Military Vehicles, March 1997,: L-134 Jeep Head Studs

L-134 Jeep Head Studs

Jim Rice (jimrice@iamerica.net)
Sun, 02 Mar 1997 00:24:10 -0600

Has anyone out there had a problem with new production/reproduction
cylinder head studs breaking? I am rebuilding my Jeep engine and had to
have it bored which required the removal of the head studs. During the
removal, two studs broke and two more were badly gaulded (spelling?). I
purchased four replacement studs from a nationally know Military Vehicle
Parts Vendor (the company will remain unnamed unless they do not want to
"fix" the problem after I talk with them). When I installed the head, I
was very careful to torque the studs in the proper order to the
specified torque values of 60-65 ft-lbs. I used a Craftsman dial set
"clicker" type torque wrench so I could be assured of getting the right
torque. All was fine the evening I torqued the head down. The next
evening, I returned to work on the engine and found that two of the
replacement studs had broken while sitting overnight. Needless to say,
I am leary of these replacements and remove the two unbroken along with
the pieces of the broken ones. Removal of the broken pieces was quite
an ordeal. The were so hard, I could not get any drill bit to cut them.
I was finally able to use a Dremel tool and cut a slot in the top and
use a punch and hammer and then a screwdriver to remove them. At any
rate, they are out and I am not using the unbroken ones I received from
this vendor. Since my jeep is a mixture of MB and GPW parts, I am
looking to using bolts as Ford did instead of the Willys studs. What
grade of bolts is needed. I have grade five bolts readily available.
My question is, are they hard enough without being too brittle like the
studs I received?

The studs aren't the only problem I had with this vendor. His overhaul
gasket set did not have all the parts. It did not have a rear main seal
and the two rear main cap side seal (about the size on a pencil and slip
in between each side of the cap and the block and are then compressed by
the oil pan) were not the right size. They were much too small. Also,
the set had no oil pump gasket and about twelve gaskets that do not fit
anywhere on the engine.

Finally, I was quoted a specific price on my parts and had them shipped
COD to speed up the shipment and my receipt. The parts weren't shipped
for several days and then the price was more than I was quoted.
Fortunately, the secretary at the business where I have my parts shipped
simply paid the extra ($6) out of her pocket so I could get my parts.

Of course, since I had to pull the head to replace the broken studs, I
also had to buy a new head gasket. All told, I am about $40-$50 into
extra parts due to the poor quality of materials I received. I am
planning to contact this vendor next week and discuss the poor quality
of his supplies and see what corrective action he is planning to take.
If he makes good on the poor stuff, I will not post anything further
here, but if he doesn't want to make it right, I will post a warning on
the list so everyone else will know to steer clear of this fellow.

I also bought valves from this guy so I am worried about one of them
breaking due to poor materials, improper heat treating, etc.

I will keep everyone posted as to what happens. Thats for listening to
my frustrations. My engine should have already been reinstalled by now,
but thanks to all the hold ups, it will likely be another week or more
before I am back on the road.

Jim Rice
'43 GPW
'52 M38