ARP Studs without head removal finished

[dieselwelder]

First thanks everyone for posting your experiences with these trucks you have saved my family and I alot of money.

Anyway my head gaskets went at 51,000 pulling a camper. Ford fixed it for me but them putting studs in too wasn't happening. So after doing lots of research I decided to change the bolts to arp 2000 studs without taking the heads off.

I did not lift the cab or have to jack the engine up or let it down. However,.. It was hard to get to. For some reason I thought you had to replace the short head bolts under the Intake Runner. Yet when I got the studs there were no short bolts. After looking at the factory torque sequence you can tell that the small bolts are not meant for holding cylinder pressure. This makes this job ALOT easier. Because of this the intake stayed in place.
I also was unclear about how much torque the original bolts were under. (65 and 85 plus 3/4 turn) As I took them loose I screwed my torque wrench up until it stopped clicking at 155 to 160 ft/lbs. Imagine how much more the head gaskets are being squashed by torquing to 245! These studs are awesome, once they start to get tight it only takes a little more to get to 245. They don't stretch at all!

The driver side valve cover was pretty easy to get to. I would closely inspect the wiring harness as part of it was rubbing through on a sensor in the intake runner. I started with the first bolt in the torque sequence and went ahead and torqued up to 245. ARP says to torque in three equal steps and the original bolts were already up to 160 so I figured ***. The lower rear bolt in the back just shaves the firewall and is hard to get out. The stud drops right in though. Drivers side was pretty easy.

The passenger side is a different story. The airbox cover had to be removed as I had read. This still did not help. The A/C evaporator had to be moved. After alot of grunting it will move out of the way without disconnecting and losing the freon charge. This makes the job more interesting. The lower rear bolt still hits the plastic duct framework mounted on the firewall. You should be able to see this from underneath. I could not see where lowering or raising the engine would help at all. The cab would need to move up about 6-8". So I got out my sawzall and notched the plastic piece out so the bolt would come right out. Much easier. I was able to put the same piece back with two small bolts, four washers and some silicone. All it does is guide the air from the fan to the air outlets inside. Maybe my truck was a little different but moving the engine forward 1 inch would have helped more than up or down.
It all went back together pretty good, I replaced the oil rail plugs on each side as a $30 precaution. I would recommend a name brand torque wrench and a strong arm, friend or cheater because 245 ft/lbs in tight places is not easy to put out.

It was hard to start for the first few times. I assume this was from changing the oil plugs and getting air in the rails. Everything runs good so far, I pulled my camper today and I still have all the antifreeze I left with. I think my head Gasket problems are over.

I'm going to swap my fathers bolts out soon. His head gasket is in good shape but has 85,000 miles. I'm not too worried about "unseating" the seal. There are guys on VW turbodiesel sites having similiar problems and they are fixing LEAKING head gaskets with ARP studs! The factory bolts remind me of all-thread. Why put threads 3 inches on the bolt when you only need a little more than 1 Inch?

As far as chasing the threads in the block I didn't do it. The ford tech may have, but I doubt it. The bolt holes don't go into the water jacket like some engines and I think this keeps the threads cleaner. They all came out with oil on them. There is plenty of slop in the threads to squeeze the oil in the bottom of the hole out as you snug the studs with an allen wrench.

I did this with the full knowledge that if it didn't work I had the ability and time to take off the heads. This probably took around 8 hours but would be faster a second time. You will need lots of different length extensions, short and deep 18MM six points and short and deep 11/16" 12 pointers for the stud nuts.

Hope this helps someone as you have all helped me!

[km335]

I have been debating on how to go about putting in head studs. I know people have said they change the gaskets and install studs without lifting the cab. My truck is mostly stock just an exhaust, 112,000 miles on it. Head gaskets are still good but i doubt that will last once i start doing more mods. I don't have access to a lift, i wonder if this would be an option for me i would be a little worried about unseating the seal/damaging the gasket. Let us know how it goes with your fathers truck. Thanks for the thread.

