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Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:00 pm

Sorry if this has already been answered but I find that the forum search is like drinking from a fire hose. I'm starting to torque the head nuts on my 1600 single port and I can see that the top two studs are not making it through the head by the time I get 7 lbs/ft on the rest of them. I'm working with a used case that I acquired. Why is this and what do I do about it?

Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:08 pm

The studs may have been inserted too deep in the case. Pull the head and double nut the studs to pull them out. Re-insert and make sure there is enough thread in the case,then see if the problem corrects itself.

Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:17 pm

My understanding on the 1600 cases is that there are two style studs. One is thinner, 8mm vs 10mm. The older 10mm ones often pulled out of the cases. A device was inserted into the case called a case saver to avoid studs pulling. Normally the threads on the case saver, and the stud are coated with some kind of thread sealer to prevent oil from leaking out thru the stud threads.

You might want to do a little more investigation in this area and compare it to what you have before you go further.

Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:29 pm

You need the right studs for the heads you're running. The two upper-middle head studs are a shorter length on dual-port engines, on single-port engines the four upper studs are all the same.

I've never *seen* a single-port engine with 8MM head studs, but I'm sure they're out there.

Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:30 pm

Single or dual port?, same heads that came with the case or different?, any modifications to the stroke?

Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:14 pm

With the pushrod tubes removed will the studs stick up through the heads?

Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:34 pm

What you're saying makes sense;the case was probably married to a dual port head in a former life. The top inside studs are 155mm while the rest are 190mm. They measure 9mm. No they're too short even w/o the push rods tubes in. So I guess the solution is apparent I'll need to replace them with longer studs. I think if they were screwed too far in I would have noticed that when mating the case halves.

Thu Oct 08, 2015 7:50 am

tristessa wrote: You need the right studs for the heads you're running. The two upper-middle head studs are a shorter length on dual-port engines, on single-port engines the four upper studs are all the same.

I've never *seen* a single-port engine with 8MM head studs, but I'm sure they're out there.

This is it. I had the same issue with my engine build. My case supplier didn't even know this when he sold it to me.

And tristessa, they do indeed exist. I've already got one, and it's very nice.

Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:40 pm

Hi. The studs cant really screw in too far, as they will bottom out. Don't know where you are at but I should have plenty of the 10mm dia studs, and poss the 8mm studs. Let me know.
If you are using single port heads, all upper studs are the same length and all lower studs are the same length.
If you do have the smaller 8mm studs be aware there were some inferior stud kits out there and they were not of a genuine vw quality.
Bill.

Fri Oct 09, 2015 9:08 pm

Thank you all for your help. I'm in Salmon, ID;not the end of the world but you can see it from here. I appreciate your offer and if I don't hear from my guy before he goes off to LA tomorrow on a parts selling spree, I might take you up on it as he will be gone for two weeks.