the parts you are installing/servicing prior to executing the job and take it on faith that they have some idea what they're talking about. Even with the lower torque spec these things held up fine for more than a decade... seldom blowing sooner than 100,000 miles. Toyota may have required a lower torque than normal but it performed just fine in my opinion.

I should have asked prior, what manual are you using?

Before I forget, if you've over-torqued the timing belt idler/tensioner pulley you may want to correct that as soon as possible. It's been proven that even a small fraction over spec will pull cylinder #1 out of round.

We used the Hanes repair manual. The only thing we used a torque wrench on were the head bolts. I know im gonna hear it for that one. But thats why im getting my own torque wrench. That way i can torque everything.

Nope, not going to hear anything... I'm done. Good luck with it. :crazy2:

For some reason I said earlier in this thread and in one other yesterday that the spec for the valve cover screws is 12 in lbs... dunno where I got that, but to clarify it's 22 in lbs.

yes yes of course cre. I got the bolts and ended up getting washers and the rubber piece myself from a hardware store.