Broke a rocker arm stud today.

[Derald Rice]

Was out driving and heard a rattle that seemed to be a piece of tin flopping around, but when I got home it was getting worse.

Turned out that one of the rocker arm studs had broken, and the noise that I heard was probably the pushrod hitting the inside of the valve cover......The broken stud is what came with the Edelbrock heads.

Found a spare stud, and it was the only part that was damaged......The rocker, pushrod, and poly lock were not damaged.....It is back together for the time being, but it will definitely need some attention soon.

I am thinking at the very least a set of ARP studs and maybe a stud girdle.......Now for the question .....

Are stud gridles just smoke and mirrors that are only beneficial to motors that live in the 7-9000rpm range, or can a street driven motor that is primarily in the 3-6000 range be a candidate for a stud girdle ???

Here is the photo just to show what it looked like when I lifted the valve cover

165805

[J R Jones]

Stating the obvious, that was a bad part or improper installation. Call Edelbrock (Holley?) and get their advice. They will likely suggest new studs and I would agree.
They say that is what girdles are for, and the plates may require unique studs to go with them. I don't have any before/after experiences.
jim

[rich grsc]

3/8" studs? When I built my engine is ordered upgraded 7/16" studs and better springs. The smaller studs can be iffy.

[Railroad]

Make sure the rocker arm slots are not bottoming out on the studs.
Probably not an issue.
Good luck,

[ggunter]

Stud Girdles offer rigidity to the entire rocker system by tying them all together. When I raced boats breaking studs was fairly common, till I put on stud girdles. Problem solved. Just have to have tall valve covers to make sure they fit under them.

[Derald Rice]

UPDATE: Talked to both Comp Cams and Edelbrock....and both of them seemed to think that a stud girdle was overkill for the situation, and that the 3/8 stud was adequate.

However, I know that I will be changing all of the studs, and I am considering going to a 7/16 stud.....Even though that will involve new rockers.

For now, it is running, but I know that the weak link is still there, so I will be doing something soon.