I have a blown head gasket and i was wanting to put studs and a stock gasket back in it this a good idea or no? Money is tight so o-rings and all that other fancy stuff is prolly not gonna happen. Would this work with my mods?

 

get the orings done now... while you have it apart.... then when you have the money add the studs.... thats my advice

 

with out the studs wont i just keep blowing the gasket? what exactly do the o-rings do? how much does it cost to get it done any idea?

 

Its your call but I agree with mainer. I would get the orings installed now and do the studs later just to save the re and re of the head twice. It is in your best intrest to have a reputable shop do the orings, if they are done wrong it will be a nightmare. However a marine gasket with studs will probably hold the power level your at if you keep your timing at a reasonable level, but are you planning on adding more power? I think PDR charges around $300 to oring a head.

 

I think you would be ok with just a marine head gasket and studs if you are somewhat done with mods atleast for a while. There are plenty of 500hp+ trucks just running studs without o-rings. I am holding what I have now fine with my studs torqued to 127 lb. ft. Knock on wood.

 

I know a guy that put down 625 hp on orings, marine gasket, and stock head bolts

 

I'd o-ring the head now and save up for studs later. That way when you get the studs and install them you will have a head that you will never have to worry about again.

 

ok what exactly do the o-rings do? Also what's the difference between a marine gasket and a stock gasket?

i know i know

 

oh yea and anyone know a good place to get the o-rings done in central mo?

 

97ramctd:

I ran 12mm studs with a stock headgasket on my 1996 Dodge CTD for 98,000 miles with no problems whatsoever! At the time I was at about 475-480 RWHP.

A shop I would recommend to you is "Forest City Diesel" in St. James, Mo.
It is owned by DTR Member Keith Livingstone and he is a banner advertiser here on DTR. He is real close to Rolla, Mo.

Hope this helps you some.

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John_P

 

so many oppinions and still i dunno what to do