Howdy, Can anyone tell me how tight I should screw head studs into my bare 8BA block, before the gaskets, heads, washers, nuts and all get torqued down. Can't seem to find this info anywhere. It's an honor to be among knowledgeable nostalgic car folks. Thanks in advance! F. F.
When you are putting studs into a block, or any other part of motor, (on a flathead) make sure you have put enough sealant (non-hardening type) on the threads as you don't want them to leak, and most important.....hand tighten and then back off slightly (in blind holes), maybe a 1/8 of a turn. You don't want the stud bottoming out in a blind hole. Also you didn't mention if you are putting aluminum heads or cast iron, but also put antisize on the shank of the stud to prevent it from growing to the head.
If you have all the studs out right now, Do yourself a favor and replace them with Quality Grade 8 Bolts & hard Washers. If you have Aluminum Heads you will thank me the next time they come off !!
Henry's studs and head bolts are stronger than Grade 8. If they aren't corroded, don't hesitate to use them again.
Gentlemen, Thanks for valuable advice. The studs are new, Grade 8 I think (I hope), they are replacing original rusty, rounded over 7/16 bolts. I'm using aluminum heads, graphtite big bore gaskets, permatex thread sealant on the studs, and antiseize when it all gets wrenched down. A speed shop recommended ceramic thread seal instead of permatex, any opinions on that? And i'm also curious what type of antiseize to use. Isn't there a copper type and a grey (maybe aluminum) type? Redundant sincere Thanks again and again (and again) FF
ill second what desoto says.....aluminum heads +studs+ a little corrosion over several years WILL ruin you day next time the heads come off(if you can get them off)
The ceramic thread sealer is JUNK! Don't use it, Permatex non-hardening and I think it is #2 is the best to use on a flatty. I have always used the "aluminum" colored antisize, and make sure you use a liberal coat on the entire shank. I have always used ARP studs and have never had an issue taking them out as long as you coat the shank with a liberal coat of antisize. I have seen some people put studs in with no antisize or very little on the shank, and one person actually had to cut the head into pieces to get it off. I also use Viton seals with beveled ARP washers to prevent any leaks on blocks that have a lot of use (the treads going into the block are not as tight as they once were or people have used taps, not thread chasers) with great success. This was a trick the late Rod Furtado did some 15 years ago.
The ceramic seal is a liquid ("water glass"...cannot think of chem name) that leaks through gaps with engine running and hardens there. It is of NO USE WHATEVER in****embling gaskets! Put it in later IF you have mystery leaks. Stock studs seat into block straight as they bottom at a shoulder above thread. Aftermarket ones don't have that geometry, and may need to be set straight...easy way is to drop on head and gasket immediately after setting them in the thread sealer, lightly tighten head nuts and washers to set them up perpendicular to the block, lettem dry. As stated, paint shanks with anti sieze. Flathead studs were not sealed, as far as I know, at factory...not only were they fitted to block at their bases, the threads in block were extra tight. Now MANY have been cleaned with machinist's taps, removing metal and reducing thread fit to a normal class 2 and allowing leaks. Class 2 is like a normal nut and bolt...you can move the thread fit around a lot until torque puts it under tension. If you block still has undamaged threads, clean them with gun brushes and lots of carb cleaner, not a tap...any tap you can readily find, without going to a serious industrial supply house, is wrong! If you take your block to a machinest, it will be VERY difficult to stop him from carefully ruining your threads...you are into instinctive behavior for the breed!
EXACTLY what Bruce said re taps !! Bolts are better for your application. Hell I use biolts on a blown 8BA and have never head a problem. FWIW, I LOVE using studs on mains and heads - I just wont use em on a Flatty as i want to be able to remove the heads easily. Also, if you ever swap a head or do a head gasket change, I can tell you it will be a real pain in the**** to clean the decks properly if the studs are still fitted to the block. Using bolts makes it way easy to clean the decks to prep for fresh head gaskets . Just my 2 dineros Rat
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