Head studs

[gator]

Just wondering if anybody has used the head stud kit from Northstar Performance. They look fantastic, and I'm sure they will work better than anything else I've seen available. My concern is doing the work myself. I'm pretty handy, but if they aren't lined up perfectly, I'll be looking for a new engine. I don't mind spending the money, but I'd like to know for sure this is feasible before paying more for bolts than the engine. Thanks to everyone for all of the great info on the board.
Gator

[nelson480]

bobsblue re-studded his engine i think, you should ask him

[gator]

Thanks. Found his thread, right after I posted of course. We PM'd and he was very helpful. I'm hoping there is someone else as well, just to get a different perspective.
Gator

[robaurora01]

ive heard of it done many times from people with 4.6L from northstar studs. I don't see the issue with them and I personally havent heard anything bad about their studs

[aurora1986]

Look up aurorabrain on here, i think hes your golden ticket ha.... he has done headgaskets on a few northstars and is getting ready to do his own car this spring.

[bobsblue95]

In fact the PM should probably be public, I think there's some good info here.
This is what I sent Gator:

The instructions provided with the kit are pretty thorough and should suffice if you are mechanically inclined at all. There are a couple of things I thought could have been expanded on a little more...
1. The cylinder holes are not exactly the same distance between horizontal pairs and vertical pairs. This means the drill/tap fixture has to be flipped horizontally for some holes, as opposed to just rotating it.
2. They don't detail a strategy (sequence) for drilling the holes or give enough detail about aligning the jig over holes. It's critical to look at the "circle within a circle" and make sure you're perfectly centered.
**edit** Also, if at all possible, use a jig (drill press) to hold the drill at a perfect 90 degree angle.

To bend the crookedly installed stud, we marked the direction, removed it from the engine and made a hole in an 8x8 beam I had handy to hold the stud. I actually made calculations to know how far to pull the six foot pipe to get just the right angle (it was like 10 inches) and it worked out surprisingly well.

The other hard part is removing the head alignment pins from the block. They say the easiest way is to weld lengths of 1/2" threaded rod to them, put something like a socket over it and pull them by tightening down a nut on the threaded rod. I didn't have any of that, so I ended up carefully drilling them out.

Here is the list of what you'll need from the instruction sheet...
-WD40 & brake parts cleaner (WD40 used for cutting oil, use a lot!)
-15/16" wrench or socket/ratchet
-1/2" drive electric drill (I recommend variable speed, but used single-speed drill)
-tap handle (I used a large crescent wrench for this)
-masking tape
-compressed air supply (I used canned air, didn't have a compressor)
-locking pliers
-accurate torque wrench with 11/16" deep socket (75ft-lbs needed)
-lint free towels or rags

You'll also need a smaller "inch-pounds" torque wrench for smaller bolts in the heads, etc. I also broke the included HSS 17/32" drill bit and had to wait a couple of days to replace it... just be prepared for that eventuality. Drill bit was around $10 from Grainger. By the end of the process the enclosed tap was also wearing out and the studs got a little harder to install, but we finished the job with it.

I sent my heads out and had them resurfaced and crack-checked.