Does anyone have pics of a head stud install?

It seems like everytime a head stud install question comes around nobody ever has any input. Either 1. nobody know anything, or 2. the guys that have done the install would rather you bring the truck to them for the install.

I would give a left nut for someone to make a "do it yourself" post on head stud installation.

here here i heard it not easy. its a time comsuming thing what i heard so if you do you would be the first ones

Tranytom did mine, he did not pull the heads, but replace each stud one at a time,
1. step one remove valve covers
2. remove one bolt
3. thread stud in by hand ( as per manufactuer instructions)
4. add nut
5. torque nut( to spec)
6. repeat, (alot)

rember to install studs right side up, and use the supplied lube ARP come with basic instructions and lube


Oh and only one will be a PITA, back left, I think.

Tom had my Trans out so he loosed the motor mounts and jacked the back of the motor just enough to clear it.

PS. DLover, please send you nut to

402 TwinTurbo Lane
Diesel Place,DA
12345678

It seems like everytime a head stud install question comes around nobody ever has any input. Either 1. nobody know anything, or 2. the guys that have done the install would rather you bring the truck to them for the install.

I would give a left nut for someone to make a "do it yourself" post on head stud installation.
So when do I get to watch you do it!!

ZR1160,
How about if I want to do gaskets. Do you or anyone know how to do head studs and gaskets?

ZR did he remove the injectors by chance ? or dont you know. whats blocking the way on the left side?

remove injectors for room, ease. LEft side rear corner tight around cab, but doable

One at a time and take your time,

ZR1160,
How about if I want to do gaskets. Do you or anyone know how to do head studs and gaskets?

I didn't do my gaskets, but if you do, you are going to have to heat cycle the motor and retorque the studs. And I don't think it would be any easier getting the head down over the back stud.

I'm not sold on the heat cycle and retorque thing. I've rechecked studs when we swapped injectors for testing and such and they are not loose. Of course, we also are not going by what ARP says for spec either.

A rubber band will make the left rear corner stud/bolt a breeze if pulling the head

If you actually try the one one bolt/ one stud at a time method make absolutely certain the motor is stone cold and that you follow the bolt sequence specified for removal and install of the head.

I think you are much better off removing the heads and going with new gaskets...

I think you are much better off removing the heads and going with new gaskets...

Why:confused:

If you actually try the one one bolt/ one stud at a time method make absolutely certain the motor is stone cold and that you follow the bolt sequence specified for removal and install of the head.

I think you are much better off removing the heads and going with new gaskets...

i agree 100% with going with the cold motor and going by torque sequence....but i disagree very much so on the new head gaskets...1st off if there not blown why change them...2nd off then you got to set valve lash and mess with rocker arms and push rods and make sure you dont mess up injectors and glow plugs etc..

so i take it you can install all of the head studs without pulling the tranny...or taking out motor mounts to drop the engine down some

The one MF'in bolt everyone is talking about, we took a sawzall to. Went right through it.

I'm surprised anyone would want a DIY on this....if you're smart & handy enough to get to the bolts, then you know enough to complete the rest of the job!

We did the one-at-a-time method:
1) remove head bolt (we used the GM sequence and did them in order)
2) clean hole with BraKleen
3) blow hole out with a blow gun with 6" of 1/8" tube attached to it. Stick hose all the way into the bottom of the hole, blow out. Watch your eyes, there's some junk in there and flying solvent. We called our blow gun "sneaky Pete" because if you accidentally press the button out of the hole, that little tubing whips around and will beat the crap out of your face/hands/etc.
4) Butter up stud with ARP lube, just enough to cover threads. Don't put on so much that it tries to seal the hole.
5) install stud (finger tight with ratchet, ARPs are so nice because they have the 5mm hex socket broached in the top to drive them) and nut (made sure seat of nut was ARP lubed too)
6) torque to 32 ft.-lbs.
7) when all studs are installed to 32 ft-lbs, went through the GM sequence again, this time to 65 ft-lbs, then once again to 85 ft-lbs (or thereabouts, can't remember what the ARP spec was on the instructions).
8) Put all the crap back on top of the motor
9) Drive.

We spent a lot of time on this (~40 hrs) because we were being anal about keeping everything perfectly clean. On the LB7s you have the injectors and rails and lines open and we were scared to death of knocking some crap in there, so everything got cleaned real well before putting it back on. All injectors and rails were capped with plastic caps or aluminum foil so no junk got in.

