sbc cylinder head studs on passenger side with ac box?

[crucial118]

Anyone know if head studs will work on a g-body, with a sbc, with the ac/heater box still in on the passenger side? Thanks.

 

[chevy2480]

With the heater box in they are a pita. Dont know what your motor combo is but in my opinion head studs are overkill for most street engines.

 

[crucial118]

The reason I'm asking is because the head bolt hole in the back on the passenger side stripped and I put in a thread insert that didn't line up exactly. Studs are a little more forgiving. Just want to know if it can be done with the heater box tho.

 

[565bbchevy]

I would already question the fact that it does not line up exactly and obviously this would be a "bandaid" using a stud in an attempt to fix an improper angle, that being said I believe there is no way you can get a head on or off with studs in place and with the ac case still being installed.
If you are just trying to rig this then I suppose you could use a stud on the one spot and install after/during the head install (assuming the head is off)
If you decide to go this route look for quality studs that use an Allen wrench to tighten them, use the same lube or sealant as the rest of the head bolts.
Studs and bolts torque differently with the studs having less resistance and I would never mix them myself but that is your call.

 

[crucial118]

So studs won't work on the heater box side?

 

[565bbchevy]

So studs won't work?

If you are talking about using a set of studs and trying to R & R the heads with the ac case in place then no.

 

[565bbchevy]

Is this for the 406 in your signature? Studs work great but trying to do an in car head removal with them there will be interference issues since the passenger side has the heater/ac case and drivers side depending on the size brake booster that could be an issue.

 

[crucial118]

Is this for the 406 in your signature? Studs work great but trying to do an in car head removal with them there will be interference issues since the passenger side has the heater/ac case and drivers side depending on the size brake booster that could be an issue.

Yup, for the 406. Thanks for the bad news. Was hoping it would work. What to do now?

 

[Fox80]

I agree that I wouldn't use just one stud to fix a problem you have to use them all, like the above post said if you get quality studs with the Allen type end on them, you can install all the studs after the head is sitting on the dowel pins, it's more time consuming but it's the only way

 

[crucial118]

Thanks for the replies. I picked up some ARP studs today and it worked. I put in the bottom row, short studs and the front and back medium length studs(the back one, by the firewall, was the one that was slightly off). After the head was on, I put the long ones in and hand tightened all, then torqued. So happy I didn't have to pull the block back out.