Head bolt sealer
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,714
Likes: 42
From: Austin Texas
Head bolt sealer
I called Permatex and the guy was pretty emphatic that 56521 High Performance Thread Sealer was awesome. Thing is its hard to find locally.
http://www.permatex.com/products/pro...sealant-detail
I have an iron small block with aluminum heads will use Fel-Pro 1010 head gaskets and re-use (second installation) a set of ARP head bolts.
Has anybody tried this product?
Fel-Pro 1010 is a Permatorque head gasket. Does it need to be re-torqued? If so, how does that work if you have sealant on the threads? Would the re-torque break the seal of you wait till after a heat cycle to do it?
I just want to get this right this time. Previously I used a standard Felpro blue gasket and ARP sealant and did not re-torque. I had either a bolt leak or gasket fail at the bolt hole...
Thanks for the advice.
http://www.permatex.com/products/pro...sealant-detail
I have an iron small block with aluminum heads will use Fel-Pro 1010 head gaskets and re-use (second installation) a set of ARP head bolts.
Has anybody tried this product?
Fel-Pro 1010 is a Permatorque head gasket. Does it need to be re-torqued? If so, how does that work if you have sealant on the threads? Would the re-torque break the seal of you wait till after a heat cycle to do it?
I just want to get this right this time. Previously I used a standard Felpro blue gasket and ARP sealant and did not re-torque. I had either a bolt leak or gasket fail at the bolt hole...
Thanks for the advice.
Last edited by johnt365; Aug 1, 2013 at 09:09 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 21,953
Likes: 1,445
From: Reno Nevada
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
Retorqing often destroys any kind of sealant. We had a bad experience on a dyno run yesterday. With coolant in two cylinders
I just redid the head gaskets and AFR 210 heads with the .021 Felpro MLS on my 383. I've put on a couple thousand miles having fun in the last couple months
I have head studs and used "The Right Stuff" Studs are the only way to go
My springs are so big diameter that I have to remove them to put the 12 point nuts on the studs
I just redid the head gaskets and AFR 210 heads with the .021 Felpro MLS on my 383. I've put on a couple thousand miles having fun in the last couple months
I have head studs and used "The Right Stuff" Studs are the only way to go
My springs are so big diameter that I have to remove them to put the 12 point nuts on the studs
Last edited by gkull; Aug 1, 2013 at 09:18 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
The sealant used on the head bolt threads is to prevent the 'wicking' of oil up the threads to the engine surface. That sealant has nothing to do with retaining the bolts.
And, if you use an non-hardening sealer, like Permatex #2 gasket sealer, retorquing the heads does nothing to the integrity of the oil sealing ability of that sealant.
With aluminum heads, the important thing is that you use the proper bolts for the application. The aluminum heads require less bolt torque, than steel heads. Therefore, the bolts need to be different...so that the amount of 'plastic deformation' [non-permanent stretch] in the bolts when torqued, is correct. You should contact the head manufacturer for recommendations of brands of bolts and proper bolt torques for your particular application. Just throwing money at ARP bolts is NOT the best way of getting this job done.
With aluminum heads, you may need to retorque the bolts once, after some days of use. But, you shouldn't have to continue that process, unless there is a problem with the gasket you selected.
And, if you use an non-hardening sealer, like Permatex #2 gasket sealer, retorquing the heads does nothing to the integrity of the oil sealing ability of that sealant.
With aluminum heads, the important thing is that you use the proper bolts for the application. The aluminum heads require less bolt torque, than steel heads. Therefore, the bolts need to be different...so that the amount of 'plastic deformation' [non-permanent stretch] in the bolts when torqued, is correct. You should contact the head manufacturer for recommendations of brands of bolts and proper bolt torques for your particular application. Just throwing money at ARP bolts is NOT the best way of getting this job done.
With aluminum heads, you may need to retorque the bolts once, after some days of use. But, you shouldn't have to continue that process, unless there is a problem with the gasket you selected.
