ARP head stud kit
 

Just got done installing my stud kit and my heads. All I have to say is that if your heads are off, buy this stud kit! It beats having to go through 3 times and tighten the shit out of the stock style bolts. This just made my install a breeze. Best part about these is I had no problem slipping my heads on with the motor in the car. Speed Inc said the last two studs on the pass. side would have to be put in with the head on but that doesnt matter. The heads will still go on with them installed.

Don't you have to go back and retorque the ARP studs?

Thats awesome, the passenger side had me worried a bit.

Well, there is a big difference between torquing to a specific ft/lb compared to a degree angle. I actually torqued my head studs in three passes. First was to 25 just to make sure the head was completely seated properly and all the play was taken out of the studs. Next pass was to 50 ft/lb and the final pass was to the spec of I beleive 70 ft/lb (but quote me on that number).

You can't beleive the difference between trying to torque to a specific degree and just pulling till you feel it clicks. Fact is, how many of us actually have a torque degree wheel, probably less than 1% who use torque to yeild head bolts. Everyone just eye-balls it with a line drawn on the head bolts. Add on top of that trying to do the back bolts on both sides really sucks on f-body's.

The $230 for the head studs was well worth it in my oppinion.

Amen to that, it should be mandatory for head swaps. Not to mention the added clamping force achieved with them. Much harder to blow gaskets.

By retorque I mean like a week or so after running it? pulling the intake off, valve covers, rocker arms, headers and everything to get to all the bolts?

My slid right on with all the heads studs in place on the block. I have never done heads without all the head studs in.

Well, after I installed my heads it was the end of my day working on the car. So the next day before I continued I put the torque wrench on and checked all of the studs and they were fine.

I think you're supposed to retorque them after the engine has been ran, not after its been sitting, like they might need to heat cycle or something?

I have not heard that but ill look into it. I havent started up the car yet. For the person that said only 1% have an angle degree tool....I have one. :)

Never retorked mine with GM MLS, no issues.

No need to retorque....if they needed retorqing after a few heat cycles then it more than likely got a bad torque to begin with.

are you talking about actually torquing the studs three times or the nuts? I was told that you just tighten the studs down till they bottom out? Then if the setup is new, are you install the head, you torque them down three times with incrementing foot pounds because they have never stretched before. Mine were out of a friends car, so i just installed them till the bottomed out and then put the nuts down and ran through the torque sequence.

Ditto.

Yes, I'm talking about torquing the nuts, not the studs themselves. Actually I think ARP reccomends threading the studs in till they bottom out, then backing them out a quarter turn.

Correct, studs are to be threaded in by hand- no torqing. Some people back em out a tad just to make sure of heat expansion interference but thats not really an issue. If you cannot install the studs by hand then you nead to clean your threads out better.

Yup, the studs should screw in pretty easily. I had to do some helicoils on some of my threads.

I was planning to use the ARP head bolts with my install. Would you guys recommend the ARP head stud kit and just use the GM head bolts?

The hell with retorquing them, just over torque them the first time, that way if they lose any TQ they still have plenty of clamping force. I torqued mine to about 75ft lbs, which is a little more than is called for.

Set it and forget it, lol, I hate going back and doing the same shit twice.

ARP studs are so worth it.
-Better clamping force
-Consistent torquing down(100% vertical force applied when torquing compared to bolts where you apply horozontal force)
-Reusable
-Never have to clean the bolt holes in the block out again.