The Rusty Gear

Like it says, I had the HG done, but the bolts were not replaced. From what I've heard, this is common. If the bolts were torqued properly, this means that I should be fine ie under normal driving I should not blow the gasket again for another 160k?

roger

I personally wouldn't recommend it, but it seems as though a lot of people have gotten away with it. IMO why risk having to do it all over again to save a few bucks on new bolts?

Anyway, just make sure you retorque them when the time comes (usually 500-1k miles).

TRunner

I did not replace them on the full rebuild, but I did make sure they went back to the same location. From what the haynes repair manual claimed, you shouldn't replace them. I asked a mechanic about this and he said the same thing because the the threads already work together fine so why risk putting in a different thread? Seemed logical enough for me.

nfenwick

From what I understand Toyota does not advise reusing the head bolts. According to what I was told by Toyota the their bolts stretch when they are torqued down and should not be reused. Again this was what I was told by the Toyota Tech that did my head gasket recall work.

SoCal4Running

The bolts are Torque to yield, basically when you torque a bolt you are actually stretching it alittle. A torque to yield bolt will only stretch once with a reliable and consistant reading on the torque wrench. They should not be reused although I have seen it done before on motors with no problems.

runnerboy97

wow, this is a good thread. i just got in from working on my 3.0, i am replacing the heads cause one was cracked. i got one of the new heads on using the old bolts, but i didnt put them back in the same holes they were previously in. i think after raeading this i am going to go get new head bolts. my question is, will i be able to reuse the new head gasket i just put on, but have already compressed? or do i need to get another gasket for that side.

superjoe83

get the loosening sequence, and replace one at a time, this way shouldn't hurt anything

runnerboy97

good idea, the reason i definatly want to replace the bolts is casue this truck appears to have had the heads off at least once before, as they were not factory head gaskets on there.

SLC Punk

I have never re-used head bolts. I just talked to my friend, who is a ford mechanic and he said that he just replaces the gasket (not the bolts) and it is fine. He has done this on his 12 sec DSM, Turbo Miata and his old supercharged 5.0 Mustang. None of them had any problems.

When I got the HG replaced on my Celica at the dealership, I asked if they were going to put in new HG bolts, they said no. It made me feel uneasy, especially on a F/I engine, so I bought ARP head studs and had them install those instead.

roger

Having rebuilt a few motors in my garage, I always thought replacing the head bolts was standard operating procedure. I just assumed everybody did it as a matter of course. But I'm no crack mechanic either.

I would still do it, no matter what someone else told me. Like I said, why risk it?

SoCal4Running

Dont you always use a tap clean and restore the threads in the block? If there is debris in the threads or burs to hang up on you will never get a proper torque reading on the bolts and they might not actually be tight.

runnerboy97

geez those are some expensive bolts, i asked my mechanic buddy and they are $90. that is after he cuts me a break. i dont even want to know what the dealership charges for a new set of head bolts.

HondaTec521

$170.00 -I just ordered a set .But he gave me a discount b/c i spent over $900 on parts from them.(got 'em for $120)

TRunner

As stated in the haynes manual:
Tap and chase all threads and then hit with compressed air (always wear safety glasses) or a vacuum.

I can't tell you how many times I read that, but yeah I would highly suggest doing that.

Fahrenheit 451

`A whole lot cheaper than having to redo the headgasket.
Speaking of "A whole"s, the "a whole" mechanic that did the first headgasket on my '85 4Runner (note the word FIRST) thought there was a problem with the studs on my LCE motor that caused some problems. So, being an idiot I bought a set of bolts to replace the studs before contacting the company. The ARP studs were fine. The mechanic was wrong, twice. First he was wrong that there was something was wrong with the studs, next he was wrong when he torqued the studs to bolt specs. That headgasket lasted less than 50 miles and cost me another headgasket
Anyway, I wound up with an unused set of bolts that fit '85-95 22re. I did a quick check and they weigh in around 3 1/12 to 4lbs in the box and shipping to you would be $7.20 first class or $9.45 priority mail. LMK if you want them and you can have them for $50 and shipping. That should leave you enough $ for some pizza and beer while you put them in.
A one-time offer to a fellow Yotatecher in mild distress