Long story short, my head studs are leaking coolant I believe because they were improperly sealed. I figured it would be an easy job to pull the valve covers and reseal them. However, I pulled the first nut off and the stud doesn't want to come out. I thought these were supposed to just be finger tight? This is on a new engine with less than 300 miles, so I imagine they are just tight, not actually stuck.

The valve springs and intake runners get in the way of doing the standard trick of putting two nuts on and unscrewing the bottom one. Right now I'm waiting to see if Loctite will bond strongly enough to unscrew the stud. Do you guys have any tricks to get the studs out?

 

Loctite did not work. I'm trying again in hopes that letting it cure longer might work, but I doubt it. The only two remaining options I can think of are slotting the studs (which I don't like) and removing a valvespring (which I also don't like).

 

are these ARP studs?? with a 3/16 hex tip?? NO. the studs should not be finger tight!

 

IIRC you reused the original head gaskets after disassembly for inspection no?

Pull the heads the gaskets may be compromised.

Then double nut the studs to remove them or use a stud removal tool.

http://www.tooltopia.com/lisle-71200...FY86gQodHmcBdw

 

This is the bad thing about studs being used for the cylinder head. For what you're running you could have saved a bunch of cash and just used the ARP head bolts and it still would have been fine.

I think the guy who suggested pulling the head is going in the right direction, because them awful expensive if you mess up the threads trying to get one out. Once the head is off it should be easier, but it's a lot of work.

Judging from your past post, it doesn't seem like your afraid of a little work!

Obviously whoever built the engine did not put silicone on the bottom rung of head bolts. They may have thought that thread lock would work, but obviously there was a spot that was a little lean on the application of said thread lock.

Good luck, and FYI; I'm a big fan of photos! lol

 

Alright guys, I got it. Thanks for all your help. I was able to put two (old) nuts on, hold the bottom nut with needlenose pliers so I could tighten them together, and then put a socket on the top one. So basically the usual trick except that I unscrewed it from the top nut instead of the bottom one. Then to put them back on I threaded a nut halfway onto the stud, threaded a bolt into the half sticking off, and put a socket on the bolt. When the stud bottomed out the nut and bolt loosened before the stud did. I didn't have to turn the wrench nearly hard enough to be worried about damaging the threads.

They are arp studs, but they don't have a 3/16 hex tip. They're just plain ol' studs. I read (I think from ARP) that they should just be installed finger tight, and I don't see why not as long as they're in all the way given that tightening the studs has no effect on clamping force.

I hope that's not the case. I am pretty positive the issue was just that the studs weren't sealed well: a couple outside studs were leaking and pulling them to seal them did the trick.

I'd never heard of a stud removal tool. Thanks for the link!

If it had been my choice, I probably would have just used bolts. But I bought this engine off a guy who was planning on supercharging it.

Nope, not afraid of work and it's like my car knows it.

And yeah, I think they used the ARP sealant (liquid teflon I think?) and just skimped on a few bolts.

 

the best stud removal tool>>

 

How's that on the threads? Does it damage them at all?

 

If anyone is using. head studs. that requires this type or similar extractor assistance. the answer is. yes. the threads are going to have visible marks. requiring a thread chase. I own this titian extractor. and removed bonded studs from manifolds. the marks were very minimal. this extractor will NOT slip.

 

Wow, but if the threads can be cleaned up that sounds like a great tool. If I ever have to pull studs again that would save me a ton of trouble. Although the studs furthest front and back are too far recessed in the head for really anything to fit down there.

I had to put red Loctite on a nut, screw it on finger tight, screw on another Loctited nut snug on top of it (which left about half the nut hanging off the stud) and then thread a loctited bolt tight into the top nut. Basically the bottom two nuts are lightly locked together, then the bolt locks the top nut in place by putting tension on its threads, like double nutting but with two bolts instead of two nuts. Also, it was possible to snug the top bolt up just enough that its head aligned with the top nut's head, so I could get a deep socket over the both of them. Let the Loctite set up for an hour, then slowly backed out the stud. It's ridiculous and complicated, but it worked when nothing else would.