Quick head retorque question

[bc.]

I just put a mls head gasket in, I put it through a few heat cycles, and now am ready to retorque the arp studs. should I loosen them a little bit and then re tighten? Or should I just set the torque to my spec and tighten?

Thanks for reading!

[onehundredoctane]

I wouldn't loosen.

[Sileighty_85]

Or should I just set the torque to my spec and tighten?

I hope when you Say "MY Spec" you Mean "ARP's Spec"

[jspaeth]

I just put a mls head gasket in, I put it through a few heat cycles, and now am ready to retorque the arp studs. should I loosen them a little bit and then re tighten? Or should I just set the torque to my spec and tighten?

Thanks for reading!


I cracked mine a bit counterclockwise and the retorqued.

They definitely went a little farther before reaching the spec the second time around.

[bc.]

By 'my' spec I meant max spec, from ARP. It was a typo.

All I want to do is crack them loose as well, probably won't even be a quarter of a turn.

[S13NismoStyle]

I called arp about this very thing. You want to loosen the nut and retighten one at a time in the order per the fsm.

[jspaeth]

I called arp about this very thing. You want to loosen the nut and retighten one at a time in the order per the fsm.


This is what I thought.....I called ARP last year when I did mine, and this is what they said (I wasn't 100% certain, so I didn't want to say it is a DEFINITE yes to loosening and then retorquing....)

[nieko]

Retourquing sounds fucking lame...

wish we didnt have to take the cams and shit out.

oh well, it shall be done soon! haha

[bc.]

Retourquing sounds fucking lame...

wish we didnt have to take the cams and shit out.

oh well, it shall be done soon! haha

You know what's really lame? Changing the head gasket twice because after the first time you were too lazy to take an hour to retorque.

I am suspicious of a leaky head gasket after my install, I think I am loosing oil, and not sure if the missing coolant is air that is working it's way out or if it's getting burned. Gotta check for bubbles I guess, exhaust looks clean though.

[Ceepo]

I need to do this ugh... fuckin nissan makin it so we have to pull the cams to do it...

[eklips3]

i only heard of having to re-torque the head only if you're using head bolts rather then studs.
this is what my machinist told me ...

[let5l1de]

I called ARP a few months back regarding studs and the need to re-torque. An ARP tech (no need to mention name) had answered that there was no need to re-torque any of the studded products they manufacture.

Now, studs yield a different clamping force than bolts. This is why everyone changes over to studs. Even though properly torqued bolts of even the factory type will work just fine for many applications. Providing all physical attributes to the bolt and ultimate use is correctly figured.

The reason why you may want to re-torque head studs is only due to headgasket compression and physical change with the first engine heat cycle. With my experience using ARP products for many years, the re-torque of studs is typically not needed since the torque specifications had not changed greater than a pound or 2 (dependent on build type and components used) from the initial torque specification. Even with the reduction of a few ft lbs of torque with a stud (after first heat cycle), the clamping force is much greater than a properly torqued and re-torqued head bolt.

BTW: 2011 catalog recommends a re-torque on stud and bolt products after initial heat cycle.

Be sure to use ARP Lube and clean the threaded bores properly. Then torque to proper ARP specs included in the box or reliable engine builder specs.

My opinion to question in post 1, do not loosen the initial torque. Re-torque to specs if using the ft lbs method.

GR Performance
~mario