Studdin a 6.0 with the heads on? Need advice

maxforce007 · Jan 29, 2015

Hey guys how y'all doin?
I have a late 05 f250 6.0 that I am debating on studding it with the heads in place.
The truck has 110k and is bone stock never tuned I just installed a new oil cooler and welded up the egr cooler also has a full 5inch exhaust. I'm sure the gaskets are in good shape but I am going to test them prior to this job to be positive.
What do you all think about studding it with the heads on for now? Just looking to throw some hotish tuning and maybe a powermax. I talked with a friend of mine who owns a diesel shop to get his opinion on it and he said as long as the gaskets are good he's had good luck so far out of doing it this way if pulling the heads was out of the question. Only thing that worries me about it is that once pressure is released and re-applied will the gaskets fail soon after? Anyone have any real experience with the results?

Thanks

DZL JIM · Jan 29, 2015

Don't waste your time.
Do it right and pull the heads, have them pressure tested and machined flat or don't waste your time doing anything. A small part of the issue is the bolts allowing lift, the other issues are non-flat heads that may also be badly cracked.

I can't count how many times we have fixed stud jobs done without removing heads.

If you can't afford to do it right once, you sure can't afford to do it twice.

dieseljosh07 · Jan 29, 2015

This has been debated many times before and the answer hasn't changed. Its a horrible idea and a was of time and money. Do the job the right way the first time, if you can't afford to do it the right way wait until you have the money to do so instead of wasting the money you have to spend.

powerstrokedkid87 · Jan 29, 2015

DZL JIM said:
Don't waste your time.
Do it right and pull the heads, have them pressure tested and machined flat or don't waste your time doing anything. A small part of the issue is the bolts allowing lift, the other issues are non-flat heads that may also be badly cracked.

I can't count how many times we have fixed stud jobs done without removing heads.

If you can't afford to do it right once, you sure can't afford to do it twice.

dieseljosh07 said:
This has been debated many times before and the answer hasn't changed. Its a horrible idea and a was of time and money. Do the job the right way the first time, if you can't afford to do it the right way wait until you have the money to do so instead of wasting the money you have to spend.

not much more needs to be said....you will end up doing the job twice....

co04cobra · Jan 29, 2015

I've done 4-5 one at a time and haven't had a failure yet. One only had 50k miles, but I only suggest this as a last option and you have NEVER had signs of puking.

If you do it yourself, you'll only be out the time it takes. You can reuse the studs if it has to come apart later.

powerSmokin · Jan 29, 2015

I just did this on my 6.0, delta temps were good. No puking, we loostened the motor mounts and just rocked it. Haven't had any problems.

slightlymodded · Jan 29, 2015

I did my first stud job on an 03 f550 with 95k. No puking or signs. pull a bolt out, put a stud in, torque it, repeat, did upper bolt, then lower bolt, repeat. No problems

powerSmokin · Jan 29, 2015

slightlymodded said:
I did my first stud job on an 03 f550 with 95k. No puking or signs. pull a bolt out, put a stud in, torque it, repeat, did upper bolt, then lower bolt, repeat. No problems

That's exactly how it was done, I can see it failing if you pull all the studs, it is really no different then studding a 7.3 except for the fact that 6.0's have a much higher rate of cracked heads.

HOLDERDOWN · Jan 29, 2015

Advice: do it the right way

swinky · Jan 29, 2015

co04cobra said:
I've done 4-5 one at a time and haven't had a failure yet. One only had 50k miles, but I only suggest this as a last option and you have NEVER had signs of puking.

If you do it yourself, you'll only be out the time it takes. You can reuse the studs if it has to come apart later.

Yuhpp

OBS-Addiction97 · Jan 31, 2015

Different motor, but I did it on my 7.3 with no issues:

co04cobra · Jan 31, 2015

OBS-Addiction97 said:
Different motor, but I did it on my 7.3 with no issues:

That is the only way to do it on a 7.3.

PSD-BLACK-CLOUD · Mar 2, 2015

I had this done on a 6.7 cummins. I made it a month then blew the gasket. Will never do it this way again.

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04 f350 · Mar 2, 2015

Swapped mine out one at a time over 2 years ago and never had the slightest problem with it, If it doesn't work for you then remove the heads next time it's that simple. With that said there isn't a right or wrong way to do it, if it works for you then great if not then pull the heads next time.

Twinboys · Mar 2, 2015

Have you ever heard the fallacy that storing a car battery on concrete is bad for the battery? Many people noticed that when they left their battery on the shop floor, the battery went bad. Other people hear this and realize that must be what happened to their battery. Before you know it, this very thing happens. Did any of those people stop and wonder why the battery was on the floor in the first place?

For those of you that have had failures after replacing one bolt with a stud at a time, I contend that your bond was already compromised. In most cases, an issue was already suspected, and thus the decision was made to stud. If there is not a pre-existing condition, doing them one at a time will fail less often than removing the heads.

If you think your heads and gaskets are good and especially if you are doing the work yourself, then you would be foolish to pull the heads unless you are doing it for other reasons.