Do I need to use this head bolt thread "lube"?

  • Sponsors (?)


arp assembly lube is great stuff. if you dont want to pay for that I would dip the threads in clean engine oil. you wont get an accurate tq value without some sort of lubricant.
 
The lower bolts (closest to header) need sealant...use black permatex. The uppers need a moly lube or engine oil. Do not use loctite!

Do u have arp bolts or new stock bolts. You should not reuse the stock bolts.
 
Yes, it is critical to lube head bolts with some kind of lubricant, and like Rick said, the "outers" need sealant. Lube the threads AND the underside of the head. Your torque readings will be F'd if you skip this.
 
I have two sets of ARP head bolts (new).

I have ARP teflon thread sealer for the head bolts that go into the water jacket. I'm glad I found out I need to lube the bolt heads though to get an accurate torque reading.

The upper bolts I can just lube up with fresh motor oil? Or should I get something more legit? Can I use assembly lube?
 
For me, if I'm building a performance engine with ARP stuff, I'm going to make it a point to use ARP's lube. That said, I have used regular motor oil on other (stock, non performance) engines with regular stock head bolts.

Did the ARP hardware not come with a little packet of the lube? I thought they just came delivered with it.
 
Nic, Ive recieved some bolts lately that did not have the packets, I do not know of this is a change or not, I have the lube in a large container.

After having some failures with the ARP teflon sealer I switched to Permatex after talking to a tech there. I found the ARP threads to be very sharp and true, at times I have actually dulled them slightly with some emory cloth. I find most factory blocks to be not as tight or true and I have had issue with fluid coming up the treads and seeping....Permatex stops that. The tech told me to use the same TQ setting, Ive done this for years and no issues KNOCK ON WOOD.

You want to put the ARP moly based lube on any contact surface of the nut, washer, bolt or stud and the component so you get an actual torque reading. The ARP lube will give you proper bolt tq, I actually find the tq reading to be pretty damn right on when I measure with the stretch gauge on rod bolts :nice:
 
the last set of bolts I ordered didnt come with the lube either. The other kicker is that it was considered one of those things that are hazardous to ship so summit put it on a seperate order and drop shipped it like 2 weeks after I got the bolts.
 
. Be aware that the ARP bolts have a radiused shank under the bolt head. The ARP washers have a matching radius machined into them. Be sure that the machined radius of the washer is fitted next to the machined radius on the ARP bolt heads. Forget this little fact and you will never get the head bolts to torque down properly.

Coat the underside of all bolt heads with anti seize and the threads of the long bolts. I like NeverSeez that you can get from NAPA Auto Parts, it works great on just about any kind of threaded fastener you can find. The short bolts thread directly into the water jacket and need a different treatment. Use Teflon Pipe dope on the threads of the short head bolts. It will prevent any coolant seepage from around the threads. You can get the Teflon pipe dope from the hardware stores, Home Depot or Lowes.