Seems to have worked! Truck fired right up and we've never had any issues.

The one MF'in bolt everyone is talking about, we took a sawzall to. Went right through it.

I'm surprised anyone would want a DIY on this....if you're smart & handy enough to get to the bolts, then you know enough to complete the rest of the job!

We did the one-at-a-time method:
1) remove head bolt (we used the GM sequence and did them in order)
2) clean hole with BraKleen
3) blow hole out with a blow gun with 6" of 1/8" tube attached to it. Stick hose all the way into the bottom of the hole, blow out. Watch your eyes, there's some junk in there and flying solvent. We called our blow gun "sneaky Pete" because if you accidentally press the button out of the hole, that little tubing whips around and will beat the crap out of your face/hands/etc.
4) Butter up stud with ARP lube, just enough to cover threads. Don't put on so much that it tries to seal the hole.
5) install stud (finger tight with ratchet, ARPs are so nice because they have the 5mm hex socket broached in the top to drive them) and nut (made sure seat of nut was ARP lubed too)
6) torque to 32 ft.-lbs.
7) when all studs are installed to 32 ft-lbs, went through the GM sequence again, this time to 65 ft-lbs, then once again to 85 ft-lbs (or thereabouts, can't remember what the ARP spec was on the instructions).
8) Put all the crap back on top of the motor
9) Drive.

We spent a lot of time on this (~40 hrs) because we were being anal about keeping everything perfectly clean. On the LB7s you have the injectors and rails and lines open and we were scared to death of knocking some crap in there, so everything got cleaned real well before putting it back on. All injectors and rails were capped with plastic caps or aluminum foil so no junk got in.

Seems to have worked! Truck fired right up and we've never had any issues.

Good post!


Just curious, who all does "we" entail?


C-ya

great post mat seems you got your Censored all in one basket ):h

Just curious, who all does "we" entail?

I had a mouse in my pocket ):h

Naw, really I have to give a lot of credit to my buddy Dan, who is an ASE master mechanic and is a full time GM tech. He had never touched a Dmax before he helped me build my truck....but he's an expert now, gets every Dmax job that rolls in the door!

He tore apart the driver's side and I tore down the passenger side, and then we did the bolts together. We kept a running list of all the stuff that we took off, since there's just a lot of components you have to remove.

We ran into 2 heavily corroded injector lines on the passenger side, but got really lucky...a guy on eBay was selling new injection lines for $75 a set, and I got ahold of him and he overnighted them to us. How cool is that.

Also we replaced a few of the socket head cap screws that hold the valve covers on, a few of the doggone little b*stards wanted to strip on us.

There is nothing terribly difficult about the job, it's just a lot of tedious work and paying attention to what you're doing.

Eric would probably laug at me for the amount of time we took. Dan called GM tech support and they said they had heard of techs doing heads in 20 hours, but 38-40 was more typical. I know we just did studs, but you're in there so far that doing heads would have been duck soup.

I also talked to BMDMAX about it beforehand and it took him quite a while as well. We'll be quicker the next time!

So when do I get to watch you do it!!

You wish!! You had 1 out and you burned it on the twin cp3s.

I agree just take your time. As for the one in the back corner all i did was loosen the two bolts on the trans brace and put a jack on the t-case, and got right to it. I just went from the center of the head to the outside and didn't go in gm's order. No problems yet. :eek:

On a lb7, the valve cover is 2 pieces, does the top portion only have to come off or the entire valve cover? Also do any of the rocker arms have to be removed?

John, both pieces have to come off. The bottom piece is no more difficult than the top. The bottom one has an expensive rubber gasket that you don't want to screw up. The top is a bit of a pain, because they use sealant in a groove rather than a gasket or o-ring. It takes a while to scrape all that shizz outta the groove and clean it. I would highly recommend the GM assembly adhesive, the gray stuff, works like a champ. We have zero leakage.

We took the rockers off and I think you'll find that you have to. I got a bit of a wierd feeling having my truck's "guts" in my hands, taking them off, but really they're quite easy to remove and put back on. When going back on, it's helpful to have 2 sets of hands to line everything up because the shaft assembly is spring-loaded and everything wants to rotate!

Ya gotta pay close attention to not bumping the pushrods out of place when fiddling around in there. When BigBlackDmax put injectors in a week ago or so, he got one out of place and hosed it up, had to go back in after it. Imagine that.

