Bolts to studs for the mains.

[dfarr67]

Not going to ague what is proper procedure- it's spelled out.....BUT....what's the experience out there changing bolts to studs engine in car with a seasoned block without line honing?

[Bigchief632]

It will run. It's not proper, and the clearance and housing bore will change. But it seems you have your mind made up.

[PackardV8]

It will run. It's not proper, and the clearance and housing bore will change. But it seems you have your mind made up.

His seasoned block has already changed if it has been run hard since it was last line honed/bored.

[modok]

it depends on what it is.

[amc fan]

AMC 390-401 blocks have been done. They use Mopar LA/BB ARP studs. Caps are very Stoudt. They make curly chips when machined. Guy, I know with a Pro charged Street 69 AMX did it & it's still together for a couple years & runs 8.85 in the quarter with a glide and goes to Sunday cruises in the summer.
But it is an AMC 401 engine block.
I would test a block like the one you are going to do on a stand or table with bolts and check the size with a dial bore gauge then put in studs one at a time and measure again.
Are the people on this forum seeing .0005-.001 difference from bolts to studs on mains?
How close are their main bore sizes? Are all the main bores perfectly round and within .0001? With no taper front to back of the block or in the center main.
I have been in shops where they had to spin the block around on the line hone to chase taper on one of the ends.
The mandrels are long with a lot of shoes and stones and no matter how carefully you stroke after a while you get a little taper. Doing a lot of V6 blocks in the mix messes with the mandrel.
Then you have Aluminum block steel caps, cast iron block steel caps, cast iron block aluminum caps, cast iron block with cast /nodular caps.

[dfarr67]

it depends on what it is.

22R, 30k km on rebuild- was built for turbo app, have no idea why original owner never spec'e stud's (I stud everything I can- just because). I won't do it- just wondered what/if the experience is out there.

[rebelrouser]

As mentioned, the studs will screw deeper into the block, and spec a little more tightening torque, so it will most likely change the main bore slightly. Having said that I have did it many times with no problems. First the registers on the main caps have to fit tight. Second, I have to have it apart, if I torque down the mains and I can spin the crankshaft with one finger all is good to go. And I use an easy process, simply start torquing the mains one at a time, spin the crabnk after torques each main cap, usually you will feel the crank getting easier to rotate with each main, if it does not then it will need to be line honed. I also use a round straight edge, to check for warpage of the main saddles before assembly as well.

[modok]

I'd give 70% chance of being in spec with the arp main studs.
The main housings on these engines are generally quite stable.
And you don't need to torque them to the max spec anyway, just fine to split the difference.

[In-Tech]

Agreed, not much changes in most housing bores. Always best to check 2 and 10, both sides if you can. Run a couple tenths loose other wise

[KnightEngines]

Plastiguage with bolts, then again with studs, if there is not much difference & the crank spins free by hand you'll probably get away with it.