6.4 headstud install, cab on

Anyone have a write up on this? Maybe a parts list or list of tools needed? Is it really worth to do it it this way and just do one stud at time, or is this is recipe for disaster because it will puke anyway? Thanks in advance, I'm looking into doing it in my driveway this fall.

This is a very controversial topic. There are a lot that say not to do it that way(one at a time) and some that will say its ok. I personally did mine one at a time cab on. Its been close to 25,000 miles since and I haven't had issues. But thats just my truck. I did a write up a while back I'll see if I can find it. The biggest thing is to have a good and calibrated torque wrench and to back the torque down to 225# on the 2 weak holes and 250# in the rest of the holes to prevent the block from cracking in the lifter valley(if using arp studs). Oh and use the newest arp lube(if your using arp's)

I'm planning on using H-11s, because they hold better with a lower final torque, correct? I'd live a write up with pics. How hard really is it? How many hours?

Oh here is my write up. I'm sure I missed a few things but heres the jist of it.

Before attempting to do my studs i bought about 3-16mm impact sockets(kobalt) just in case as well as 4-13/16 12 point sockets (craftsman) only because i have heard of so many people breaking them. I would also suggest locating a torque wrench that goes to 275ft/lbs (as dumb as it sounds i had a hard time finding one, all of the 1/2" drive ones i found only went to 250ft/lbs so i had to use a 3/4" for my final torque) and if you have a 3/4 drive make sure you buy a decent adapter to go to 1/2 drive unless obviously you have a 13/16 12 point 3/4" drive.
First i disconnected the batteries and drained the coolant(i put a hose on the drain so it didn’t make such a mess) then removed the driver side battery and reservoir along with both inner fenders. On the driver side i also removed the one Y coolant line that connects to the timing cover 2-8mm bolts. I then removed the air box and intake tube going to the turbo. Then i unbolted the oil fill reservoir 4-8mm bolts. Next i disconnected the heater hose from the plastic line on the top of the valve cover. Be careful with this because its easy to break, this plastic line will be somewhat of a nuisance when torqueing the studs down later. Then disconnect the glow plug harness at the front of the valve cover and remove the glow plug connectors. Be sure not to pull on the wires when unplugging the glow plugs. I popped the rubber grommets out of the valve cover a little bit and then pinched the T connector and gently wiggled and it seemed to work pretty easy. Now finish up disconnecting the rest of the wiring on the valve cover there are 2 connectors on the glow plug control box on the back half of it and one small one for your egt sensor as well as one last connector on the fire wall above the A/C accumulator. Next thing to do is unbolt the A/C accumulator 2-10mm nuts. Now there is one bolt to remove from the heat shield under the turbo and then pry up the shield to remove the bolt that holds the bracket to the valve cover 4-8mm. Now you should be ready to remove the valve cover 10-12mm bolts.(the bolts don’t come out of the valve cover so you don’t need to mark where the studs and bolts go) Now you should have access to the head bolts.I had a 3" and a 6" 1/2" drive extension on hand and a standard 16mm 6 point impact socket. Some of the bolts you can get with an impact gun but the rest i used a 1/2" breaker bar and a 3 foot cheater bar. Obviously be extremely careful breaking these bolts loose because there isn’t a lot of clearance near your injectors. I removed the bolts in the same order as the arp torque sequence and then installed the stud and used a 3/16 Allen wrench to hand tighten the studs in the block then back them of 1/4 turn.( i prepped all of the studs with a light coat of oil on the coarse block side threads and then the moly lube on the fine head side threads of the studs and i also put moly on both sides of the washers and on the nuts) take your time tightening the stud with the allen wrench because there is oil in the bolt holes and it can give you a false sense of being tight. Then i tightened the nut to the first torque torque setting 90ft/lbs ( remember to be careful to not break the heater line on the passenger side head)then i loosened it up and retorqued again to 90ft/lbs and then torqued to the second torque setting 175ft/lbs. For the back bolts i had to jack the back of the motor up( i had the transmission out already so you can probably loosen the transmission mount and jack up the back of the transmission) And to torque the back bolts down especially the passenger side back lower stud i moved the A/C accumulator and torqued it through the inner fender its tight but it seemed to work for my truck. Once i had all of the studs in i went and did my final torque 250ft/lbs in the recommended order. Now the worst one i had to do was the back lower passenger side, and like i said i did that one through the inner fender. The one A/C line was in the way for my 3/4 drive torque wrench but i was able to use a regular short socket and slide the wrench under the line and do my torque. Now your done!

Double post!

08Monster said:

I'm planning on using H-11s, because they hold better with a lower final torque, correct? I'd live a write up with pics. How hard really is it? How many hours?

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Well there is lower torque but the bolt streches less so there is roughly the same "stress" on the block since its streching the bolt less but still clamping the same if not more.

Plus my snap on torque wrench only does 250, so the H-11s would be better? Have they been proven to hold up well?

Yes the H11's do a great job. They are a stronger stud, with a stronger priceLOL but they work well. I just don't know what to back the final torque down to. I positive they had a final torque of 190#, but they clamp the same if not more than the arp's do at 275# so that would mean that the "pull" on the block is the same as an arp at 275#. So the stud streches less and provides the same clamping force.

Powerstroked08 in post number four you said final torque was 250ftlbs? Which two bolts are the weak spots?

Top row. See where the metal gets thinner going into the lifter Valley in those two spots.

Gotcha. Duders are torquing those two to 250 and the rest @ 275?

No drop the torque to 225 in the weak holes and 250 in the rest. That write up was from 2 years ago and I never rewrote it for the lower torque.

Would you advise doing it, cab on, this way? How many hours did it take

It'd really luck whether yours will cracked or not. We did them all to 250 on a truck I helped with and didn't have an issue while he still had the truck. There are guys on here that have cracked two blocks in that spot just torquing to spec and are still running a third cracked block.

So even with the lower final torque, the block can still crack? Or is there less of a chance. I really can't afford to pull the cab. Mainly because I would have to pay someone because I don't have the means to pull a cab unless someone has a redneck way to do it without a lift. Lol

^^ Ask and ye shall receive! I know there is 6.4 pics out there too....

**DISCLAIMER BLAH BLAH **




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg6vJ7Feyd4

Lower final torque on just those two studs results in less stress on the block and less of a chance of cracking. However if you think about it, you're actually warping the head by not applying the same amount of pressure on those two studs. Kind of a uneasy feeling

08Monster said:

Would you advise doing it, cab on, this way? How many hours did it take

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I did a write up years back VERY thorough. it's on powerstrokenation I believe. pretty sure I was the first to do it. let me know if you want h-13 studs , low torque, same clamping force as h-11, and not one cracked block after 60+ sets sold.

If you would talk me through the install if I have a question or two, I'd buy your H-13s. Customer service alone is worth the price.

dsberman94 said:

Top row. See where the metal gets thinner going into the lifter Valley in those two spots.

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Sometimes i just want to slap ford engineers right in the face.