ARP head bolts, what is the best torque speck?

[evil666]

I know this question has beeen asked a million times before, and I did do a search on this question but there are way to many diffferent anwsers. So this is what I am going to do, clean the head bolt holes with a tap, put 10w30 oil on the bolt up until the head and washer, put aviation tread sealer on the end treads of each bolt. Now what is the best the best torque speck I should use considering the way I am going to install these bolts? These are not the ARP pro head bolts, they are the 6 point (170000) ARP bolts. The heads are the stock iron heads and I will be using the stock GM head gaskets. I will not be retorqing the heads after the motor is put back together and runing, I have read that alot of people have gotten away with this with the stock GM gaskets. Another question that I have is do I have to spray a sealer on the gaskets or could I put them on dry. If I do have to spray a sealer what is the name of it and where do I buy it? I know the most popular torque specks for these bolts are 80 or 85 lbs, does 5 lbs really make a big difference or does it barely show, should I just torque them at 83 and go inbetween?

Thanks for all the help I can get with these often asked questions.
Marco.

86 Grand National t-top (59900km)
stock long block,stock suspension, red stripe convertor, te44, smc alk injection, 24lbs boost, 94 octane, hooker cat back with dyno max ultra flow muffers, tomco 30lbs injectors, dynotech stage 4 street chip, thdp, mease 24 row IC, Ron Custom max boost brake module, MT drag radials (275/50/15) 3800lbs race weight with driver. (Torque convertor not locked)
BEST E/T
60FT=1.52
1/8= 7.38
I/4= 11.74
MPH=113
BESTmph=114

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
Good questions, all. Today's gaskets are teflon coated, and don't require any sealer. Put them on dry. I guess you already have the bolts you need, but they should NOT be torque to yield stuff.ARP bolts are great stuff; you can trust them. I would guess 95 lb-ft torque would be a last step. Use 3 stages to get there. Main caps can probably go 105 lb-ft, depends on the bolt..Rods, no more than 45lb-ft.That's the way I set them up,no breakage so far.Good luck with your rebuild!

 

[DR BOOST]

i ususally go 75 on the headbolts..thats what arp recommends

 

[Jerryl]

.......... Now what is the best the best torque speck I should use considering the way I am going to install these bolts? These are not the ARP pro head bolts, they are the 6 point (170000) ARP bolts. ............ I will not be retorqing the heads after the motor is put back together and runing, I have read that alot of people have gotten away with this with the stock GM gaskets. Another question that I have is do I have to spray a sealer on the gaskets or could I put them on dry. If I do have to spray a sealer what is the name of it and where do I buy it? I know the most popular torque specks for these bolts are 80 or 85 lbs, does 5 lbs really make a big difference or does it barely show, should I just torque them at 83 and go inbetween?

I ended up having the exact same questions and researched this for about 2 months reading about every post I could find. Below is a description where I ended up at.

In short and without any attempt to insult your intelligence;
Make sure the contact surfaces of the heads and block are CLEAN and dry. Hopefully everything is flat as well.
No need to spray the HG's (opinions will differ) and I installed mine dry
Torque to 80 ftlb with 30W oil. I started at 30 and went in increments of 5 ftlb.
Be sure to clean and chase the threads in the block and install the supplied washers the correct way.
Use Permatex™ high temp sealant (some use other sealant successfully)
It is important to know that your wrench is accurate, so make sure you torque to a final and actual 80 ftlb.

5 ftlb does not sound like a lot of difference but, you do not want to overstretch the bolts.
5ftlb at an 80ftlb final torque is already a 6% variance.
With an un-calibrated wrench, you can EASILY end up 10% off.