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Head studs-one at a time?

16K views 36 replies 18 participants last post by  techtulsa 
#1 ·
Alright I have read some old threads about doing head studs this way. I've read about the guys who like it and the guys who say it's cutting corners and half azzing it. My question is if you do it this way have you hurt anything? If your gaskets fail later was it caused in any way shape or form by the install? If they fail, would they have failed anyway with the stock bolts? If they fail are you just out your time of doing the install and have to do it the "right" way anyway but you already have the studs? I'm looking for a real reason not to do them this way since my head gaskets are good and don't really want to spend 2 or 3k when this is an option. Please advise but give me something better than it's half azzing it and it's not the "right" way. :dunno:
 
#2 ·
Don't waste your time man. Honestly. Leave the stock bolts on yours till the gaskets blow, then tear her down. Machine the heads for flatness, put new gaskets on, and ARP's with an EGR delete of your choice. :thumb:
 
#4 ·
I didn't want to put a tuner on it till it had studs but don't have time or money to do it "right". The one at a time method has to be better than stock doesn't it?
 
#3 ·
60% of 6.0s will show no symptoms of blown head gaskets when in fact they have blown head gaskets so if your going to do studs do it right. Me for instance am just getting studs put in the heads were trashed with deep rust pitting from coolant/water getting in between the gaskets and heads. My two cents do it right when you get the chance
 
#5 ·
I don't think people here will "honestly" answer that question because they've never tried it. So even if they did give their opinion, you probably wouldn't want to trust it unless they had actual experience doing it. I would look for the ones who have done it that way and see what they think and what kind of power they're running through it.
 
#6 ·
I did mine with the heads off. I have heard about people doing it one at a time, I have never done it. I have replaced stock head bolts on a 428 Ford FE with ARP head boltls one at a time and it worked. Totaly different though. :icon_ford:
 
#8 ·
So you do it one at a time kool, but do you know if your gasket is blown anywhere ? do you want to do it again ? how about this I had H-11's and my gaskets were blown in 5 different locations sooooooooo think about it, you could be installing studs with blown head gaskets and not even know it. FORD doesnt not recommend just putting studs in and not replacing the gaskets. DO IT RIGHT or you'll pay later.
 
#11 ·
Alright I've got a bunch of responses that are exactly what I asked not to get in the first post. I've read the threads where everyone just keeps saying that over and over. I want the reasons. I wanna know what you've hurt by doing it this way. If they blow after you do them are you just out your time and then get to do them the way you should have done them the first time or did you somehow cause it by doing them this way. Thanks for your opinions on how to do them but I'm after the reasons.
 
#21 ·
Time




Well, if you have nothing but free time, money and a young strong back then go for it. Twenty years ago I may have done the same. Older and wiser now, not a chance.

Ask yourself : You DONT have time and money to to do it correctly the first time as experienced folks suggest however, you DO have time , energy and money to do it over ?

Run your tuner, enjoy yourself and save up a little money to do it correct.
 
#12 ·
The main reason is because you have nothing to gain by doing it that way. You might as well hold off until you need to do it and do it once. If you are so fired up that you just have to waste your time replacing them one at a time just so you can say you have head studs then have at it.
 
#13 ·
So you're saying that I have nothing to gain. So it's no better than stock. OK I haven't heard that before but you're on the right track now with giving reasons. I was reading a thread about this on PSN and they said there were a bunch of guys on the org that did it this way so I came looking for reasons for or against.
 
#16 ·
Ive been reading this thread and maybe Im an idiot, when you say one at a time you mean take one factory bolt out and replace with a stud, then the next and so on?

If its like that I would think it would be just as fast and probably easier just to pull the head and put in all the studs at once then replace head. I dont really see a benefit to the one at a time method seems like you only run the risk of having or causing problems that you dont know about.:dunno:

I got a 7.3 so this stud talk is foreign to me:tard:
 
#17 ·
Exactly what Green said.
 
#18 ·
People still have trouble with blown gaskets even after new gaskets, studs, and EGR delete, because they didn't get the heads machined flat. I can only imagine that putting one stud in at a time would do absolutely nothing for the good of the truck.
 
#19 ·
To the Original Poster:
There are multiple people on here with great wealth of knowledge. RescueF250 and PgreenSVT know alot about these engines, and are open to helping people. In my opinion what ever they have to say is 100% accurate and very good advice. If you do something completly opposite of what they "recommend", your asking for problems. Just my opinion.
 
#20 ·
:dunno::dunno: I dont know what he's talking about :hehe::hehe:

I just have a tuner and exhaust :tongue:
 
#24 ·
i did mine one at a time ,just took one bolt off at a time and installed one stud at a time, i did it my self along with an FCDP egr delete and i have had no problems at all i do drive the truck preety hard and the truck is fine ...
 
#25 ·
I don't have any experience with either method, but common sense dictates to remove the heads, machine, install new head gaskets and then stud it. I would be leary of the "one at at time" method as you could induce torque warp on the heads.
 
#30 ·
IF both of you cant decide which little car to get, here get a smart car problem solved. LOL
 
#31 ·
EVEN BETTER! a 6.0 in a smart car!? NOW WE ARE TALKING... I'll be sure to do headstuds one at a time when Im doing the swap.:doh::woot:
 
#33 ·
Thats all you BIGPIGG lol
 
#35 ·
My question is for cab on work. So lets say You have arp head studs and then later you blow a head gasket. Do you have to back out the studs to remove the heads? Is there enough room by just removing the nuts? Been looking into the one at a time in cab install. I know some people hate this but looks like thousands now have done it sucsefully.
 
#37 ·
I did one stud at a time July of 2012. Despite being very carefully, somehow the gaskets went when I did this. I believe it's from relieving the tension on them. Anyway I had no white smoke before and I had white smoke after. To Texas- KR here's your answer. I will never do them again. I ran them for 11 months like that and when the heads were pulled of somehow they were ok. Not warped or cracked. I know I'm in a small group to have been that fortunate. Good luck either way you go. I installed the studs while changing out oil coolers. I should have left the stock bolts in there.


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