ericknight

About to replace blown head gasket on a 2.8. Are the head bolts reuseable, or do I need to buy new ones? Anyone here ever reused them and not had any problems?

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

they can be re-used , would i do it ? NO!!! it's cheap insurance . they can be re-used but 1 or more may break/fail & you have more problems . you could have them checked/tested but that would cost more than new ones . do it once , do it right . good luck

Project 3.4 Camaro

What he said.
And don't buy those cheapass gaskets that GM uses, get completely metal ones, that's probably why you have to replace them to begin with, like mine, they look like crap, the embossments around the coolant holes are barely even there anymore, its no wonder the thing has water all through the oil....

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Use FelPro HS8699PT2 head gaskets and a FelPro MS93020 intake gasket set... That will hold you for a long time (couldn't stand those el-cheapo whatever-they're-made-of factory or cheap replacement gaskets I got stuck replacing a year after I got the engine). Yes, you can reuse your head bolts (I have about 40-45K on my reused head bolts now and I rev the engine high a LOT, but I will be replacing the bolts with the hybrid swap), or you can get a set for more than what the replacement gaskets cost. And, do yourself a favor and replace both head gaskets at the same time, or you'll be removing everything again real quick to do this again.

:edit: Also, don't buy the NAPA head bolt kit. It contains 14 long bolts and 2 short ones. Which doesn't help, seeing as how our engines need 8 of each. I know this because it was the only place I could get them at the time and I somehow broke one of the short ones removing it.

Apeiron

Head bolts can be reused with no problems, just chase the threads to be sure you're getting an accurate torque reading. New ones are reasonably cheap, though.

AM91Camaro_RS

Yeah, I've re-used them different times without problems.

ericknight

I've rebuilt several engines before and always reused the head bolts, except once. Cleaned them good with a wire wheel and chased the threads in the block, used sealant on the ones that went into the water jacket and never had any break, engines held together fine. The one time I didn't reuse them was on an old flathead tractor engine that was ran for years with straight water as the coolant. The bolts rusted to the block and about half of them broke when I removed the head. Anybody know how much a set of head bolts for a 2.8 would cost? I know the GM part number for the bolts is 476543 (the long ones) and 476572 (the short ones), and the they are 11mm.

Apeiron

Should be aound $30.

oil pan 4

iTrader: (1)

You can reuse bolts as long as they are not Torque To Yeald (TTY).
How do you know if the original bolts are TTY? The stock bolts wont have a retorque value. If factory bolts are torqued to say 20ftlb then 50ftlb then a 90degree turn then they are TTY.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

In that case, my 3.1 has TTY bolts but I reused them anyways. 40 Ft/Lbs plus 90*... And yes, I checked them for "necking".

Project 3.4 Camaro

You guys have me seriously contemplating throwing my new heads on with the bolts they came up with, they look to be in pretty decent shape....and I have major financial issues atm and can't spend money on my car for at least a month if not 2 or 3 At least then I'd be making progress again and not come to a dead stop =/

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Just make sure to check each one to make sure all the threads touch a flat surface, say, a metal ruler or something. If the threads in the middle don't touch the surface but the ones on the ends do, the bolt(s) have stretched ("necked") and you will need new ones.

Project 3.4 Camaro

K, guess I'll do it then...I just need some decent weather, PA weather is bleh...And I don't have a garage, I have to walk like 1500 ft down a steep hill to my car sitting in the grass on a hill each day, and power tools or jackstands aren't an option because of that location. Nor can I move it to a better one. Now that's dedication, I've even done some work through the winter, cept atm It has 2 ft of snow on top of and surrounding it.
But as soon as I get the thing to start it's trading places with my buick in the parking lot.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Yep, snowed for the last 2 days here and the weather isn't looking good for the rest of the week. Of course. I just got the case plugs I need to replace the one that came out of the shift rail hole in my T5, you know, so I don't lose any more ATF. Guess I'll have to work in the cold garage again. Good news is that the ground is frozen and I can use my work light and compressor (not that I need the compressor, but...)

