hosrom_951

That is why i asked about the factory studs Kons, never seen anything in the manual that says to measure/replace them. Just coat lightly with engine oil, before installing the cylinder head and tightening it down.

Gator_86_951

I guess I was wrong. I never looked and just decided to go with new hardware.

Tom M'Guinn

I would have bet money the factory manual says to "always replace" head studs, but I just looked for it and could not find anything. I may be guilty of my own pet peeve -- advancing untrue rennlegends. I'll keep looking though.

por4ever

My car is at a dealer for a blown HG and they have not said anything about having to replace the head studs. I have thought about it though and I will ask them tomorrow.

por4ever

I asked the mechanic at the dealer and he said it was fine to reuse the old studs.

hosrom_951

But how many times can one re-use the stock studs since they stretch?

azmi951

Ok a bit more OT but what about O ringed and ARP studs? Retorque or not? When I put the head on last week I torqued them down and then loosened and retorqued them to ARP specs (65 ftlbs? I think)

badcoupe

Update. yes you need to retorque as I gambled and mine blew after about a half hour of driving

Tom M'Guinn

Hmmm, if you blew if out after half hour, you have to wonder if something else was wrong? Is the torque wrench new or recently calibrated? Raceware says to fully heat cycle it before re-torquing, and I know some builders recommend several heat cycles (up to 1k miles).

David Floyd

From the ARP website,


"Because the head gasket will compress upon initial torquing, make sure studs and bolts are re-torqued after the engine has been run."


I used a MLS gasket, ARP headstuds and did not re-torque as the MLS does not compress.

badcoupe

yeah I ran a it a bit and finally drove it today for the first time. the nutas weren't at proper torque when I took it apart here's a pic of the gasket