If you're ever thinking of doing injectors, you see why doing them with the studs would save you BIG TIME.

John, both pieces have to come off. The bottom piece is no more difficult than the top. The bottom one has an expensive rubber gasket that you don't want to screw up. The top is a bit of a pain, because they use sealant in a groove rather than a gasket or o-ring. It takes a while to scrape all that shizz outta the groove and clean it. I would highly recommend the GM assembly adhesive, the gray stuff, works like a champ. We have zero leakage.

We took the rockers off and I think you'll find that you have to. I got a bit of a wierd feeling having my truck's "guts" in my hands, taking them off, but really they're quite easy to remove and put back on. When going back on, it's helpful to have 2 sets of hands to line everything up because the shaft assembly is spring-loaded and everything wants to rotate!

Ya gotta pay close attention to not bumping the pushrods out of place when fiddling around in there. When BigBlackDmax put injectors in a week ago or so, he got one out of place and hosed it up, had to go back in after it. Imagine that.

If you're ever thinking of doing injectors, you see why doing them with the studs would save you BIG TIME.

Doing studs and injectors at the same time is exactly what I had in mind.

Well then Rock On!

If you ever need any help, you can PM me for my phone #. It's been a while but if you get in a snag I'll help out with whatever I can.

You wish!! You had 1 out and you burned it on the twin cp3s.

So why have you had 5 outs?

Doing studs and injectors at the same time is exactly what I had in mind.
I will have alot of sitting time watching you do injectors also.:D

this is where digital cameras come in handy , take a pic every once in a while , pics dont lie

One for question. Any specialty tools or parts needed? As far as lubricants, sealer, seals, gaskets, line wrenches, injector nozzle removal tools, sockets, ect.

So why have you had 5 outs?


You like replacing turbo after turbo, and I don't want to take that away from you.:D

One for question. Any specialty tools or parts needed? As far as lubricants, sealer, seals, gaskets, line wrenches, injector nozzle removal tools, sockets, ect.

John I cant answer on the injectors but have heard mention of sealant for injector cups.

For the lower valve covers, there is a rubber gasket. We re-used the originals and have no leaks. The upper covers need a sealant. Go to the dealer and get a tube of the grey assembly adhesive. It's meant for sealing metal parts against oil and works great. There may be equivalents from Permatex or whoever.

Get a little jar of ARP lube. They give you one little crummy bubblepak of it with the studs. The stuff works great for lots of other anti-sieze apps, like torsion bar bolts....they go up and down like butta with the ARP.

There is a special tool kit for injector and cup removal. Maybe you can beg/borrow one? If you have to buy them, they ain't cheap. They actually come up on eBay every great once in a while.

I don't believe we used any "special" tools for the studs. Ya need a 12-point metric socket for the head bolts and stud nuts, or course.

Well, everything looks good. Its starting look like I might not do it. I might go to one of my diesel shops, tell one of the guys to come over to my house for a weekend, install it and I will pay him more than he earns, but less than they charge me.:idea:

John I cant answer on the injectors but have heard mention of sealant for injector cups.

For the lower valve covers, there is a rubber gasket. We re-used the originals and have no leaks. The upper covers need a sealant. Go to the dealer and get a tube of the grey assembly adhesive. It's meant for sealing metal parts against oil and works great. There may be equivalents from Permatex or whoever.

Get a little jar of ARP lube. They give you one little crummy bubblepak of it with the studs. The stuff works great for lots of other anti-sieze apps, like torsion bar bolts....they go up and down like butta with the ARP.

There is a special tool kit for injector and cup removal. Maybe you can beg/borrow one? If you have to buy them, they ain't cheap. They actually come up on eBay every great once in a while.

I don't believe we used any "special" tools for the studs. Ya need a 12-point metric socket for the head bolts and stud nuts, or course.
The recommended sealant for the injector cups is Loc-Tite "RED". The important part is to clean the bottom of the cup til it looks like new. A good way to do this is to put it on a buffing wheel and make it shine. The Red loctite should be applied liberally to the bottom of the cup to include the entire tapered area. The inside of the Cyl head where the cups seats should be spotless as well. I use a 1" diameter buffing ball, that is made of a scotch guard material and brake-klean to break down the old sealant. I install this on a thin metal rod and use this to rotate the ball down at the seat point. Also, I would always replace the copper washer that the injector seal's on. The two red teflon washer on the inj cup should be replaced as well. You must have a good seal on the cups because they not only seal the combustion gases but also seal the coolant away from the internals. Note: Always drain coolant system completely before pulling the injector cups or you fill the cylinders up with coolant. If for some reason this happens, you can remove the glow plugs, pull the 10 amp ign "1" fuse and spin the motor over to clear the cylinders.

