Head studs

What do you guys put on your head studs when you put them into the block?

a little engine oil works.

Dry. If I was going to put anything, I suppose I'd put Loctite.

You might want to read this recent Thread.

http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?1,1028934

Loctite... Why??

A small smear of grease on the thread.... SMALL!!!

Make sure there is a good chamfer on the block face, and fit hand tight

Works for me.

99hjhm Wrote:

Fair enough.

Actually, I was always under the impression that the studs should be 'loose' in the block so as to give a better torque value when tightening the nut. I used to put them in dry and finger tight to the bottom of the threads but after doing some research, I found that cleaning the hole in the block really well and applying either a drop of oil to the stud or a light smear of a graphited grease before install, finger tightening and then backing off about 1/2 turn, that I got much more consistent torque values with many less occasions needing a re-torque. I'm not sure that I would ever want to apply a thread locker on them, a sealer perhaps but not an adhesive of sorts.

Unless a blind hole has been bottom taped, a stud should go in loose, as you say. Otherwise you're "tightening" it by digging into the partially formed threads that are encountered in a hole that hasn't been bottom taped. I'd consider also James' "hand tight" to be "loose".

Edit: Or, of course, the stud threads as they "end', whichever happens first. Neither is ideal.

According to ARP they go into a clean hole with a light coat of lube on the threads that go into the block. Finger tight or so. That way the torque load is applied axially along the length of the stud so the stud gets a good stretch and appliesthe correct amount of clamping force.

Joe

I use either a little bit of motor oil or ARP's graphite assembly lube.