if u change your headgasket... changing to arp studs would be a good idea no?

 

ARP hardware is always a good idea, the money spent will be about the same if you buy new head bolts to replace the old stretched ones.

 

Yes but, there are no ARP studs to be found locally and even though I know I'll have to change the gasket again when I install those studs I'd rather have the peace of mind now. I can't wait another 10 days (while I buy the studs and wait for them to get here) to fix this.

 

Rafa depending on how many times your head has been off the motor your stock head bolts might be stretched out. I'm not saying you need ARP fastners, because you don't. But if your stock bolts are stretched out, which they are designed to do, then they will need to be replaced. The stock bolts are not meant to be reused over and over like the ARPs. So if you replace your headgasket and continue to have problems that will most likely. Also, if your head needs resurfacing you will end up having problems with that as well. Hopefully you can get it checked for straighness and pray it's close enough if you don't have a machinist locally.

 

Rafa, sorry to read about your troubles, i hope you get it all straightend out fast so you can enjoy your car in that warm dominican weather while we all hibernate, lol
gl

 

A couple of things;

1- would the 323 GTX head bolts fit?
2- About the resurfacing; I take it there are some good machinists locally so I wouldn't expect to face too many problems. I went with Cristian to have another guy's crank balanced and I was impressed with the different machinery he has. My question is: do you still think I would face issues with the head later on? Would you recommend I start looking for a replacement?

Dan, thanks. I followed your thread about the encounter with the brothas'. No comments. BTW, keep me updated on the clutchnet deal.

Thanks,

Rafa

 

Not sure if the 323 gtx headbolts will fit, you would have to do that comparison on your own.
If you end up using old bolts that could possibly be stretched then they won't torque correctly and that could cause another failed head gasket.
If your head is a little warped, which is very well could be considering how bad your coolant burning is via the head gasket. It's common for heads to need resurfaced after a failed head gasket. A resurface and new bolts will guarantee that everything will stay torqued and not leak if installed appropriately.
You won't need a replacement head, you just need to make sure the one you have is flat. A head resurfacing is a very common practice for machine shops using a face mill and machinists straight edge to verify trueness.

 

so long as it is the same 1.6 or 1.8 i think it would work