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Wedge TR8 Head Studs

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C

cheseroo

Jedi Trainee
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I have a recently acquired TR8 that I've torn the motor down to figure out what ails it. The motor bits are in the machine shop and they are recommending that I buy a set of ARP head studs at a cost of 300 scoots. I agree that head studs in an aluminum block seem like a good idea. However, these studs at $20 or so per seems a little steep. I have a couple questions.

1. Should I be using studs instead of bolts?
2. Is $300 reasonable or is there a more reasonably priced alternative?
 
I don't know anything about TR8 studs; but I do know the person I would ask :

Steve Hedke
British Pacific Ltd.
Land Rover Parts & Accessories since 1974
26007 Huntington Lane, unit 2
Valencia, CA. 91355 USA
fax: 661 257-9765
orders: 800 554-4133
tech: 661 257-8634
e-mail: britpac@aol.com
https://www.landroverparts.us/

From the catalog, looks like he suggests sticking with bolts; but changing them every time the engine is apart. At about $65/set, seems like that would be cheaper unless you are going racing or plan a lot of teardowns for some other reason.
 
ARP stuff ain't cheap, but it's good. I'm not saying you need those studs, as I don't know. Follow Randall's suggestion. But, just to put things in perspective, I paid about $170 for ARP studs, washers, and nuts for my TR3 motor.
 
Rich -

I believe the rule of thumb is to use the studs if you're going with higher compression and plan to run it hard. Otherwise, the bolts are pretty stout.

In any case, studs are good insurance, but may be overkill.

Mickey
 
Oh - and welcome to the Forum - don't believe we've "met" yet!
 
<span style="font-style: italic">Oh - and welcome to the Forum - don't believe we've "met" yet! </span>

Thank you. I've been lurking for a while and since I haven't had much of value to add here I have kept my mouth shut. I have been active on another Triumph site with my 6. There's a few suspects from there over here that I recognize.

It seems to me like studs are the way to go if it was common for the head bolts to strip out of the block. I'm not sensing that this is much of an issue with the TR8/Rover motor. Correct? If so I think I'll just buy new bolts, make sure the holes are clean and go that route.
 
I purchased my head bolts from gold coast rovers, a supporting vendor, and for you the shipping will be fast. They will also have a good price on the head gasket set, although I don't think they have the composite headgasket set for the 3.5 liter if you want to go that direction.

I just replaced the headbolts on my 3.5 liter engine for about $150, one of the bolts was a special bolt costing about $23 but you can use a regular medium length head bolt instead and save about $15.
 
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