I started my car up today.. Ran great. Changed the oil.. everything was fine, then I let it get up to operating temp and I noticed some coolant leaking on the floor. I shut the car down and was looking for where it was coming from.. THe head bolts.. They are leaking. They are actually head studs from ARP. They only leaked for like 3 or 4 min after the car was shut off and about a minute or less before that. I dont know if they are leaking in the valve cover or not. I havent pulled them yet. Im changing the oil reguardless though. But what should I do about this? Should I pull the headers off and take each head bolt out 1 by 1 and re do the thread sealant and torque specs? I dont think that the gasket got messed up at all.. I know when I put it on that there was some lint from the paper towel I had used to wipe the surface with and thats all. Would that matter? Is the ARP thread sealant anygood?? Thats what I used. I thought that the stud might be too long and pulled the nut just incase and the stud is not taller then the head.. What do you guys think.. Sorry if some is confusing or dont make any sense, I havent slept in about 3 days...



Nick

 

When i put my motor together i used gasket sealer (black glue) on all the head bolts. It wasn't until months later that i was under the car and noticed a few drips of coolant and some stains on the side of the motor from a very very small leak. So i just removed the header and pulled the head bolts out one at a time, put silicone on them, and retorqued them. I think i only had 2 bolts that were leaking but they naturally were right under the header. I did this probably 10k miles ago and all is well.

 

Drain all of your coolant...preferrably when the engine is warm to help the moisture evaporate. Then remove 1 stud at a time, reseal (fill the threads with sealant) & replace stud (snug, do not wrench it in), then retorque the nut. I use Permatex ultra copper silicone (no other generic brands) on all of my head bolts/studs & never have had a leak. Others may have a different favorite, but this has always worked for me. Remember to use ARP moly paste on the top threads, nuts & washers. Hope this helps.

 

I have had the same problem before. I simple used the aluminum leak sealer...damn name escapes me...fixed it.

 

Ok im taking the bolts out one by one.. I finally got my rockers adjusted correctly for the first time in like ever.. I dont want to take them off to do the head bolts.. Do I have to loosen them or can I leave them alone? I was thinking I could because there shouldnt be much pressure on the rockers, they move back and forth pretty easy. I dont see why I would have to but i just want to make sure so i dont have to do this again.. Also is 85 ft lbs good to torque them to? They are head studs.

 

ok well yea.. I went ot change my oil today and wasnt happy.. It seemed to have a bit of coolant in it.. I looked around and pulled the valve covers and sure enough. ****in coolant.. god damm. I cant seem to get these arp head studs to seal.. I think im going to take them out and go with normal head bolts from arp.. I cant believe this.. How can they still be leaking? I put alot of ultra copper RTV ont he threads when I last put them in.. torqed them down and left it alone for about a day then fiulled it with coolant and went and drove. Is there any other way to get these to seal?? This is really pissing me off..

 

After pulling the heads twice, I just put bolts back in.

 

I used GM thread sealant on mine. Works fine for me.

 

I would never use a RTV type sealer for threads on bolts or studs. I would only use a telfon based thread sealer that is non harding in nature. RTV sets up hard and once it breaks loose, it will never reseal. RTV is the most over used chemical in engine work. It is only good for a very limited application range in engines. If you want to have the engine leak free for an extended period of time. RTV can get in the oilpan and plug up the pickup screen to the oil pump with deadly results.

 

While I agree w/ you concerning the over use of RTV it has served me well in this application. (I also do not recommend that you coat every gasket in the motor)

Look at how many people post on the leaks resulting from thread sealers. It isn't perfect either.

Proper application is more important & either may start to leak if the stud is turned after it has been in use. I can only recommend that you reseal every time you remove the heads.

 

I went to the store tonight after calling ARP.. they told me to get this K&W block sealer.. My head bolts are only seeping a bit. They say to drain the coolant and flush it, then add the leak stuff to just plain water.. then drain that completly and let it dry.. any one have any luck with this stuff???

 

I used permatex ultra black.. never had a problem..

 

93ss.........amen!