[STMPDUST]

i have read if you take off the transmission crossmember, and use a rachet strap to pull the tail of the trans to the passenger side framerail a little it will give you the room to get out that pesky bolt! i am going to try it.

[a94cobra]

Good read. Thanks.

[Sabre6]

Excellent post. I am getting to the point that I need to do the studs for, at the very least-peace of mind. Coughing up almost $3K is not an option, but I have access to a garage where I could work on it all week. Like to hear more on this if anyone else has been successful or unsuccessful at it.

[wyodiesel]

Thanks for the post this will help. Did you do Anything with the EGR?

[wesfx4]

How did you get the lower rear driver side head bold out? I have had mine apart 2 times. Once for gaskets and the other time for a cracked head. I cannot see how you can get that bolt out. I even cut the foil on the firewall and dent the firewall to allow for more space.

As for the air box, It only takes about 30 minutes to remove and make the job much easier on the passenger side.

[yanvaryjt]

Originally Posted by wyodiesel

Thanks for the post this will help. Did you do Anything with the EGR?

I am interested also, did you do any work on the EGR while you were in there?

[warrens73]

Hey guys, I'm a new member but a long time reader. I'm so happy to find this thread. It's great in two ways: #1: I get to save 3grand, and #2: I have another reason to work on my truck.
The wife's not going to be happy, but I sure am.

[dieselwelder]

No I didn't do anything with the EGR. Remember, you don't have to remove the intake, turbo, and parts on top of the engine because you are not replacing the small bolts under the intake runner. I do however unplug the EGR valve in the closed position when towing to hopefully keep EGT's down. This sets a code on my truck so I plug it back in for cruising around.

These trucks (and all mass produced vehicles) must not be put together exactly the same. Some people can't get the driver's rear bolt out, and some can't get the passenger side out.(Like Me) I like STMPDUST's idea of removing the trans mount and pulling the trans left or right to give you a little more room. Wish I would of thought of that.

Like any project, you will have your own unique set of problems to deal with. Just expect them. There is no guarantee that this will work for everyone. However, if it does not work all you have lost is time because the studs can be reused. In My opinion it was worth a try because it was cheaper and involved less work.

If you are going to try replacing your head bolts this way, make sure you also have the ability, time and money to take the heads off and replace the gaskets if this doesn't work. The heads can be removed without lifting the cab or removing the front of the truck. Professionals are doing these things to make their jobs easier. Believe me my ribs hurt from leaning over the truck! Imagine doing this all the time.

I sure like my truck again. It not a ticking time bomb anymore. Now I can put the hammer down!

[LAR45WinMag]

Dieselwelder, how long has it been since you did the studs? Mileage? Done any heavy pulling?
I am thinking about doing it this way as I just replaced my EGR cooler (Bulletproofdiesel) and oil cooler. This so far has solved my Puking issue so I'm thinking the H/Gaskets are probably ok. An interesting note, the orange EGR tube on the cooler was cooked...huh, I wonder why?
I'm at 78kmi now so probably not a bad idea to get the studs done before the enevitable.
I have had Puking since 6 mos old.... just lived with it since April of '04!!!
B

[Spoolin'6.0]

omfg yes i'm so stoked that some one actually has done this i have been asking everyone if it is possiable and all i get get is "there is no way to do it with out jacking the cab or pulling the motor" i cant wait till i do mine i'm am so excited then i can let the bull out of its pen dieselwelder you are the f'ing man

[fordnatic68]

ive got 242k on a chipped, modded, straight piped n lifted 03 6.0 n no serious trouble after nearly 7 yrs.

[a94cobra]

Ford house tells me that they don't lift cab to do head work. And said that putting ARP bolts in was difficult. The back three give them problems. He was more than happy to do the ARP bolts though, stating I will never have another problem with the heads.

[boomboom]

Originally Posted by fordnatic68

ive got 242k on a chipped, modded, straight piped n lifted 03 6.0 n no serious trouble after nearly 7 yrs.

" QUICK " Knock on wood