Hey all,

If you cannot stand threads made by inquiring minds who want to learn more about their vehicle, please leave now.

If you stayed, then you know we all have to start somewhere

Anyways I have a blower Z28 on 6 lbs., soon to be 8. I'm not particularly concerned about my engine's integrity, as I rarely even hit boost, yet alone 6 lbs. Even at 6 or 8 lbs., I'm really not concerned about screwing anything up.

So I made this thread because I'd like to be pointed in the right direction to learn about studs. I'd really like to know what purpose they serve, and how hard they are to install (keeping in mind that I'm a novice.)

Any links or explanations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

BTW, I put ARP in the title because that's what brand I'd go with if I did buy studs.

 

ARP has great quality. Long bolts into an aluminum block are not a good idea, they are designed for one time use. Studs are important because when you torque a head bolt, the bolt twists over it's length and the torque reading may be inaccurate. When you apply torque to the stud, you are just twisting the nut at the top, much more accurate. Also with bolts, you are twisting that long steel bolt into aluminum threads. The threads tend to bind, again inaccurate torque. If you are running boost, you need to be sure that the head is torqued to the max.

 

And if you pull the heads a lot, you'll learn to love them b/c it means no more cleaning coolant out of the damn bolt holes. They're a win-win situation and a lot of added security.

 

same info. I got @ the F/I forum, Iam in the same situation with my turbo, I will be buying studs tomorrow. Like artic said it will same time next time the heads come off.

 

but doesn't it kind of cut the room short for removing the heads while the motor is in the car?

 

No problems here, heads come right off. I'm not saying there's tons of room, but the heads do come off and go on.

 

I also opted for studs (my heads are going on this weekend- hopefully). It's a a no brainer. The only argument is cost. But after 1500 for heads, I'm not worried about the extra expense.

 

How much do ARP studs cost for a LS1?

How many times can you reuse them?

What are the torque specs?

 

hey max I run them on my vette with a thinner head gasket.

 

I got mine from texas speed for $230. They are not torque to yeld like the stock bolts, so reuseing is not a problem. Arp gives you torque spec's in the box of studs, cant remember what they are. Also like artic said the heads come on and off with out any problems.

 

Torque specs are somewhere around 70 to 80 ft/lb if I remember correctly.

 

I'm puttingheads on my car this weekend.. I took the stud route.

reusable, stronger, no cleaning holes, more consistant tq'ing, and did I mention reusable? If you buy factory bolts ( why anyone would I don't know ) and have to pull your heads 5 times over the life of the car.... that's 5 sets of those factory bolts. I'll bet that 5 sets is a hell of alot more then the 230 I spent on my head studs..... never mind that hole cleaning nonsense... I'm really not looking foreward to that project tomorrow

 

I installed mine with the engine out of the car, and they were really easy. The studs go in (I couldnt get them all the way down by hand, so I had to use a ratchet.) But putting the heads on was really easy, and just putting the washers and nuts on was really easy too.

 

Not sure about the washers.. mine didn't come with a washer. They should thread in pretty easy, use that grease they come with on the threads when you thread them in, adn they should go all the way in... just make sure you got the holes ABSOLUTELY clean. An old head bolt, with a groove cut in it to catch any flack in the hole usually works good ( at least did on everything other then an ls1 that I have worked on ) and then I usually spray the hole out with carb clean to loosen anything that is stuck in teh hole, then use compressed air with a thin hose or somethign of the sort to get all that out, messy process, but once the hole is clean, in goes the stud, and you're thru with it once and for all.

 

They need washers, especially on an aluminum head.

Studs are less wear and tear on the block threads too.

 

hmmm.. better look into that tonite then. Might be taking a trip to the hardware store.

 

JL, if you want an idea of what to get, here are the washers that came with the kit:

 

BlackZ - where you at in Northern VA?

 

Head studs are where it's at! I could not get my head gaskets to seal perfectly with GM bolts for some reason. I switched to ARP head studs and copper sprayed cometic gaskets. Did the swap with the engine in the car. Solved all my problems.

 

Oakton