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Hey, on my 07 6.0 power stroke I have ARP head studs and a bullet proof EGR cooler, while towing its started pushing coolant. Took it to the closest shop and there saying it needs a head gasket job! Has anyone seen the ARP studs stretch or maybe a cracked head?
I'm not sure how they tested it, I took it in once they installed a new cap and said there wasn't any other issues, the following day I took it up a 3/4 mile 12% grade and it pushed coolant out, the motor wasn't up to operating temp at when I was going up the hill. I called and told them it was pushing still they told me to keep it over the weekend and see how much it pushes out, I didn't drive it much but had to add 1 gallon to keep it in the bottom of the degas bottle. Took it back Tuesday and now there saying they pin pointed it to a head gasket or issue
When you did or had the stud job done the first time, were the heads machined as well? In the past few years I've seen a few trucks with studs need the jobs re-done if the first one wasn't done correctly and so far, all but one of them didn't have the heads machined flat during the first job, the other guy had done it himself and was using the "more is better" theory and cranked his studs up to 270ft/lbs on install and yeah, they stretched.
I have yet to see/hear of a head cracking and pushing coolant out of the degas bottle but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
Do a search,install yourself a degas tank line pressure gauge,tow up a mntn, see if gauge gets to 16lb, when you start up a mntn pushing it hard making over 23lbs boost, should showup fast. dont overfill coolant tank, 1/2" below min fill line.
Hey, just running 50hp SCT towing tune, the previous owner had the studs installed. While he truck was still under warranty. The receipts say the owners supplied the ARP stud kit and a bulletproof EGR cooler, it doesn't say anything about checking or machining the heads.
Rut Roh... If a dealer did it we can rule out incorrect head gasket. What you cannot rule out is quality of work, correct torque, for installation of head studs. Ford specs at the time for checking heads, if they were ever checked, would allow a warped set to be used, even new out of the box.
I had to redo my heads after using Ford reman heads with ARP studs. Lasted about a year before leaking. Second time had heads machined flat, they where warped .004 thousands.
Rut Roh... If a dealer did it we can rule out incorrect head gasket. What you cannot rule out is quality of work, correct torque, for installation of head studs. Ford specs at the time for checking heads, if they were ever checked, would allow a warped set to be used, even new out of the box.
Yup, my headgaskets were done at the dealer and they studded it. They still failed. David and I could see where it looks like they damaged the gasket putting it on and then the heads were also warped.
Ok, I'll be adamant about them sending the heads to a shop, When I purchased the truck th credit union offered a warranty covering all the major stuff, I purchased it and they'll cover the head gasket job but won't cover oil cooler/ EGR cooler, is the factory oil cooler good or should i purchase a aftermarket one? I hope the bullet proof EGR is alright so they can just reinstall that.
I read on here somewhere that there were 2 different strengths of ARP studs. One around $299.00 and one close to $500.00. If that's the case maybe some people put the cheap ones on and that's why the problems.
That is correct, different strengths of studs.... some are near $400, most use those and happen to be the ones most often reported as failed.
I'm not positive it's the stud that's failing, the gaskets fail, could be due to improper installation, could have a cracked head, warped head, not milled flat... lots of reasons... not just a stretched bolt per-sey.