FYI: Reusing ARP Head Studs

[romeen]

Many of you may already know this but for those who are unsure I contacted ARP yesterday regarding how you can determine whether or not it is safe to reuse the head studs. I had a phone conversation with on of the tech support guys who told me that unlike the rod bolts (which you can measure to see if the amount of stretch is within allowable limits) the recommended criteria for the head studs is a subjective one. If the stud feels tight when you reach the recommended torque specification then it is o.k. If it feels soft or spongy at this torque value then it should be replaced. They subsequently sent me an email as well reiterating the same thing:


"As long as you have not exceeded the recommended torque for that
fastener, and it takes the torque and does not feel spongy, the stud
should be fine."

I just want to emphasize how important it is to adhere to ARP's recommended install instructions and torque specifications.

Hopefully this will be helpful to some of you guys.

 

[pooker]

I have always reused my arp's, 95 ft/lbs on all my heads which I believe is actually over torqueing from what they have but it works and always seals the best with mine.

 

[Cs4g63]

I never thought of it before but where would you be able to pick up individual head studs. All of the head studs I have seen come in a full kit. It would suck to have one go bad and in order to fix the problem you have to buy another full kit, but at the same time it would give you a lot of extra ones for if it happened again. Again just a thought.

 

[romeen]

Yeah, I don't think you can buy them individually. Which illustrates even more the importance of not exceeding their recommended torque specs.

 

[DSMunknown]

If anyone is wondering, this thread also has some info about reusing ARP head studs.