Competition "bubbling" oil around the top of arp head stud nuts?

[DBraunig]

It was opening day at the dragstrip today and i was trying some different things. I notice that several of my head studs are bubbling oil around the top of the nuts. Mostly on the right front corner.



The headgasket/o-ring seem to be holding fine, no water in oil or oil in water, and i am not losing any coolant. But, i am leaking a little oil around 4 or 5 of the head stud nuts ARP lube on nuts/washers and had the 2nd retorque earlier this week @ 125 lbs.



Do i need another retorque? any ideas?



Dave

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

It was opening day at the dragstrip today and i was trying some different things. I notice that several of my head studs are bubbling oil around the top of the nuts. Mostly on the right front corner.



The headgasket/o-ring seem to be holding fine, no water in oil or oil in water, and i am not losing any coolant. But, i am leaking a little oil around 4 or 5 of the head stud nuts ARP lube on nuts/washers and had the 2nd retorque earlier this week @ 125 lbs.



Do i need another retorque? any ideas?



Dave

Had that happen in the past on studs that entered the water jacket - no/poor thread sealant allowed leakage. Fix was to pull affected studs and seal the threads properly...

 

[DBraunig]

Gary,



Now that i think about it, i didn't put anything on the threads in the block, just bottomed tapped and installed. I lubed the top washers/nuts/studs good with ARP, but nothing on the bottom. Would you use ARP lube on the block threads or thread sealant? I will pull them one at a time and seal them up this week.



Thanks,



Dave

 

[Forrest Nearing]

Dave, just use some sealant on the threads durring a re-torque... I think you'll be fine without, but with the amount you say is leaking, better to be safe than sorry

 

[jwilliams3]

It was opening day at the dragstrip today and i was trying some different things. I notice that several of my head studs are bubbling oil around the top of the nuts. Mostly on the right front corner.



The headgasket/o-ring seem to be holding fine, no water in oil or oil in water, and i am not losing any coolant. But, i am leaking a little oil around 4 or 5 of the head stud nuts ARP lube on nuts/washers and had the 2nd retorque earlier this week @ 125 lbs.



Do i need another retorque? any ideas?



Dave

Are the studs where the oil is leaking in a straight line with each other front to back?

 

[DBraunig]

Not really, some by the exhaust, some by the injectors and some between the valve covers. I believe it's my fault for not putting anything on the block threads. I am going to pull them one at a time and seal them.



Thanks guys,



Dave

 

[jwilliams3]

Dave,

I would be careful not to use any thread sealant on the bolt holes that intersect with oil ports on the block/gasket.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Not really, some by the exhaust, some by the injectors and some between the valve covers. I believe it's my fault for not putting anything on the block threads. I am going to pull them one at a time and seal them.



Thanks guys,



Dave

Use thread sealant sparingly as to not block a few stud areas where there is supposed to be some oil flow in the gasket area itself - no need to be paranoid, just apply a small amount at the lower stud thread area to localize sealing at that point... I suspect it is the small amount of oil pressure at those locations that is working its way on up the stud, and leaking past the stud nut, in which case, sealant of studs to the block might not stop the seepage.



Obviously, lots easier with the head off - but sometimes ya gotta do what ya can with what ya got...

 

[DBraunig]

I just finished a luke warm retorque and ARP lubed studs/nuts/washers good. I gunked the motor off and i'll watch it the next couple days to see what happens.



Thanks for the help,



Dave

 

[FordCummins]

A few of mine did the bubbling thing right after I put my motor together. Ive only retorque my studs once, as instructed by Scheid Diesel, and havent had a problem since. The bubbling went away with a 1000 miles of driving or so. Granted Im only at 42 psi (hardly head stud territory) but the bubbling did go away for me.