i know there is 5 million post bout head studs has anyone tried replacing the stock bolts with head studs one bolt at a time and not doing the head gaskets? me and a friend were talking bout it and wondered if it would work.

 

There have been a few threads about this and the answer has always been, it's not a good idea.

 

I've seen a guy on one of these forums that has done it to a couple of truck and has not had any problem. I don't think the studds will just simply drop in though, you may still need to pull the cab. Others say not to do it because you take a chance of unseating the head gasket. I think you may be ok doing it that way. I don't know enough about it to say that it would hold up if you where towing a lot or adding a lot of hp. I still need to get mine done and have thought about having it done one studd at a time, but the cabs comes off, I'll pay to get everthing checked and the newer style head gaskets put on.

 

I have asked the same question before (8-05-06 post) and have got "no don't do it" from the ford techs to "one guy who has done it to a couple of trucks with success". I plan to buy the stud kit and do the job with the heads in place this spring or summer. I just did a combustion gas test on the X and there is no HG leakage after 60,000 miles running a Edge tuner since 15,000 miles. Since I have an X, pulling the cab is not an option. I plan on pulling the radiator, IC and fan. I believe that will allow for me to stand in front of the motor and reach the bolts, replacing them one at a time. I'll have to look at the rear bolts to be sure there is enough clearance between the motor and firewall. I plan to buy or make an extension for a tap so I can clean out the holes. Then make an adapter with a piece of tygon tubing to vacuum out the tap residue from the bolt holes. I going to start by removing the last OEM bolt in the ford recommended torque pattern and work my way to #1. I plan on torquing each stud nut to the MAX recommended ARP value. Then after all studs are installed and tight, I'm going to loosen each stud nut one at a time and starting with #1, retorque to the MAX ARP value. By removing the OEM bolts one at a time there is no way, IMHO, that you could loosen the HG or warp the head with the remaining bolts in place. My biggest problem is finding the time to do the job but I am going to do the job provided I can get to the bolts with out having to remove the engine.

DSMMH

 

That's a big DIY project, I hope it works out for you. Remember to try to capture your progress and post for other X owners. Good luck!!

 

I was going to try this, but I went ahead and took the heads off and I am putting studs in. The only thing I see is that the a/c box is really close and there is no way to get them studs in without taking it out if u r not going to pull cab. I did not pull cab, but I set the studs in the head before I put the head on and that gave me a little more clearance for the length of the stud.

 

I have to ask how many had already blown the headgasket before they tried to one at a time stud trick. I don't believe studs will save you if the gaskets are already gone.

 

GRUDGERACER

How heavy are the heads??
and you where able to R&R the heads without cab removal?
What was the time invested?

 

I do not see the reason for doing all that extra effort to try to save the headgasket when in all honesty to get a new set isn't all that expensive. If your going to do it, do it right the first time. If your heads are shot(warped), studding it alone isn't sufficient to do the job, you'll either have to machine those heads flat or replace them totally depending on the damage. What is the reason for those that want to keep the old gaskets and replace it one at a time? Is it just to save money on a new gasket set or is there something else? To me your taking more chances with reusing an old gasket then just to replace it, you already have to do all that work to get to it, might as well do it all since your there.

 

They were heavy especially trying to pull them by ur self from under the hood. I would say 100 pounds. I have put the heads on with the studs and have to finish putting intake up back together, but I am waiting on the uppipe from elite. Also having to put the freeze out plugs in the intake for the egr delete. I started one evening about 5:00 and worked until 10:00, and the next day I started about 10:00 and has the heads off at 4:00 and took them to machine shop. I spent about 7 hours getting the heads back on with the studs and torqued down and that is where I am now. It calls for roughly 25 hours for total job, according who is doing it. I know there is some people on here who is saying you can have the heads shaved if warped, but what about pushrod length being they are not adjustable? Thicker head gasket or shims?

 

There is a point of no return on how much you can machine off that's for sure and that's where you'll have to get a new set. As to the actual measurement, that I don't know.

 

I'm with Tex on this one. If you have the cab up, you should pull the heads so you can be certain that the threads are absolutely clean and that the studs are bottomed out in the block. IMO, It's just not worth going to all that trouble and doing the job halfway .

That's my .02

 

magic # is about .008 on the heads, get in that range and start over if they need that much taken off.

 

tex25025......what myself and 6lpowerstrokesrj are saying is we do not have a HG problem yet. My OEM HGs and heads are fine right now but the OEM head bolts have a proven track record over time of stretching under heavy towing load or maniac driving. Granted probably 90% of the people who have HG issues have tuners. So I want to put the studs in as an UPGRADE to prevent my OEM HGs from failing not as a HG REPAIR or to save the cost of new HGs. In my case I'm trying to avoid having to replace my good HGs and heads. I believe since I recently did a combustion gas test and proved my HGs are still good that changing the OEM bolts out for ARP studs can only improve my current OEM HGs reliability. I don't want to disturb a good setup. I just want to make it better. Replacing the OEM head bolts one at a time with ARP studs, IMHO, should do just that.

DSMMH

 

Exactly, no reason to check for warped heads if they're sealing now and the leak-down/comb test checked out fine. Your method should work just fine as long as you have the needed clearance. Just take note if the Tq specs are with 30wt. oil or ARP's Moly lube...they give both usually for head studs. And use a quality 'calibrated' Tq wrench (not a Craftsman!). Percision Instruments makes high quality Tq wrenches costing ~mid $100s...they used to make all the Tq wrenches for Snap On for decades (comnpare their split-beam wrenches, same thing, diff colored inserts is the only diff, red vs blue)...after Snap On switched suppliers a couple years ago PI went into business for themselves using said name since up to that point Snap On was their only customer. I see people pay over $200 for used split-beam type Snap On Tq wrenches on Ebay all day long, when they could buy the same exact split-beam wrench simply tagged with a diff name brand new for less. Best of luck w/the project!