im away to stage 3 my cossie,at the same time im going to change the headgasket for a group a item,is it a hard job to do?theres nothing wrong with the gasket thats on,its possibly a group a gasket but its piece of mind.also im fitting a stud and nut kit,anything to watch out for with these?as for the rest of the stage 3 kit is that easy to do?(green injectors,map sensor,t34,044 fuel pump)my mechanic pal is going to solder in the chip for me.

 

what cossie what 2wd or 4x4?dont solder the chips in the plug in fella!

 

Std headbolts will be fine on that conversion don't waste your money

Make sure u rewire the fuel pump circuit

Paul

 

Lee get a ybp small turbo escos gasket from matt lewis cheaper than a grp a and just as good

cheeRS stu

 

+ 1 .

 

agreed i would use standard head bolts too

 

have all the bits already,arp stud and nut kit from america was only Ł70,i have everything except a bailey breather fiting kit.its a 2wd 1990 sapphire.think im just going to go for it myself this weekend!

 

std headbolts! definately not the arps unless you want the possibily of a cracked block

 

are you changing the turbo to a T34 as well?

if your chaning to a stud and nut kit, you'd better do the head gasket while you are there

i've been told the small turbo Escos headgaskets are as good as grp a ones, but i have had no experience of this personally

Opinions differ with the ARP stud and nut kits, i used a kit with no problems at all, but you must make sure you clean out the stud holes extreamly well. It might be worth running a tap down them and get very very clean.

with the nuts; tighten them on the studs; leave for a period; undo and re-tighten and repeat again - use the manufactures tightening torques (cant remember what they are with oil 80+nm or something like that)

i was extra careful with mine as i heard a few horror stories, so i done them up; drove the car around for a week or so and then re-checked them

everything else is a piece of piss

the chips are plug in, so no need to solder, and its worth getting a decent chip for your spec

get a crank breather system put in, as quite frankfully the standard one is shite

make sure you re-wire the fuel pump for a direct feed from the battery; again; a monkey could do it

Matt

 

Rewire your fuel pump and fan circuit too.
As for tightening the head down with arp's, before fitting the head, measure the depth of each hole and make sure the stud is not going to bottom out before it is down on the shoulder, which is on each stud, you may well have to cut a few mm off some of these, ford tolerances are all over the place with regard to hole depth.
Always clean out holes with tap, that is greased, and wipe clean after each hole, then a scredriver down each hole to get hardened crap/oil out of the bottom of the hole.
Fit head, and torque up, leave at least 2 hours and torque again,(no need to undo), I torque mine to 120 lb ft after leaving overnight as gasket will loosen.
Other stuff as said is easy, just be sure to use a smear of sealant under front cam caps as they leak out the join otherwise, and on half moons, with cometic inlet.rc gasket.
tabetha

 

You won't regret it lee,i'll take you in mine next time we're at the dundee meet m8.

 

yeah,i have a t34 with a .43 housing,a motorsport developments chip,uprated fuel pump,new -31 actuator,3 bar map sensor,group a headgasket set,green injectors,alloy crank pulley,bailey turbo damper,bailey breather tank and arp stud and nut kit.
do you rewire the fuel pump back to the ecu or relay?

 

 

Although the above is labelld double throw, it isn't it is a changeover relay, you can use one of these no problem, or the more common spst, single pole single throw relay, it just won't have the 87a terminal, just the 87, and others.
Make sure you also beef up the earth, ideally to the battery direct.
Do not solder but crimp connections, properly.
tabetha

 

Bolox, i have a set ,they have been in 5 years and i have no problem ,i run a good strong 340 bhp and have changed the hg a couple of times ,nowt wrong with a stud kit imho

 

Its quite true infact arps have been known to crack blocks FACT, i was put off using them for my new engine by Karl at NMS, so sold them at a loss
Andy Fisher and Karl rate the standard headbolts so thats quite alright with me

 

imo i would not use the stud nut kit fella

 

my pal just put a set into his cossie with no problems.ill make sure the threads are cleaned and measured.if the block breaks ill get a 200 block.

 

if fitted incorrectly and without care and attention IMO

i ran a strong stage 3 350-370hp saff and had no problems with the stud and nut kit at all

but having said that i agree standard head bolts are perfectly happy at this level

 

I Thought I Read Somewhere They Were Recommended For This Power Level So Thats Why I Have Bought Them,i Would Rather Do Them Now Than After I Blow A Gasket.got My Alloy Pulley And The Headbolts Arrived Today,after I Paid Gordon Brown Ł13.22 In Vat Since They Come In From America.i Hate This Country Sometimes,taxed When You Earn,taxed When You Spend.thay Must Make A Fortune Off Of Joe Public Spending Their Hard Earned On Things That Make Them More Content In Life.i Hate The Thought Of My Money Going To Pay For Thieving Junkies To Get Methadone And Prams For Their Soon To Be Junkie Kids,or Fighting Unwinnable Wars.rant Over.

 

as standard head bolts are stretch bolts at around 22-25psi dont they stretch and course the gasket to blow???

 

ive also heard this and ive also been told by a few big names ( wont mention any names) in the cosworth scene that a standard 4x4 head gasket is also the same as a grp a iteam

 

just to go off topic for a minute, i think it is amazing that you have managed to use capital letters on all the words that dont need it and missed them on ones that do

 

 

 

ive currently got a t4 at 2.2 bar 32 to 33 psi and standard bolts worked perfect few flat out runs aint broke it yet.

 

i ran my old saphy at 420bhp(flywheel), peaking at 32psi holding 28/29psi for nearly a year on standard head gasket and standard bolts with no problems at all, only took it apart to check it over cause the engine was out anyhow

 

got in in bits now,all looks ok.going with the studs as i have them now,as for the capital letters its the computer that decides if its a capital or not.but when im writing i do put them in the wrong places.

 

my head gaskets gone and trying to sort it out,was thinking of group a again ?

 

hope you get it sorted soon 155lee

 

got it in bits,done the stem seals and had the head chemical cleaned.needs a light skim i think,going to my pals garage tomorrow with it as it needs 2 broken studs drilled out of the exhaust manifold side.im trying to find out the thickness of a standard head.the only measurement i can find is 139 mm.can anybody confirm or deny this?

 

139mm is factory standard

 

Been running a group A on mine and its been spot on with 28-30 psi of boost.