14 days to build a racecar

[Ledphoot]

I've had probelms with head studs on SBC as well, but never on any Ford or Olds motors??. I finally just decided to buy quality head bolts for each build and take my chances.

[lbhsbZ]

I read through that thread, and I agree with most of it. Stopleak is not the answer. There has to be a better way. The only thing I can think of is that the surface treatment on the ARP studs is too smooth and polished, and maybe that prevents the sealer from adhering properly to the stud. I will remove them one at a time and replace them after sandblasting the threads and applying a high quality silicone sealer. I'll post my results later in the week.

[lbhsbZ]

Well, I decided to pull one stud at a time, clean the threads and reinstall with a better sealer. I ended up wire wheeling the threads until all the black oxide coating was gone and they were shiney clean silver metal. Then I shot some brake cleaner in the hole, dried it with air, reinstalled the stud and torqued the nut. I did this with each external stud (not under the valve cover). I pulled about 7 of the studs under the valve cover, and they looked good. The Teflon sealer had coated the threads nicely and appears to have sealed. So I cleaned and resealed them and reinstalled. I let it sit about 24 hours and then refilled and pressurized the system. It held 20 psi for 2 hours, so I think its good. I'll keep an eye on it though.