Doing the head gasket

[AudiSport]

Started about 6 months ago got hung up on 1 stuck manifold stud. House remodel got in the way. Back at it again, pulled the manifold to cross over below and got room to pull it out. Working on the studs now, the ones in there still are being a bit difficult, letting them soak and will come back at it again later.

[Tom]

Thanks for posting that! We need a good head gasket thread.

If you are a tool junky, like I am, check out the collet stud removers from Snap-on. That and a big t-bar will get out any stud. If you just want it out, MIG weld that nut to smithereens and use a big t-bar. Soaking them has never helped for me -- they put soooooo much loctite on them, nothing penetrates. Heat helps, but not when the engine is still in the car.

I have an old head gasket I covered in tape, then poked holes where the studs and locating pins are -- it covers everything, oil and coolant ports included, when the head is off like that. Too easy for crud to fall into the oil return posts or the coolant areas otherwise. Another couple rows of duct tape might do it for you though.

What studs do you plan to use? And what HG for that matter?

[gruhsy]

Some loctite technical

This is the strongest loctite

The bit on what will dissolve loctite

Loctite SF 790 or loctite 7601 might help down the threaded hole

Heat also

But it’s also not good to heat aluminum over 400F

https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/ca/en/ ... ocker.html

[AudiSport]

Yeah, I was just trying to keep some sand/dirt out of the cylinders right now. I was just doing double nut with a 19mm wrench for leverage so far.

I'm have an ARP stud kit and a SCE gasket. Vitesse turbo is also coming out, already pulled the piggy back and other components late last summer. Have a voodoo turbo I've been sitting on since 2018 for my other 951 and will do a stand alone system for this.

[Tom]

Will be very interested to hear about the SCE gasket. I have a new motor all machined and ready for assembly, and am still mulling head gasket options. I have an SCE one ready to go, but hoping to hear how others get along with it over time, especially those who push their motors. My current 3 liter has an o-ringed deck, which limits the gasket options pretty much to the widefire gasket. The o-ring creates a mechanical lock, presumably as strong or stronger than these cut-ring gaskets (??) but I don't like being locked into one gasket type and, more importantly, I've learned over and over and over and over, that a bad tune can blow any gasket on these motors. Which stand-alone will you use?

[AudiSport]

Extractions complete.

[Hawk]

How did you finally extract them? Just by letting them soak?

[AudiSport]

All the ones near the exhaust came out easy. Double nut and turned away. The upper ones were more difficult. Double nutting was moving them a little, but ultimately the nuts turned more than the stud. I was worried about messing up the threads in case I needed to back out and just keep them in. But I went for it and just threw on the stud extractor and tightened it down with the impact, gave it a push with a breaker bar to make sure the stud was moving, then hit them with the impact and backed them out. I put in PB blaster a few days ago and a little engine oil and had tapped them on the end with a hammer at that time too.

[Hawk]

All the ones near the exhaust came out easy. Double nut and turned away. The upper ones were more difficult. Double nutting was moving them a little, but ultimately the nuts turned more than the stud. I was worried about messing up the threads in case I needed to back out and just keep them in. But I went for it and just threw on the stud extractor and tightened it down with the impact, gave it a push with a breaker bar to make sure the stud was moving, then hit them with the impact and backed them out. I put in PB blaster a few days ago and a little engine oil and had tapped them on the end with a hammer at that time too.