Brian MP5T said:
Well written, I am not an engineer or Mechanic but I am very good with Cause and Effect.
The possibility that the shop went to "Torque Town" on my ARP is slim to nill. I believe that the heat cycle plus the fact that the studs were not thread locked. I believe that the product is a good one, I believe also that the Mazda Bolts are if used properly on this engine will never fail. I think that the ARP are complicated for nothing and with a stock gasket and stock bolts tightened and used properly, the need for ARP fasteners is simply not there for the FS engine.
Believe me I am not disagreeing with you at all, It's interesting and that is what the internet Forum is for...
Thanks For Your Post.
Ah, for some reason, I thought you were an engineer or engineering student.
I'm still leaning toward install issues. Installing head studs is not as straight forward as one would think. ARP head studs do not need to be thread locked. However, the supplied moly lube or oil (not recommended) must be used when installing the nuts.
The studs, nuts, and washers should be cleaned and dried to remove the oil coating that they ship with. The threads in the block should be cleaned by chasing with a tap. The studs go in finger-tight. The head and gasket put in place. Apply moly lube to the nut threads and washer faces. Torque down. Loosen. Torque down. Loosen. Torque down. Note: Each torque sequence in the manufacturers specified pattern.
Me thinks the re-torquing did not occur. By doing so, the compressed gasket issue diminishes. It also "conditions" the fastener for stretching during heat cyles. Perhaps something else was overlooked, but I'm leaning more towards that, now that I've put more thought into it.
I'm going to disagree with "the ARP are complicated for nothing. . ." The stud/washer/nut combo allow for stress to be distributed more evenly along the length of the fastner. Between that and the material choices, the clamping force is far greater than what most OEM bolts can manage.
The re-useablity of the head studs is also a major advantage. Headbolts aren't cheap. But in order to break even on the cost of ARP head studs on that alone, you'd have to justify removing the head three times. So don't buy them just because they're reuseable, unless you plan on tearing apart the motor frequently. If you plan on pushing the limits of the motor, plan on things breaking. The need for removing the head may come up a time or two to justify the cost.
I will agree with "with a stock gasket and stock bolts tightened and used properly, the need for ARP fasteners is simply not there. . ." As a stock gasket cannot withstand as much as an MLS gasket. One that would choose OEM over MLS isn't really planning on pushing the limits.
Damn. . . another long post. Why do I put so much effort into defending ARP? I could go on, but I'll stop now. Sorry for the rabbling, fellas.
