Broken stud, not a happy camper.

[RonA]

After getting my head fixed for the 3rd or is it the 4th time, I broke a stud off down in the block about 3 turns down. I decided to check the torque before I went to Redding and ran it on the dyno up there. 4th one back on the exhaust side. Oh well, at least it happened in my driveway. I'll try another brand of stud. A running truck with 350 hp is way faster than a broken truck with 450.

RonA

 

[MMiller]

Ahh man; sounds like Mr Murphy went from CB place to yours! How long are you going to let him reside there before you send him packing? Just keep your head up(the one on your shoulders!) and it'll come together. After all the head work you have been doing you could be a phycyatrist! All kidding aside, you'll get there, 450 hp will be great when you get the bugs worked out. If you get tired of the twins, just send em this way, I can find a home for them! I'll even trade you for a stock turbo



Michael

 

[Stomp]

Bummer

Ah Ron that stinks. You need to get that thing fixed. Are you going to make it to Redding? I think Brad is going, but I decided to stay home and work since my pickup is broke down. Plus it is opening weekend for deer season. Well that aside did you at least get to drive it?



Stomp

 

[jwilliams3]

Who's studs are you running?

 

[RonA]

Jeremy.

I put about 150 miles on it. I doesn't have the bottom end that it had with the stock head and stock gasket. But it was running pretty good on top. Man I thought I was done this time. Glad I checked it. I'm going to check the rest of the studs and see if there are any more that don't feel right. Then I'll make inserts to fix them and buy a different brand of stud.

RonA

 

[Stomp]

Studs

You know I was leaning on stock bolts for now. Even Brad is using stock bolts and he is running more pressure than I was planning on running. He is the one who told me that he would check mine to see if they are the proper length and if I had to I would buy new ones. It wasnt neccesary to buy studs now. Plus if I decided to get studs later we could put them in no problem.



I wonder why you lost bottom end. Was this supposed to happen did anyone warn you about this? I sure hope I dont loose any because the hill to my grandparents is a mother. You have to lug it in third around some corners I would hate to shift to 2nd. hope you get it fixed soon. I know how long you have been waiting to drive it with no problems.



Stomp

 

[RonA]

I put a . 25 mm oversize gasket on mine. I had a . 020 over on the other head that blew the freeze plug. I was told that it lowers the comp. ratio almost 1 point and that is why the bottom felt weak. I put a . 010 over on this one thinking it might be ok. But it is a turd till over 20 lbs. I will try a stock gasket when I get the studs replaced. If my bottom end doesn't come back, I will put the stock head back on with the stock gasket. I bought one of those mls gaskets and it is . 005 thicker than the . 010 over gasket. So I will pass on that option. I think I can repair this without taking the head off. I am also sure it was my fault. This is the third time I have used the same studs on this truck. I thought they could be reused but I was wrong. I should probably put in new studs each time I remove the head. Man that adds 300 dollars to a head gasket change. Mine has been off 3 times. I wonder if they give a quantity discount?

RonA

 

[mattymac]

If you get tired of the twins, just send em this way, I can find a home for them! I'll even trade you for a stock turbo



Michael

Heck with that I live right down the road from Ron Ill take them off his hands and he wont even have to package them up! :-laf



Good luck to ya agin Ron.

 

[RonA]

I ordered a new set of studs this morning. I think the brand is ARP. I've seen their stuff on alot of gas motors in the past. They are supposed to be stronger and require less torque. And they are re-usable. I should have asked that question before I re-used the other brand. They weren't over torqued so I guess the failure was caused by using them 1 too many times. It didn't snap off like I normally see on fixtures, it twisted and elongated before it broke. Kind of like it was too soft.

RonA

 

[OPoole]

YES sir there ARP studs on the way!

 

[Forrest Nearing]

ARP is the way to go...



and you shouldn't have to buy new studs unless you overtorque and stretch them... they won't last for ever, but should last more than 3-4 torques!

 

[SRadke]

After getting my head fixed for the 3rd or is it the 4th time, I broke a stud off down in the block about 3 turns down.

RonA

Did it damage the top three threads when it broke? Will you be able to clean them up after you get the stud out? Sorry to hear of your luck... ... . sounds about like mine



-Scott

 

[RonA]

I don't know how many times they can be tightened, I do know this one stud was only good for 1 less time than I used it. They have not been over torqued. I won't have a 5/16 L. H. drill here untill tomorrow. Once I get it and the 12mmx1. 75 pulley tap, I will know more about what I have to work with. I like using the L. H. drills for this stuff because I can usually get it out without having any trouble. Plus I have to work through the hole in the head and that adds 4 1/8" to the length of the tools. I didn't have a 6" tap in my tap drawer.

Ron

 

[Partyat33]

Sorry to hear of all your troubles. I, like many others, have been following your struggle. I just finished twins on mine a couple of weeks ago. Been doing quite a bit of fiddling and reinstalling boots, but nothing like what you have been going through. Keep the faith, I am sure it will work out for you in the end.





Dennis

 

[RonA]

Got all my stuff in to try and fix this thing. The ARP studs came in. They are silver instead of black and are a little larger in the center section between the threads. I talked to a customer service person and asked him the minimum block thread they would recommend. Took about 1 minute from the time I dialed and got the receptionist till I hung up. Quite good. I am going to see if I have at least the minimum of thread he told me, and if I do I will put these in.

Ron

 

[OPoole]

All the APR will be Black from now ON those where some of the first made good luck!

 

[RonA]

I just got through persuading this broken stud to come out peacefully. I told it it was going to come out even if I had to drill it out from the bottom. Fortunately it didn't call my bluff. It looks like I have around 1 inch of thread left. God bless the people at Cummins for putting alot of thread in these holes. I'll replace all the studs tomorrow morning and see what happens. Looks like I'll have a set of studs to give away (minus 1 of course).

RonA

 

[RonA]

Out of curiosity I am going to see how much torque the old studs take to break with moly lube vs oil.

The ARP studs went in real nice. The Allen head in the end is quite handy for getting the depth just right. Big thanks to Mr. Poole for having them in stock and shipping them so quickly.

RonA