I need advice ASAP please!!!

So im trying to finish my engine build but ran into this issue so i called it a day till i can figure out if this is OK or a big problem. It has to do with my ARP head studs. I followed the directions by applying the ARP Moly on the threads and only installing them finger tight to the block. Then right before i was about to drop on the head i noticed something. The studs were all uneven. i tried tightning them more but no good. Then i decided to pull out a hex wrench to tighten them down just to see if they would go down anymore but even doing so they still were uneven by a bit. I went ahead and droped on the head just to see if they reached OK without poking out to much to hit the camshafts and they seem to clear OK but uneven (some poke out more then others). My concern is shouldnt they be even. I thought they were suppose to all bottom out but only finger tight but i could be wrong. Can i just leave them as is finger tight and uneven and bolt everything up to specs and be good or am i just looking for trouble with a possible blown head gasket in the near future? LMK what you think. need answers fast id like to continue the build ASAP. Thanks.

Note:
These studs are being aplied to a brand new Dezod sleeved short block. All bolt holes are already pretaped threw them.

 

i THINK the 2 long ones go on the end of 1 side mayb the side were the timeing cover goes....

 

That's not good. they should all be even. Take them all out and make sure there all the same length. if they are take one of your stock head bolts and chase down the threads. make sure there not any obstructions in the thread.

 

what it is....or atleast with mine. is there is some oil in the bottom of the stud passage. i had to tighten mine down about 6 times over a 2 hour period of time to get it right. the pressure of the oil is so high it feels like it is tight. they should all be the same length etc. thats why getting your block cleaned and what not is a great idea. but yea there is oil in the bottom of the head stud passage.

 

Yea i can garauntee you from installing mine, they were all the same length, and should all go in to the same length. Try taking them out and using compressed air to blow out any oil/debris from stud hole.

 

All the studs are the same size so theres no way i have them wrong

There all the same size. I already tried to take a stock head bolt and chase the threads down. I even put in all the stock head bolts and torqued the crap out of them but even the stock head bolts dont go even across.

well the block has already been cleaned as its a pre built short block from dezod with all the works. i have even tried using compressed air to try and get anything in the holes out. Still no good on my end. but ill keep trying and see if i get any luck.

Already have. still not even on my end.

 

ill be trying this again tomorrow night but till then, if anyone has any other ideas let me hear them cause so far it sounds like leaving them uneven is a bad idea.

 

hes uneven is a very bad idea....take like a straw or something and make sure all the holes are the same depth....and make sure you have the studs going in the right way as well....also what year block is it and what year studs did you get? are they brand new arp head studs?

 

It's ok for the head studs protrusion height to vary a 1-2 millimeters, but from the look of your picture it looks like some of them are off by 1/4" to 3/8".

It's critical on the 1st gen 2az-fe block (ie. 2005-2006) to have the studs fully engaged in the block since the thread length on the first gen block is not as long or strong as the 2nd gen block (2007-2010). You want the studs to engage as much of the thread on the block to as possible to minimize the chance of the studs pulling out under load.

We bottom tap all the mains and deck bolt holes as a service we include with all of our built motors whether it's a aluminum 2az-fe or a cast iron 4g63. During the machining process, especially when the head is decked, a lot of the metal shavings can fall into the deck hole and hot tanking it will not remove it. You will need to use a thread chaser to clean out the deck and main bolt holes all the way to the bottom. You cannot use the factory head bolt or the studs to clean the thread. Hopefully you didn't try to over tighten the studs to try to make them bottom out because that may have weaken the thread in the block and that's no good. Once the threads are chased and cleaned out with compress air, you should be able to tighten the studs by hand or just with an allen key with minimal effort.

The thread chasing procedure should be done with just the bare block (prior to installing cranks, rods and piston) , since you will need to blow out the metal shaving from the threaded holes and you don't want that ending up in your bearing journals or cylinder bores. Assembling a performance engine requires a lot of prep work.

I hope that helps and good luck with the project.

MrC

 

well great info here but now im getting scared. I did already try tightning the crap out of the bolts so it looks like i may have weekend the threads. man this sucks. not sure what to do now.

 

I PM'd you a something to try.

 

thanks for the advice guys. After about 4hrs of cleaning and scrubing, i finally got all the studs pretty even. Looks like the threads just needed some cleaning to make the studs work. I just wish they would have came cleaned up in the first place. That could have saved me the hassle of me going thru it.