The studs are longer than the bolts. The guy that did mine had never put studs in and wasn't sure there'd be enough room to get the studs in. Plus, from what I'm reading in my research, easy access to the engine is worth the effort if you have a two-post lift (i.e. it's not as bad as it sounds).

 

reality is it can be done either way.

 

Had mine done about 2 months ago. Local Ford mechanic did it as a side job. He said he takes the radiator, fan, and grill out and slides the engine and trans forward. Had the Arp's,Black onyx gaskets, egr delete, egr cooler delete, new upgraded oil cooler installed. Got all my parts from sinister performance. My total was about $2800.

 

How long did it take him to do the job?

 

What is this "upgraded oil cooler", Is it a ford part, or is it from someone else?

 

It took him 2 nights after hours to do the labor. The upgraded cooler came aftermarket, but the Ford Diesel Tech said he thinks Ford has started using the same company to get theirs from, the part number changed at Ford to the same part # and he told me they were larger flowing than the old ones.

 

Have you experienced any drivetrain shudder or vibration since he did the work? Just concerned if there would be any alignment issues resulting from this angle of approach.

Was your cost parts & labor?

 

i just got mine done, with new headgaskets, arp studs, oil cooler, egr delte kit, some other small updated fittings, turbo rebuild or cleaning with updated oil tube, and new belt, oil and coolant, all for $2700.........my local ford dealer wanted $4700 and another local diesel shop wanted $4000.

 

What shop? Im afraid I may need HG....

 

i use a ford diesel tech, that does these on the side on the weekends, u can pm me and send me ur email address and i can forward it to him and he will contact u, r u in the DFW area?

 

Here is a set of studs for 3 bucks less, that equals to about 14 miles give or take of ear to ear grinning mind blowing fun once your done.
http://www.rollinsmokediesel.com/pd-...d-stud-kit.cfm

 

I have to admit that I've been thrilled with the advice I received here to install the ARP head studs. I guess I didn't realize how good I had it when I got them installed for no charge when the dealership was replacing the bedplate gasket under warranty. The tech who was there at the time was really into racing his 6.0 and I was told he could assemble a 6.0 in the dark. Anyway, 2 years later and I've had zero issues after he installed the studs (with a few other fun mods ). Not only is the engine completely dry with no oil leaks, but I've taken her to the track a few times.

Here is a 14.24 1/4 mile run with the truck crossing the scales right at 8100 pounds YouTube - F350 4X4 crew cab dually 6.0 PSD 8170 pounds running 1/4 mile
The video was from my daughter with her phone, so sorry for the poor quality.

 

what all mods do u have?

 

Well....none that you can see looking at the truck. We don't have any emission testing here in my state, but I don't think I was blowing much smoke at all with an obvious easy start in that run. For the life of me, I don't recall where I left that darn EGR valve either. Otherwise, only the tech's personal tune on my SCT tuner and some "trust me" changes he made in the fuel system. So, really, it breathes easier (if you know what I mean - can bring in and blow out more air) and has a few good SCT tunes is about it besides the ARP studs.

Since I tow really heavy relatively often, he made a tow tune and a somewhat modified street tune for me that gets me about 1-2 mpg over stock yet has the truck run pretty darn strong. Honestly, I'm too concerned about the transmission to go with any of his other mods that he swears will easily get me in the high 13 second range. As you can tell from the phone video, if I would have spooled it up just a bit and launched harder, I likely could have gotten close to the upper 13's the way it is. I had a '96 Dodge that ran mid 13's, but it had a massive amount of mechanical modifications and cost me over 8k for a transmission that would stay together. I don't want to even think about that again. My diesel speed thing is wearing on my wife. My Kubota RTV1100 has a turbo now, my motorcoach has a Cat C9 engine with the RV equivalent to an SCT tuner and I've had it over 100 mph going across the high plains. With the 6 speed Allison tranny and it's tall gearing, I wasn't turning much over 2200 RPM but my fuel economy sure sucked after that run! I think it normally turns about 1500 RPM at 68 MPH or so but still gets it's best fuel economy at about 60; which still isn't much to brag about.

 

Dang! I got a quote from a local guy here for the same work minus the turbo rebuild or belt and it was $6200....wish I was a heck of alot closer to DFW! I might actually have a chance of getting my truck back on the road if I could find someone to do her up for the $2700 range. But I haven't quit calling for quotes yet.