Another final step (if your anal) is to pressure test the cups for coolant leaks.

Before you reinstall the valve cover you can refill the coolant and then apply around 15lbs to the system and physically inspect the valvetrain area for any signs of cup leakage. probably not necessary, but you can't tell once the valve covers are on. :grd:

I'm having my head gaskets replaced and bought head studs to put in with the gasket change. The dealer called today and said that with the new studs he wont be able to put the head back on b/c the studs are too tall and the firewall gets into the way. What is the best way to get around this? Put the head on and then the last few studs? Jack the rear of the tranny up? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm having my head gaskets replaced and bought head studs to put in with the gasket change. The dealer called today and said that with the new studs he wont be able to put the head back on b/c the studs are too tall and the firewall gets into the way. What is the best way to get around this? Put the head on and then the last few studs? Jack the rear of the tranny up? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Loosen the motor mounts and jack up the tranny, the tranny mount just sits on a rubber block its free to be lifted and leave out the last couple of studs on each side, set the heads on and drop in the last few stud, be sure to have them retouqued after heat cycling them since you have new gaskest

ZR--Thanks!
I thought Eric had said (a couple of pages back) that you dont have to worry about heat-cycling though?

Just got off the phone, I guess the motor is gettin pulled......*sigh, why am I not in MI right now?

Why can't they set the head on and then thread the studs in to the holes as if you were using bolts? The tops of the studs are broached just for that reason.

It sounds like doing head studs on my Express is out of the question:D

Just got off the phone, I guess the motor is gettin pulled......*sigh, why am I not in MI right now?


LOL

If it makes you feel any better, I would have pulled the motor as well to replace the head gaskets.

John, you cant get out one bolt on the drivers side with the head in place, same for the stud going in. I have been able to remove the trans mount, jack the trans up till its hitting the body which rocks the motor forward and usually allows enough room to do so.

LOL

If it makes you feel any better, I would have pulled the motor as well to replace the head gaskets.

John, you cant get out one bolt on the drivers side with the head in place, same for the stud going in. I have been able to remove the trans mount, jack the trans up till its hitting the body which rocks the motor forward and usually allows enough room to do so.

Eric, I tried telling him just that, except I started the whole thing by saying "They say...." He said usually when someone tells him that, by the time he's done screwing around with the "they say" method he could have had it pulled and done already. I guess we'll see. I also am having a lingering T/C bolt/Flexplate problem so he thought it just be easier to pull her out an do it that way. I cant really blame him. Like you said, you would have done it anyway.

"They Say Method"):h

I'm not sold on the heat cycle and retorque thing. I've rechecked studs when we swapped injectors for testing and such and they are not loose. Of course, we also are not going by what ARP says for spec either.

A rubber band will make the left rear corner stud/bolt a breeze if pulling the head

What is your final torque.

That was my very next question. I really want to avoid the heat-cycling if at all possible.

125 with moly lube

What does ARP want you to torq at?

What does ARP want you to torq at?

96 with moly
122 with 30 wt.

Maybe I'm missing something here. I know that studs are stronger and will stretch less than (most) bolts so if you are raising compression you may want to change to studs.

Why then would you not want to change the head gasket to a stronger design at the same time. Seems like a lot of work to put slightly more squeeze on the same (old) gasket.

it would be nice if there "stronger" gaskets.

how do the stock bolts get tightend?

I believe the stock head bolts are "degree torqued" or whatever the correct terminology is.

TTY--Torq to Yield--aka--stretch bolts. IIRC

Eric, what's the point of exceeding the ARP spec?

How did you arrive at your "Eric said" value?

To my knowledge, and reading of specs, the OEM studs are not torque to yield. Reusing them is bad because of the special lube on the threads. Reusing them will not yield the same torque values or stretch values.

Eric, what's the point of exceeding the ARP spec?

How did you arrive at your "Eric said" value?

I would have to say the "Eric said " value comes from the ARP install sheet. "Torque values are based on 75% of the fasteners yield strength." 96 is 75% of 128. But why even use a torque wrench? I have a nice pair of Channel Locks to do mine:D