If you can turn a stud with your hand and no tools to 60lb/ft, you sir are more than a man.

 

Meh, I can do that with my glutes.

 

Does "the juice" count as a tool?

 

Juice!!! don't make me rage on you.

 

So is it possible to get a ranking of the top four choices for HG and then for fasteners? For those of us looking to do this job in the near future. It helps when everyone says this is better than this and so on but putting a ranking together in one post would be useful for searches in the future. Yes we know the list is somewhat subjective.

 

^^this^^

 

Well I can't recall anyone testing to see which is the best. I have Elring or Victor Reinz, whichever it is still works!

 

ranking list will still be subjective. like the ads that say "4 out of 5 doctors...." all depends on who you ask.
the only thing that is certain is new ones that are not leaking are better than ones that do leak and any stats, that can be compiled. stick to trusted brands.
better to ask "what to stay away from?" imo

 

Okay lets make this as constructive as we can,

Which brands have everyone seen to be trusted HG brands?


Which brands have everyone seen to be ones to stay away from (non trusted)?


Which STY should people be able to trust if they choose to go that route, knowing this is probably a much harder one to answer, lets leave the discussion to installs that have worked and continue to work for sometime. Lets not talk about STY failures because that could cloud the discussion.

 

Many people opt for Reinz gaskets, so they would be probly at the top of the list. That said, Cometic is world renowned for bulletproof gaskets, so they are at least comparable. But due to the expense and I believe they only recently became available, I don't know that anyone is running Cometics.

About the bolts, DiscoMike, who was a Rover service manager for years, used to recommend any American made STY bolts.