Project 3.4 Camaro

You know what the worst part is? My grandma has a 2 car garage with 1 car in it, and my mom still has the old house with no one in it that has a garage and a shed that could be converted into one. But both of them are 2 hours away which makes working on it there impractical unless I could get away for a week at a time to be able to buy and order things as needed, which I can't, hence current situation...

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Yep. I see your dilemma there. The thing I hate about my garage is that there is so much crap in there one can hardly move with a car in it, and that it's the middle of winter, the door is stuck open (old garage with horizontally sliding door) and there's no way to heat the work space. I wish I was working in a shop... I might get a chance to work in there once in a while.

But we need to get back on topic...

Project 3.4 Camaro

Vertical door and a space heater.

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

headbolts are cheap, always use new ones in a TTY application like ours.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Well, when you need to replace your head gasket (only the pass side one was leaking compression, and yes, I did both at the same time) so you can drive the 30 miles to work every day and you've spent everything you've earned just on the gaskets and other stuff you need to do the job, the bolts become a luxury you can't afford.

Which is why I'm going to replace them with the 3100 heads.

Project 3.4 Camaro

Or when in the span of a month the following occurs(bear in mind crappy paychecks, and no savings): hood release cable on DD breaks and can't open hood, VERY NEXT DAY, car cranks 3x and stops, guess what, dead battery *%($So you have to get it towed, because its cold as ***** out and you don't want to F*** with it yourself in the cold. $300 repair.
Then you blow a brake line $90. Then you rear end someone because of crappy weather and being too broke to fix brakes because of the last repair .(I can drive without brakes, I can drive in snow/ice/slush, I CAN NOT do both at the same time....) ~$200 to fix. You have to get your car inspected in a month and know that it needs a new tire and the front end damage at very least to pass. Your rent($440) is 13 days late and you're absolutely broke, your car insurance bill and internet bill are 1 and 2 months late respectively $170. Last but not least, you find out your bank is going to screw you with $200 of overcharge fees which is BS because you had money in your account. Oh, and I make $800 on a GOOD month.
And people wonder why I'm so jaded......

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

I guess those are good enough excuses.. lol


I've reused them on my old 355 a few times, i just never trusted the TTY ones for more than one use. The last thing i wanted was a headbolt broken off in the block. I've got a bucket of used ones, i was using them on my flowbench to hold down heads and on my transmission stand when taking apart the FWD trannies.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

Yep... same here. Except I haven't had a good month since last April or May, and Sallie Mae is killing me. Can't wait to get this done now that I have some money to spend and I'll be able to have some down time on the car soon.

Guess I have to add head bolts to the list... Keep forgetting those.

86ttopbird

I would NOT cut corners here. Buy new head bolts, they are reasonable. The reason i say this is because when the bolts are torqued down, they stretch. Once they are stretched, and you try and torque them again, they will twist ever so slightly, giving you a bad torque reading or worse, not enough force to hold the head gasket down properly. This usually results in another blown head gasket. as involved as this job is, you really only want to do it once. Make sure you chase the bolt holes with the right size tap or you wont be able to accurately torque the bolts down. Again buy a head bolt set and save yourself some possible headaches down the road.

92camarorv6

hay
Purple82TA i love your cam man

project89

iTrader: (1)

reuse them put an additional 15* on the final tourqe, i have reused headbolts on my turbo motors with no issues whatsoever

Project 3.4 Camaro

Slightly off topic, but I decided to go and get new head bolts today since I got a new job, but should they be installed with lubricant or no?
Also, are aftermarket bolts TTY typically or no? I got fel pro ones for what that's worth.

zeb87

TTY head bolts shouldn't be lubricated. friction is needed between the threads to set the proper torque. if you lube them you'll probably over torque the bolts.

89-bird

I just went and checked in both my Haynes and Chilton and the 2.8 stock head bolts are not TTY . 3.1 and up are TTY . So if you have a hybrid and it came with head bolts buy new ones , if it is a stock 3.1 buy new ones , and if it is a stock 2.8 reuse the old bolts if they are in good shape and you chase the block holes .