The title basically states the question.

I'm in the middle of rebuilding an engine. The headbolts I pulled off are a bit questionable:( So I need to rebuild them. I found bolts and studs for my engine to secure the heads to the block.

What is the difference between the two as far as rebuilding an engine goes? Are studs more for 80000000 hp engines and such? :p

The engine is going to be used offroad and for towing. I'm building it up to stock specs but may give it a slightly more aggressive cam in the future(from stock)

Thanks in advance,
John

Bolts will be fine. Use studs when your 11:1 or higher and turbo or blown

Personally I prefer studs, the reason why is the last head swap I stripped out 15 head bolts on one side... bad thing was it was one at a time, took the head off like 14 times before I got mad and built a new motor WITH studs..

HTH

Some engines can use all the help they can get for sealing up the cylinders, and studs can result in more even clamping loads, but a big limitation is the clearance available to pull a head when the engine is installed. In some compartments, you can't pull the heads on a V-8 if it has studs, due to interference with brake booster, heater box or even the firewall itself.

An I-6 or I-4 wouldn't face the same problem, but they usually have smaller bores and more head-bolts, so bolts are more than sufficient. Studs really become a necessity when you've got four or five bolts trying to seal a cylinder with a 4-1/4" bore.

I can't imagine how you can do that 15 times in a row on the same motor, but that is just me. Clean the threads with a bottoming tap, and use bolts. Do not use an impact wrench to do your assembly (sorry, I couldnt resist)How many times do you plan on taking this thing apart?? Use bolts IMHO, unless you want to spend the extra $$$

As far as I know, some of the advantages of using studs are that you get a better clamping force on the stud, and if you take the motor apart alot (like racers do) it keeps the holes in the block from getting fubard.

For most applications. bolts are fine.

(studs on the bottom end are a different story, if you want to use them, you need to have the mains line honed or bored cuz the studs distort the block or something like that cuz they clamp better???)

Studs are only for the 80000 HP engines. You do not need them. If a mild build up, just go get new bolts. If a higher horsepower, then get ARP bolts. BTW, with studs, you normally CAN NOT pull the heads in chassis :flipoff2: You MUST pull the engine out :mad:

Originally posted by masterbeavis
I can't imagine how you can do that 15 times in a row on the same motor, but that is just me. Clean the threads with a bottoming tap, and use bolts. Do not use an impact wrench to do your assembly (sorry, I couldnt resist)

Its real fawking easy... pull heads.. swap of a neat set of brodix track 1 alumininum jobs.. torque the drivers side head down with out problems.. swap over to the pass side. put all the bolts in snug them just a little bit with a small rachet. Put the torque wrench on, put it to 15 lbs, run thru the pattern... put it to 50 lbs run thru the pattern to the number 6 bolt and snap the threads come out the block.. Tear it back down, install helicoil in that hole.. begin again this time get the advice of a drag car engine builder who tells you to snug them then go to full torque the first time... Hit #1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and pop.. there goes another one.. pull down install helicoil begin again.. 1,2,3,pop, and repeat this cycle until you have all but 2 holes with helicoils in it, decide what the hell just tap those to out also and with all the practice you put one in crooked.. to you trash a block..

Now you know how it is done!!

:D

For my application, it appears that bolts and studs are within $30 of each other($80 vs $110) So it would appear to be a wash in my mind as far as price.

The issue with the not being able to remove them in the chassis shouldn't be an issue... got to love easy to remove fenders:p And hopefully I'll never have to do head work for a LONG time :)

Thanks for all the input,
John

Although bolts will work in most applications, studs are the way to go.
The stus will keep the boltholes from stripping. Also, if you get teh ones w/ fine threads on the nut side, you will actually have more retentive force on the nut to help keep it frmi loosening, as well as the other things that were already mentioned.

Originally posted by TPIJeep


Its real fawking easy... pull heads.. swap of a neat set of brodix track 1 alumininum jobs.. torque the drivers side head down with out problems.. swap over to the pass side. put all the bolts in snug them just a little bit with a small rachet. Put the torque wrench on, put it to 15 lbs, run thru the pattern... put it to 50 lbs run thru the pattern to the number 6 bolt and snap the threads come out the block.. Tear it back down, install helicoil in that hole.. begin again this time get the advice of a drag car engine builder who tells you to snug them then go to full torque the first time... Hit #1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and pop.. there goes another one.. pull down install helicoil begin again.. 1,2,3,pop, and repeat this cycle until you have all but 2 holes with helicoils in it, decide what the hell just tap those to out also and with all the practice you put one in crooked.. to you trash a block..

Now you know how it is done!!

:D

That is my kind of luck!