neidert

I got these heads put on last year, since then I've blown 2 head gaskets and oil leaks on regular basis. What happens is the head bolts holding the headers in come loose because of the expansion differiental of aluminum and the stainless steel bolts. Same thing for the valve cover bolts. So I am constanly tightening these but oil is still leaking, I already tighten the header bolts every day and some are loose if you believe that or not. Is there anything I can do to prevent this???? My engine temp is normal. Any help is greatly appreciated.

FivePointOhh

get some ARP head bolts. they are expansion resistant. they should fix your problem

98MustangGT46

Yea just remember alluminum(heads) and cast iron(Blocks) do not like to mix with each other.. Ive always been skeptic of alluminum heads for that reason.. But if these bolts work that good, then that could change my mind quickly.. lol..

neidert

Thanks, unfortunatly I read your post and checked my spare head bolts and they are ARP, I think the shop said it was the aluminum expanding because aluminum gets warmer which expands the bolt hole. Any other Idea's??

CrazyCobraSpeed

the aluminum shouldnt expaned that much... you would have to change it hunderd of degrees... ive dont it in class.... since u said oyu not running to hot then im guessing they aluminum heads are changing as much as you think.... if you have ARP bolts you shouldnt have a problem... are they torqued properly??? what header bolts do u have... and also what head gasket and valve cover gasket do u have.... what are all the torque specs you using... i havent heard of neone have that kind of trouble with an aluminum head... and everyone ahs them cuz htey all tried to talk me into the instead of porting me gt-40s.... if u have stainless steel bolts thats part of you problem... cast iron will tryi nto push them out... same with aluminum heads pushin them out... you want the black coated bolts form ARP... not use hte proper word usesage but they have some black coating that will help prevent bolts from backing out

Mustangkiler

Chromemoly are the black ones

my77stang

use locking header bolts, i cant believe nobody else mentioned that yet.

as far as valve cover bolts, with the threads clean of any oil use a drop of low/medium strength loctite on them. if your using gaskets with the grommets that prevent overtightening of the gasket that would be best. button 'er up and never have to worry about it again

CrazyCobraSpeed

thank you for the proper name i couldnt remember off the top of my head... chromemoly is the best way to do tho... like my77stang said lockwashers might help too...

neidert

Thanks I'll look into those, if I use the locking type bolts will I have any trouble getting them out in the future??? Same with using lock tight on my valve cover bolts, will they come out if need be in the future?? I already busted one trying to tighten them. Could you also tell me the torque specs on both those bolts. The shop never told me the torque specs, they said use a box end wrench and do it by hand, 1 time a week. Yes the bolts they gave me are stainless, don't know what type of gasket they used, $40-$50 range. What type should I use if they do blow again?? The valve cover gasket looks stock still, what type should I get for these. Oh and when torqing my header bolts do I need to tilt the engine to get in there or can I somehow reach in there without doing that. Thanks again, kind of still a newbie