Thread: Studs instead of Head bolts?

Cons: You can't remove the heads with the engine in situ if the studs are fitted.

Have a look at the ARP website.
After reading ,I believe that the main advantage with a Rover V8 is that the clamping stresses are spread over the whole thread area in the block, which may/should reduce cracking .
Also the clamping forces and stretch of the studs apparently can be much more accurate with studs than bolts.

Re removing the heads. Why not just undo the nuts then remove the studs then take off the heads. I understand there is a allen socket in the top of ARP studs for this purpose. From others on the forum I understand that you only have to remove some of the the studs at the back, although ARP put a lot of emphasis on dropping the head evenly so that the threads for the nuts are not damaged, so it may be best when fitting the heads to put the heads on the dowels then screw in the studs. I cannot see any real problem with this except it is fiddly, but I haven't yet done it so I do not know for sure.
In the absence of compelling advice from someone who has tried and failed It is my intention to use studs next time I change head gaskets.
Regards Philip A

It's the only way to go.

I listed in anther thread, but basically I trialed the TTY bolts and found ridiculous differences in actual tensions. Also the area that the stretch occurred in varied substantially. And I've found this not only with Rover bolts but also toyota as well.

You can get the heads off in situ by removing the last couple of studs that foul before moving the heads. Note you need to use at least a good quality moly assembly lube or the ARP Also follow the pre-assembly stretch procedure and everything will be fine. All the info is in the instructions in the box.

FWIW: Fabre at Lakemba Sydney was the cheapest when I purchased mine and keep them in stock. Stay away from Rocket as they don't want to know if it isn't chev/ford and would have to get in and add freight.

Studs are employed on most professional racing engines that are regularly dismantled, presumably so as not to wear out the threads in the block, in addition to the other pros already mentioned. Studs can on occasion freeze permanently in alloy, making it difficult to properly surface the block during the reconditioning process. Had a few alloy V8 Rolls Royce blocks that we simply could not remove the studs from when I worked for an engine reconditioning firm.
Wagoo.

Hmmm.
I use GMH stud/bolt sealant when I torque my head bolts, even though none of the bolts are wet. Rover recommends use of a sealant so I guess it is to reduce bonding and corrosion.
I cannot see why you would not use sealant on studs to reduce bonding of the studs to the alloy.
Regards Philip A

Actually the main reason for studs instead of Bolts is that for the same diameter/metallurgy they offer greater CLAMPING Force ,10% at least which is not related to some applied TORQUE
.(so simply if you Torque it up to say 65 ft/lbs on both the UNF and the UNC , given the same frictional losses the UNF form will result in more clamping force )
Invariably the studs have a Finer thread on the head end , say UNF instead of UNC ,The UNF thread
the ramp angle of the thread is lower and thus gives more clamping force vs applied torque the fine thread stud's diameter is also larger and thus requires more load to give adequate stretch.

Hi all, I've read in to this aswell and I'm going for the arp head and mains stud kit when I end up fixing my block. I've read that the head gaskets also last a lot longer using the stud kit. Lining up the head to the block will be easier too. Worth the $250 + $108 for the mains kit I reckon.

Does the mains kit include cross bolts? Couldn't find a listing when I went to the 4.6 so went head studs only at the time.