[mikelawson]

How would a steel stud out last a steel insert of the same size? Both are 5/8X11 thread, so the weakness is STILL and ALWAYS will be the aluminum block. I'm not sure why people struggle with this idea. I have seen failed timeserts, but in reality the steel timeserts are fine, it's the block that has failed since the timeserts external threads are still fine threaded. Studs or inserts are not the end all solution. I feel confident that 10 years from now these cars that I have repaired and others with studs will still have head gasket failures. The bolts may not fail, but the weakness is obviously the graphite gaskets. Graphite is easier to seal, but why has the industry moved to MLS gaskets,...... simple reliability. If the original setup lasts 10 years, if get another 10 years out of the gaskets, isn't it best to use the cheapest repair possible? A 98 Seville will be 21 years old by then and worth about 500.00, so it's best to save every penny possible. I would love to use studs and cometic mls gaskets, but that would add 400.00 to the repair, and doesn't make economic sense. I've offered this to several customers (Norms inserts with ARP head studs), but once I explain this to them, they always choose the factory setup.