Studs got too short

I've finally collected all the pieces to put my 201 (wd ish) back together. Got the lower end all done, torqued the head studs into the block, went to put the head on, and the head covers most of the stud. Barely enough thread left to put a nut on, much less the washer. Any one else run into this before? Are the studs supposed to be left loose? Nothings changed, same block, same studs, same head. This one's kinda got me scratching my head. I must be missing something, hopefully someone can tell me what i'm doing wrong.

The engine i'm working on has never been apart before, been in the family since new. The head is exactly three inches thick, same as the head on my wc. Althought i cant guarantee the head on the wc is right.

did you put the stud's in the block with the shorter set of threads into the block or the longer set. Makes a big difference as to how much stud is sticking out.

powertech84 wrote: I guess i'll have to break out the ruler and the loctite. Kinda seems like its defeating the point of a stud, but whatever it takes i guess. Thanks. Cant put them in upside down, threads are different.

Not too long ago, I reassembled a friends WD that was acquired in various buckets. Pulled all the studs to check deck flatness before putting on a fresh head. Had to double-nut AND use a "helper" pipe wrench to get some out

Reasonable ASSumption was to reverse process and double-nut again to run them down. Luckily for friend, I noticed that the studs were cutting new metal as I wound them down - trying to get them seated.

Here's the upshot: Studs meant to seated with torque will have either a shoulder, or a bottom in the threaded bore.

The studs are NOT shouldered, several places on the WD engine the threading goes right through into the water jacket, and the others are deep-bored. The studs are harder than the cast iron and will joyfully act as a shouldering tap, removng and spreading the cast iron as they continue to wind their way down.

You are on the right path - pull studs, run in loose, set head and measure the height to get nut & washer on - then use Loctite thread locker to get & keep correct height.

Additional: Studs and bolts tend to "pull" material up around the threaded hole, so a practice often recommended is to use a counter bore ( thing with a 45 degree cutter) or a large drill bit to "relieve" the pooched up metal. Even if there isn't any excess now, cutting that slight relief at the top of the hole helps prevent future stress cracks.

I am sure no such thing was done during manufacture, and that engine runs only a fraction of the stress a modern engine sees, but heck, its only time, and on our own stuff, we can invest a little more against the "what ifs".