i had an all new motor assembled by local machine shop. the motor is studded (heads and mains). they told me" the head studs might seep water for a couple hundred miles." Is this true? They used the arp sealant and assembly grease. thanks

 

I had the same problem with AFR heads. The local stock car guys said this is not unusual. They recomended Moroso Ceramic Sealer. It worked for me.

 

the Moroso stuff is something u pour in coolant system? sorry im new to this problem. how long did u leak for. it is safe to run motor?

 

Just goes in the radiator. Its a stop leak.

 

i started with arp sealant on head studs on last BBC buildup and had leaking issues. it took a conference phone call with the head, gasket, and sealant mfg's to get agreement on a course of action. with a sealant procedure not recommended in print, a particular gasket revision, and specific break in procedure, it finally worked after two attemps. so far after about 1500 miles, no leaks.

i've been told that SBC are generally not nearly as difficult, but research these areas will yield results.

in your case, i would get engine builder to guarantee no leaks. if he uses proper materials and techniques and either breaks in or provides instructions on break in; you should have no leaks. "stop leak" products on brand new engine builds just aren't right to me. 0,02

 

i looked up moroso product and it said not to use with antifreeze. did u run straight water or was it mixed?

 

depending on the thread sealant product used, you might begin with 100% water or distilled water and break in with the cooling system open so that no pressure can build. then follow up with a couple more thernal cylcles to be sure the sealant has cured. then follow with a few thernal cycles with the cooling system closed; this will take a few times to get the system filled with water - have everything very clean and able to inspect every stud. clear water is harder to see

last step is to install whatever coolant mixture you plan to run and check again. (hope memory serves)

 

I used the gaskets AFR recomended. I warmed the motor,let it cool,pulled the sidepipe headers,retorqed the heads.Still leaked.Did it again.Still leaked.Used the sealer,no leaks.That was in 2003.I only have about 1200 miles on it though.Dont drive it much.I have a 98 c5 I drive mostly if we go for a ride.I didnt want to use sealer on a new engine either but have had no problems. Good luck.

 

I have 50/50 antifreeze in.

 

don't retorque the studs, especially if you didn't run them all the way down = guaranteed to leak, sorry. even if you run the studs down all the way with a little torque, still don't retorque the stud nuts.

assuming aluminum heads are being used. i would have to review notes, but used slightly higher initial torque (sbc may be different).

glad to hear the engine sealer worked for you!

 

Steve,I used arp sealant on my studs also. Everything by the destructions.Little humor there.Try S489s suggestions first. I also noticed moroso said to not use with antifreeze. I was told not to worry by the friend who suggested it to me. I used it with clear water first,then drained it and added my antifreeze.

 

OK, I tell you what works.....

first off, drain the block....second off, pull each bolt in sequence of tightening, blow air and a bit of carb cleaner down the hole...just a squirt of cleaner then a blast of air....CLEAN THE BOLT....then coat the bolt threads with RTV black sensor safe....toothpaste tube off the parts shelf...

torque to spec.....follow that through each bolt on both heads....

use it on the intake manifold bolts also.....

CASE CLOSED....

done it buncha times, NEVER had it fail....don't be afraid to use too much since it's on the BOLT you don't have to worry about it getting into the engine, and even if a little thread does...i'ts no biggie....

 

Steve, just found the instructions from Airflow Research Heads,Inc.
I will be quoting the instructions that came with the heads;

"All high compression, super charged, turbo charged, and nitrous motors should receive a re-torque after the first running and a complete cool down."

Good luck,
Tom

 

Most the thread sealants for this application don't work. I used the white stuff that came with my ARP studs kit and it was worthless. As state above, RTV-type of sealant or a gasket-maker procuct will work.

I WOULD NOT pour anything into your radiator that's designed to stop leaks. You could stop the leak and but also slow the flow of coolant.

 

i could have said the same until that one engine just would not seal no matter what, doing the same thing for years, just would not seal. so something different had to be done

on a trouble engine, you should also minimize the time that you first spread the thread sealer to the last stud torqued for each side - seems like 20 min or less. not too hard to do with a little planning and depending on how much time is required for any treatment for the head gaskets if any.

if your not having trouble with sealing coolant at the head, e.g., blind holes, then retorquing will not be a problem. otherwise, retorquing can cause leaks.

 

Guys, I understand your feelings about sealers but if they plugged things up they wouldn't have been in business this long. Heck,you would'nt be able to pour it out of the bottle without it sealing up. The wife and I took the 69 out a couple hours last night. It was 80 degrees,cool probably for you southern guys,but my 69 has 4.11 gears so its never under 3000 rpms. Its a balanced sb 406,AFR 210,Comp solid roller,victor jr,750 mighty demon. The car has the original radiator and clutch fan, I know because I've owned it for 35 years. Yes, I'm an old fart. Keep in mind I'm only driving on country roads,no traffic jams. If all else fails try the sealer.

 

ARP head studs arrive preoiled. In blocks where they go into water on some of the holes clean all the studs with brake cleaner. I've used different products over the years, but this new one I really like is called The Right Stuff.

http://www.permatex.com/brand_right_stuff.htm

 

never tried on studs, but one of those is my choice for front and read intake rails; comes out under pressure; it really is "the right stuff"!!!

 

gkull, I used 'THE RIGHT STUFF" on my intake as S489 stated so its been around for at least four years. I agree with you it works. I called ARP tech support to get the scoop.800-826-3045 and talked to Paul. He told me they recomend their sealer because it is teflon based. He also said the RTV was okay too. He told me also the car manufacturers put stop leak in the blocks during assembly.

 

I doubt Ford and Chevy puts Bars-Leak or a similar product in their brand new cars and trucks. There are very small coolant passages in the head and radiator and this junk is going somewhere and it will stick. But don't believe me,..call your local radiator shop and see how they feel about these products.

Any fix-it book you read will tell you NOT use these products but to instead fix the leak. So here we go:

The leak is occuring at the top of the stud. The coolant cork-screws out of the middle of the nut. There's nothing to stop it like you would have with a regular head bolt.

You don't need to remove the studs. Simply remove the nuts in torquing order, one at a time, and apply RTV or something similar to the threads inside the nut (that have been cleaned with brake-parts cleaner or lacquer thinner or something). Also, clean the threads on the stud, and reattach, and retorque to specs. Then go to the next bolt in the sequence. Not all the bolts penetrate a water passage, but you may as well retorque everything anyway. (Is this a BB or SB? I can tell you which bolts would need the RTV if needed).

Again, I've tried the teflon-like stuff ARP has,..it's worthless yet it's designed for their own product. Very disappointing. Teflon tape would be best but it would screw up your torque readings. RTV worked for me,..the grey tube.

Good luck!