i need to know the best way to install arp studs.
my head gasket blew, small amount of water in cylinder number 4
i had one bolt unscrew from the block instead of the nut unscrewing when i took the head off.
this was on the same clinder that had a leak in the gasket.
i also added copper head gasket spray to the gasket befor i installed it.


setup
b16a 83mm
pr3 head
darton mid sleeves
cosmetic gasket
arp studs
running around 450hp atw

what do i torque the studs to? into the block
what do i torque the nuts to?
do i need to copper spray the gasket.

i know i need to clean all the old oil of the threads, and clean the bolt holes etc.

thanks

 

why dont you look it up on arps website or call arp.
this is honda-tech not spood feeders anonymous.

 

tq the studs with hand tight.
tq the nut to 80lb

copper spray is optional

 

here you go all in a pdf from ARP
http://arpinstructions.com/instructions/208-4601.pdf

 

Are you positive that the block and head surfaces are within Honda specs? were they machined first?

 

Hand tight on the studs maybe 5 ft lbs... not much at all....nuts should be final 80ft/lbs with SAE 30....a little less with the moly lube i believe...i always used sae30 and 80 ft/lbs final tq

Youre next issue is that cometic headgasket. I had issues on my Darton mids with cometic gasket. (although my sleeves are O-ringed) Went to Oem with copper spray never had a issue, and neither has anoyone i know...go with OEm gasket.

 

its 80lb with moly lube

 

So WFT is the board for? Just showing your **** off? Honda T E C H, the man asked a tech ?

Anyway we've always use molly lube, hand tighten the studs into the block by hand with a Allen wrench and make sure there all level. Next I'm not a fan of Cometic gaskets on Honda's so OEM on small bores and GE on bigger bores (OEM just opened up) copper spray if you want then tq the head to 80-85lbs.

Some of us like to tq 80lbs then after 3 heat cycles re tq to 85lbs.

 

Almost got it right. Final tq of 80ft/lbs and ARP studs don't need re torqued.

 

yes it was fresh from the machine shop when i put the head gasket on etc.
the dartons sleeves were installed to darton-honda block specs

did about 5000kms, 50+ passes befor i had a problem with the head gasket

 

yeah thanks mate, im in nz so its a little harder for me to do that.

 

OP - First chase all threads in the block with a tap to make sure they are clean. Secondly - using the supplied arp moly lube. Coat the top and bottom of the studs along with both sides of the washers and the bottoms of the 12pt nut. Third - screw all studs into block hand tight or use an allen wrench till they bottom out and back them off like 1/8th turn. DO NOT use copper spray and install your new oem honda head gasket over the studs. Have a friend help set the head down on. Fourth put all your washers and nuts onto the studs and torque them down to 25ft/lbs using the proper tightening sequence. Then torque to 50ft/lbs and finally one last time to 80ft/lbs. Arp studs DO NOT need to be re torqued after you install them.

 

thanks mate. just the info i was after.

 

so using a cosmetic gasket with darton mid sleeves is a no go. i need an 83mm gasket. would GE be a better choice?
what brand over bores the stock honda ones

thanks for all the messages, i never new cosmetic and darton were a bad mix.

 

umm I'm not wrong you don't loosen the bolts, you just add 5lbs more after the heat cycles. And like I stated b4 it's just something some guys do just to double chk everything. I mean if your checking the head studs and cam bolts like your suppose to it doesn't hurt going over the head bolts with 5lbs.

 

Golden Eagle is the company you want. Used them for years and never had a problem .

 

I just installed ARP studs, and I had to torque to 90lb in 3 even increments. All the info was in the box the bolts came in. If you don't have the info get in contact with ARP they are very helpful. You might have noticed that you received a bunch of different answers to one question. They cant all be right.

 

That's what everyone gets for buying used parts. When i got mine the instructions were inside it .. goes to show people just like running their mouths before they actually think .. u have to evenly tighten in 3 even sequences ..

 

Bolts were brand new as were the rod bolts which require torque and then torque angle. No running of the mouth here!

 

Good deal, I ask because I have seen so many threads where they ask the same thing and we find out later on that they only surfaced the head or the block.

 

Good god theres some real asshats on this forum lol. Anyways I have a wierd issue with my ARPs. We first noticed this when we changed out my Cometic (junk) gasket with a GE gasket, the studs would wiggle back and forth freely inside the block (after head was removed). I've had ARP's in other motors and never noticed them doing this, they torque to specs just fine, so I am not sure if this is an issue or if I am just being a worry wart. I made sure that they had deaden'd (is that even a word lol) out with an allen wrench and they still giggle. Over the winter I am going to be having the head checked and cleaned up before putting back together. I just need to see if this is a common thing with ARP's or if I need to have the block looked at to see if maybe the threads where the bolts go are messed up. BTW this on a Laskey built motor with 2k miles on it.

 

A lot of people on h-t don't like cometic gaskets. I use them, like them, and have never personally seen a problem with them. I torque the studs to 85ft-lb with 30 weight oil (in 3 or 4 steps). This is the torque that ARP recommends if using oil. I would definitely ONLY screw them in hand tight. I have pulled the threads out of my block before and believe this was a result of pre-loading them. Now I only hand tighten them.

 

Right, I have seen a ton of threads on cometic being bad. I bought (Yet to install) and now wondering if I should get oem or GE, I plan on 600 hp at the minimum and after reading all these threads it makes me hesitant.

 

I would use the cometic HG without hesitation. But I guess I can't say much about this, I've never built a 600hp motor.

 

i run hand tight into the block then tq nuts to 85ft lb..D series + headlift = alil extra tq