Regarding the installation of ARP head studs without replacing the head gasket.

From those who've experienced head gasket leaks and installed ARP head studs only.

1. Has the leak returned.

2. How many miles on your CRD since your repair.

I only know of one person who didn't replace the HG when doing the studs and his leak has not returned after 13,000 miles.

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2006 Liberty Limited CRD, Deep Beryl Green, Yeti tune, Arp studs, new cams, rockers, lifters, TB. "Green Monster"
2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Deep Beryl Green, GDE Hot Tune, ARP studs. "Rocket"
1982 Fiat 124 Spider Convertible. "Fiona"

You forgot the poll.

If my LTD ever shows signs of HG leak, I will park it, order the studs and torque them in, it really does not take all that long to get back inside if you do need to pull the head should this attempt fail. I would recommend that you do it yourself considering you parked your libby.

My sport was over heated a few times by the wife, so it eventually needed a new head.

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2006 LTD Bright Silver loaded with all the needed mods, CCV intact.
Proudly supporting CRD vendors, and their development of quality parts and accessories.
Equipped with HDS thermostat, plenty of heat, faster warm-ups, increased fuel mileage.

But why go that far without replacing the gasket. You are over 2/3rds there. It may not be incredibly difficult (not a job for for the amateur) but I can think of a lot more things to do than spend 8hrs on the jeep.. I made the mistake of trying the studs only. Don't make the same. You're better off finishing the job knowing you're good to go, than going through all that work with the thought in the back of your head, sure hope this works......

So, how bad was your leak and did it leak immediately after installing ARPs, or only later? If later, how many miles did it take? Where did you find the leak(s) to be located?

Thanks!

DOC

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2005 KJ CRD Ltd Detroit TrueTrac Bilsteins G2 GDE "HOT" ECU GDE TCM "Tow Tune" "euro" TC SEGR Weeks Elbow New HG at 130K ARPs Clean CAT aFe Filter Magnaflow Exhaust EHM Cumminos In-Tank Lift Pump Hayden Fan Clutch Nylon Fan VH Enabled with GDE lower shutoff point Recalibrated Temp Gauge Tekonsha Prodigy Sears P-1 ZDDP

My leak was not that bad. It was not even a leak. The only thing that I noticed was pressure under the cap and on a long tow where I would maintain 20psi boost up a steep incline for say 5-10 seconds I would see coolant in the overflow. This never happened while not towing or under normal conditions. I could go for a month or more with no issue. As soon as I would hook up the trailer and have a heavy load, coolant in the overflow. I thought I was a prime candidate for studs only given the scenario. I put the studs in, it did the timing belt and all seemed fine until the first tow. Same results, coolant in the overflow. Then it seemed to happen easier. I did not let it go for long until I did the head gasket.
Once the head was removed I seem to remember the leak being between cylinders two and three. Cylinder three looked like it was power washed. All the others had normal carbon build up. Since the studs and gasket it has been rock solid. I mean great. I can hold 20psi up an incline all day in July, steady temp and no issue. I have probably towed more this summer with 170K than I have any year before and all has been well..
I know I tried it but honestly when I was in there the first time seeing what little amount of work was left. I was thinking why am I not doing the gasket.... I did not have a gasket and it is my daily driver so letting it sit was not an option. If you're going to do this job seriously get everything together to do it right and do it once. I don't care how good or fast you are, why do it twice when you are that close.. if it is not your daily driver even more the reason to do it right and complete. Take your time, get all the right tools and parts together and be done with it. I did mine by myself at an experienced mechanics garage with him an earshot away if needed. It's not a terribly difficult job, but if you're only used to doing brakes and oil changes, it is not for you. There is more to it than that...

So we see one case where there was a failure. What did you torque the studs to with the old head gasket?

LMWatBullRun the pioneer of ARP CRD studs, torqued his to 140 with leakage before hand and none after.

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2006 LTD Bright Silver loaded with all the needed mods, CCV intact.
Proudly supporting CRD vendors, and their development of quality parts and accessories.
Equipped with HDS thermostat, plenty of heat, faster warm-ups, increased fuel mileage.

I torqued the outter to 125 and the inner to 130 per LMWatBullRun edit. Due to the fact the 140 was crushing the head too much. I used the same torque with the new gasket. I understand most who have done the ARP studs since then have used the same torque spec. Not to beat a dead horse but again you're in there. Why not do it.

From what I read, Matt went to 140? But I will take your word for it unless he says different?

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2006 LTD Bright Silver loaded with all the needed mods, CCV intact.
Proudly supporting CRD vendors, and their development of quality parts and accessories.
Equipped with HDS thermostat, plenty of heat, faster warm-ups, increased fuel mileage.

He did go to 140 originally. Look about 3/4 the way down in his thread. One of the pics with the torque wrench noted this below.
"lot of work; I made 3 full transits around the top of the head, 120, 130 and 140 FP. EDIT> Note that I do NOT recommend going to 140 FP for either inner or outer holes; 130/125 is my recommendation."

Apparently he started to see warpage at 140. I saved the thread to reference a few things while I was doing my job. Still in my favorites....

Here is the thread.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=65524&hilit=Arp&start=80

Either way 125/130 is a lot more than stock with much better hardware. If you torque the ARP to the factory spec using the torque angles. Then go back and set your torque wrench to 125 outer 130 inner. I recall getting somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 more of a turn then what the factory called for. You're pretty confident the gasket is squished good when you're done. I would imagine the gamble with just the studs is, if it has already leaked or has pressure/blow by. Is that part of the gasket now weak enough that the ARP wil not clamp enough to close it up? In my case the gasket didn't look bad at all. I knew where the leak was bc of the piston being so clean.

Good to know, I referenced his thread it for my stud job last week as well, but with new head and gasket I only went up to 130 on the inners and 125 for the hell of it on the outers.

Interesting he has made it 9000+ miles with no HG, but he only was seeing ultra slight coolant loss.

_________________
2006 LTD Bright Silver loaded with all the needed mods, CCV intact.
Proudly supporting CRD vendors, and their development of quality parts and accessories.
Equipped with HDS thermostat, plenty of heat, faster warm-ups, increased fuel mileage.