BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

In the link below it mentions medium length bolts for the M11's on the head. I don't remember the bolts being longer or shorter. I set the heads on and started all the bolts but did not torque them. Had company in town this weekend and the project was put on hold, so I'm getting back to it tonight. Did I just completely overlook bolt lengths with the ARP kit?

http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answe...ifications.htm

Cylinder Head Bolts - First Design - First Pass all M11 Bolts in Sequence - 22 lb ft

Cylinder Head Bolts - First Design - Second Pass all M11 Bolts in Sequence - 90 degrees

Cylinder Head Bolts - First Design - Final Pass all M11 Bolts in Sequence - Excluding the Medium Length Bolts at the Front and Rear of Each Cylinder Head - 90 degrees

Cylinder Head Bolts - First Design - Final Pass M11 Medium Length Bolts at the Front and Rear of Each Cylinder Head - 50 degrees

Cylinder Head Bolts - Second Design - First Pass all M11 Bolts in Sequence - 22 lb ft

Cylinder Head Bolts - Second Design - Second Pass all M11 Bolts in Sequence - 90 degrees

Cylinder Head Bolts - Second Design - Final Pass all M11 Bolts in Sequence - 70 degrees

DMM

Those are the torque to yield specs...DO NOT USE THEM WITH ARP BOLTS! The ARP bolts have a revised torque spec...it should have been included in the instructions with your kit.

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

Thank you, I'll have to look into those. Glad I asked.

Dmax/04V

ARP studs should be 80ft/lbs on all but the smaller set closest to the valley, no medium size studs just small and large. ARP's web site will give this info as well.

lollygagger8

iTrader: (7)

I thought studs went in hand tight? Especially with aluminum heads?

I haven't opened up the box for my ARP studs and looked at directions though.

etcts-v

ARP's website sucks, missing a bunch of torque specs for their kits, just sayin. Although I do believe they have all the head bolt kits on there now.

Dmax/04V

Studs themselves go in with a ratchet and hex bit no torquing, what gives studs clamping force is you torqueing the nuts. Take a yard stick and lay it across the studs before you put the heads on, easy way to make sure they are all even. Also with these cars I found that you have plenty of room to lower the heads on after putting all your studs in, as long as you disconnect your headers from the rest of the exhaust and tie them off to the side.

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

FUCK MY LIFE

Started it up after spending the entire day in the garage reassembling and steam started coming from the DS head almost immediately. I smelled it to make sure it wasn't smoke and shut it down. Then checked the dipstick--sure enough my head gasket didn't seal and there is coolant in the oil.

I'm pretty sure it must have been from overtorquing bolt #1 on that side. On the first pass I didn't hear it click at 25ft lbs and kept on turning until I knew was definitely too far, so rather than backing it off and starting over, I moved on to the rest. What a ******' idiot newb.

DMM

That sucks man. I am wondering though...exceeding the torque spec on the first pass should not cause a blown head gasket, especially since the second pass is more than twice the initial torque spec. Are you sure the gaskets were installed facing the correct way?

Again, sucks man, but at least it will take you less than half the time to go back through it as it did the first time. Let us know what you find.

Dmax/04V

I almost did this to myself when I recently did mine, it would explain the issue too. Over torqueing a little on the first pass, shouldn't be the end of the world as long as you kept going in the right order.

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

When I put the wrench on to torque it the 2nd and 3rd pass it clicked without turning. Almost certain that's the problem. The gaskets were on right. I kept that in mind.

Maybe it was my strep-like virus that interfered with my thinking while torquing.
I felt like I was on my death-bed that morning. Stayed home from work--which I've never done before.

Dmax/04V

Any updates on this, hopefully youve got her figgered.

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

Got it torn back down last night. Didn't see anything obvious. I checked the suspected bolt and it happened to be right at 75 ft lbs. So I cleaned everything back up again and started reassembly only to realize that I'm missing one of the ARP M11 Washers now. I searched for about an hour in the engine bay and the floor below. Pulled the lower plastic fascia off, pulled the DSF wheel off, searched high and low--nowhere. So I gave up and showered and went to bed.

Drove out to see my dad today, so no work has been done. I'm thinking I might have to buy a new washer from jegs or summit. Luckily they sell them individually.

Dmax/04V

Damn gremlins, hopefully it comes together without problems this time. Look inside the head for that washer, I accidentaly dropped one in there and had to take the head of the studs and shake it to get it out again. Not very scientific, but all hell will break loose if it found its way in there and doesn't come out.

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

I did that too. I thought it might have been sticking to the inside of some crevice, but it wasn't.

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

Found it just now! After going through more of the engine bay specifically around the steering rack I decided to get on the creeper face down and do a final floor check before giving up. Laid face down with flashlight in hand and went from the rear forward doing a slow sweep with the flashlight. Felt like something out of Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Right around the direct center of the car I laid my hand on it.

BACK TO WORK!!

jsteele90

iTrader: (13)

Good luck

BudRacing

iTrader: (3)

Got it all buttoned up tonight.
When I took the head DS head off (both times) I had only disconnected the header on that side and pushed it to the side, so the wrap was drenched in coolant. A little after start up it started steaming like it had before, but I realized it had to be the wrapped header still steaming off the dousing from DAYS ago. So I kept an eye on things and checked the oil a couple times and all is well. It stopped steaming about 10 minutes into idling in my driveway during a lightning storm.

I've haven't done coolant on one of these cars before now. Is the burping process just filling the reservoir? It took a few fills of that to keep it at the right level, and the cooling seemed to be working. It would cycle from about 186 back down to 175ish while idling. I drove it up the block and back with the same results.

The only hiccup so far is that the steering shaft is making contact with the header which it hadn't before.

I hadn't driven it in so long I was pretty excited to drive it. I almost forgot how to drive this thing. Backing up the driveway you'd think I had never driven a stick before. haha

Tomorrow night I'll be cleaning up the (figurative) tornado that has torn through my garage.

RADEoN

iTrader: (12)

you add coolant, get it hot, it'll start cycling through your cooling system, then you check it as air bleeds out of it, and add a little more, as needed.