Do i need to buy new head studs?

[iRepDSM]

I just bought the car about in april and it wasn't topped up with maintence and the head gasket blew. I took the head off and i'm getting it re doneand doing some maintenance and was wondering if i could re use the head studs that were on there or should i replace them with some arp head studs?


THANKS

 

[spaugh]

If they are stock I would not reuse them. Now if they are ARPS I have reused mine a few times now and have had problems.

 

[fwdmaster]

You can reuse your stock head bolts,but you should get a set of arp head studs instead

 

[jrohner]

If it's a 6-bolt engine, the stock head bolts are pretty strong. There are people here that have them holding a lot of boost.

 

[artindsm]

i would not recommend re using stock head studs for any type of boosted car. While you have the car apart just replace them there not to much for a set of studs and it will save you the worry down the road if you choose to turn the boost up.

 

[Calan]

Just responded to this same question in another thread

On the 1g head bolts...they are beefy. Some people reuse them; some don't. If you aren't running much over stock boost and they haven't yielded (you can check the length or diameter if you know the specs), you could probably get away with reusing them. The factory considers them reusable if they meet specs. But IMHO, some new ARP head studs are good insurance for when you do decide to up the boost.

 

[USER_22]

ARP head studs all the way.

 

[deerhunter0881]

ARP why not get it done right the first time so u don't have to worry about it

 

[BogusSVO]

I perfer ARP head studs. Thats what I would recomend.

what HG are you going to use?

 

[iRepDSM]

Alright, yeah i'm thinking of going ARP cause my head gasket blew and it was right when i cranked the boost to 14psi so i think i'm gonna get arps and not have to worry about the boost doing the same damage as i'm not using a 3 layer gasket or metal one or anything.

Thanks guys.

 

[Calan]

Your stock head bolts should have held 14 psi all day long. You probably blew the HG cause it either just wore out or the head is a bit warped from over-heating at some point.

My point is that just replacing the bolts with ARP studs guarantees nothing. You may want to check the head and deck, and if you plan on upping the boost at some point in the future, you might as well go with a better HG along with those ARP's.

 

[donniekak]

i would not recommend re using stock head studs for any type of boosted car. While you have the car apart just replace them there not to much for a set of studs and it will save you the worry down the road if you choose to turn the boost up.

3000gt's use the same diameter and thread pitch headbolts and have run 8's on them. The bad rap on dsm headbolts is from the torque to yield 11mm bolts on the 7-bolt engines. The 6-bolt headbolts are plenty strong enough for most peoples setups.

 

[BogusSVO]

3000gt's use the same diameter and thread pitch headbolts and have run 8's on them. The bad rap on dsm headbolts is from the torque to yield 11mm bolts on the 7-bolt engines. The 6-bolt headbolts are plenty strong enough for most peoples setups.

true they maybe, but they are how old now?1989 to 2009 so 20 years? How many heat cycles have they been through? how many times have they been touqued?
even if they are "Plenty strong enough for most peoples setups"
Sometimes the extra cash out lay is worth the piece of mind.

If it was mom's grocrey getter, then run the used bolts and call it a day, but when you want to hammer on it some, no matter if the HP level is 200 or 1200.... the head studs will not be bad money spent.

 

[lmtune]

Every rebuild that I have done(app 12) have used the arp headstuds. For the price you can not beat them for the ease of mind they provide.

 

[donniekak]

To clarify. Every car i get i do a complete tear down and rebuild of the engine and transmission. I myself use arp's on all my dsm's. I usually beat on the cars for a week or two before i tear them down, just for fun. I have run 30 psi on a stock 6-bolt without issue. Sure it's a good idea to use new pieces when they are that old, but i myself have yet to see a failure related to the stock 6-bolt headbolts. The 7-bolt is a different story.

 

[nyTalonTsi]

Just to be safer, i'd replace the headstuds. Unless their ARP's they can be reused.

 

[-red97rum-]

Use the ARPs, they are proven pieces. Do you really want to be worried about your reused head bolts when you decide to turn up the boost or upgrade your turbo? Like Bogus mentioned, they are nearing 20 years old and for the price of ARP studs why wouldn't you get them?

The stock 6 bolt head bolts should have been able to hadle 14 psi without blinking... I agree that more than likely there was another problem which lead to your headgasket failure.

I just did my headgasket about 3 months ago. I used ARPs/OEM composite gasket with copper spray and I've run 22-23 psi multiple times on my EVOIII 16g with no issues. I run 18 psi daily on pump gas. The copper spray is a personal choice as there are just as many people running fine without it. Absolutely make sure you have your head pressure tested and resurfaced by a good machine shop.

 

[94nonturboGS]

Seems like the head bolts aren't the problem, it's the head gasket, yes get arp's though still to replace the stock ones. But also get a decent head gasket, i just ordered a Titan copper head gasket because i have heard many good things about them so we will see how they hold up to the boost

 

[JEFFREYCASTGSX]

I think there is a misunderstanding, you can NEVER reuse oem head bolts(no matter what), not even arp recommends reusing their studs(unless you check for stretching)

 

[95eclipser]

i belive you can reuse the stock 6 bolts head studs... that doesnt go for the 7bolt tho..

and i would just upgrade to arp anyways!! it takes the worry away

 

[donniekak]

I think there is a misunderstanding, you can NEVER reuse oem head bolts(no matter what), not even arp recommends reusing their studs(unless you check for stretching)

The fsm says the 6 bolt bolts are ok to reuse. The 7 bolt bolts are tty and must be replaced.

 

[illeffekt vr-4]

You're in there anyway so just upgrade to ARP's

 

[Calan]

I think there is a misunderstanding, you can NEVER reuse oem head bolts(no matter what)

A completely incorrect and misleading statement. You CAN reuse 6-bolt headbolts if they aren't yielded (stretched), but ARPS are recommended for peace of mind. Don't reuse 7-bolt head bolts...they are torque-to-yield bolts.

not even arp recommends reusing their studs(unless you check for stretching)

Well of course they don't...They want to sell head studs. DUH.

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How many times does the same thing need to be stated? Would a mod PLEASE close this thing?