Guys just wanted some tips and details on how you all did your studs installs...lube, sealant, tightening method...you know all the little things...and please no...go to the website posts...I want personal experiences...this should benefit other people.

 

Do use moly grease
Do get the right size studs, if you have an LS/Vtec you need the b18C studs
Don't reuse the headgasket
Do have a 12 point, 1/2" drive deep socket on hand.
Do tighten in stages working from the center out.

 

The longer threads go in the block.

Screw studs in finger tight.

 

Finger tight never works for me. I like to torque them to 20 lbs with the old double nut trick. It makes for a more consistent install without stressing them.

 

Hmm. Why's that?

 

All the above and use a good torque wrench. Torque down the nuts in a 3 stage fashion and double check the torque when you're done.

 

Sonny

 

Because finger tight lets them back out easier and sometimes it gives you false torque readings because its not the nut, but the stud turning...

 

good advice. finger tight never works for me either. when i do it finger tight the studs arent all the same height when installed. that is something that shoulnt be overlooked

 

How much torque anyway? 65 ft/lbs? Does it depend on the engine or are they all the same?

 

Do you need to run a tap through the threads of the block, just to make sure the threads are clean??????

 

Very good point Mike.

That's why I perform the torquing sequence at least 3-5 times.

 

How about using a vise grip to tighten it a little? I don't trust finger tightening studs...

 

The reason why the ARP instructions (and all other manufactures) say hand tight is because if you torque them down the majority of the tensile force will be loaded in the upper threads(the ones in the block) instead of evenly over all engaged threads. Think about it a bit and you see why.


[Modified by Rocket, 5:22 PM 9/14/2002]

 

What about cleaning the threads on the block...anything special to do?

 

Running a tap down the threads first is great advice. Makes a finger tight install more consistent. Rocket is right, you don't want to torque the studs too tight into the head. I use 20lbs of pre torque on the studs as a personal choice that seems logical to me as I don't trust my fingers. You could probably get the same results at 10 lbs. No head gasket problems for me using 20lbs for the stud install.

 

Sweet! Any idea offhand what the thread size is for a B18C1 block?

 

12mm 1.5 thread. The other side of the ARP is 12mm 1.25. Don't ever run a dye down the 1.25 side of the stud as it is a rolled thread rather than cut with a dye. That would break your dye and mess up the thread.

 

Thanks Earl!!

 

ok that makes alot of sense. while i don't hand tighten mine, i dont torque them down like crazy either. i just use the double nut lock down method and lightly screw the stud into the block until it stops.

 

I also torqued my studs in the block to 10ft/lbs instead of hand tightening them. I hand tightened them, then once i did the 10ft/lbs i found out finger tight is not the way to go since some of them werent even close to being as tight as i thought they were. Anyways, i did the 2 nut method also. On my application i did a 3 stage torque once the head was on, then a final torque of 77ftlbs and using the supplied moly lube of course.

 

I did them finger tight and all went down except for one that is about 1/8" higher than the rest. Doesn't really matter -- All the threads are catching... that's the point of studs over bolts.

 

If this was on an LS then the two center studs will be taller than the others.

 

Oh the 2 center are supposed to be higher though...

It was actually the far cam gear side stud on the exhaust side... But it doesn't really matter..

 

One more thing to do is before you put the studs in, get all the pools of oil out of the holes becasue this can prevent you from screwing in the studs properly. I just used 2 Q-Tips taped together so they could reach the bottom of the hole. This took a little while and a lot of Q-Tips but it worked very well for me.

For the record I went hand tight on the studs with no problem.