Steve Bryant

iTrader: (1)

I was installing a set of ARP Main Bearing studs in a block that I'm going to use to build a 408 Stroker. It was late at night and I was too tired to look at the studs carefully enough. After washing them in solvent and drying them off, I held ten or so in my hand and they all appeared to be the same length. I then applied moly lube and screwed all 20 into the block. All was well until some of the outboard nuts started to bottom out on the studs before the washer & nut came into solid contact with the bearing caps. Also most of the inboard studs didn't protrude through the end of their nuts.

Frustrated, I went to bed and called ARP the next day. It turns out that ten of the twenty studs are .15 inches shorter than the rest. These go on the outboard side. That evening I took things apart and it so happened that I had nine short studs installed on the interior side and nine long studs installed on the exterior side.

Morals of the story:
1. Watch what you are doing closely
2. Don't work on stuff when you are too tired
3. ARP should spell out that there are two different length studs and the short ones go on the outboard ends of the bearing caps.

Steve