Cylinder head bolts reuse

I have had some Toyota techs tell me that is B.S. to get you to buy more stuff...

Advice is great, which doesn't mean it shouldn't be scrutinized. Most times it passes the scrutiny, sometimes it don't...

 

Please tell us where these "techs" work so I know what shop to AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Seriously man, you were given the specs to measure the old bolts. The Toyota engineers wrote the FSM, not the corporate bean counters. As another said, ignore at your peril.

 

different advice has been given by different people in this thread. while some have advised getting new, check the perfectly well reasoned answer by #landphil towards the beginning of the thread.

 

http://www.lceperformance.com/Pro-Head-Stud-Set-1GR-4-0L-V6-p/1024062.htm

As much as I am for the aftermarket for our engines, you would be safest with OEM bolts in my opinion. As the ARP studs have a more involved installation process than the one bolts.

 

You're fine reusing the bolts. Torque to spec. Wash your hands. Call it a day.

 

It happens to brand new as well. 2001-2005 Honda Civic. Why don't you see many on the road anymore? All blew the head gaskets due to overheating. Why did they all overheat? The torque spec. value on all the head bolts were too low straight from the factory.

The only ones you see out on the road now are the ones who caught on early enough to catch the impending issue to fix it in time. Or spent their candy money fixing it after it blew up and left them on the side of the road.

New bolts or not, the issue is moot.

 

Inspection is key with anything. On something as vital as headbolts I would inspect them quite well before I am comfortable reusing them. As long as they don't look FUBARED and look ready to give another go I'll reuse them.

 

Ahh.. okay I see what you are saying. I was referring more to headbolts and your statement of this nightmare is why I am reluctant to ever buy a used vehicle. I thought you were saying that only because of the great debate of reusing bolts or not. Lol. I get you now.

 

The Tacoma engine line all use TTY (torque-to-yeild) head bolts. When properly torqued these head bolts microscopically stretch. The purpose of using TTY bolts is that it gives you a more accurate clamping force on the head gasket, unlike the older style where you simply tightened them to a specific torque and went on your way. By using TTY bolts and using toque angle settings, your clamp force is almost exact across the entire cylinder head.

That being said, I would NEVER in my life take the chance of reusing a bolt when a complete replacement set can be bought for usually less than $50. That is like buying a water pump and saying that since the gasket didn't tear, I'm going to reuse it, and risk blowing and engine because a $2 gasket failed. You see, this is EXACTLY where an automotive shop cuts corners, and then a couple weeks or months down the road your engine blows, and you get all pissed at them for doing a piss poor job. By all means, go ahead and reuse the bolts if you want to. And sure, maybe you will be one of the lucky ones and you won't have a problem. But do you REALLY want to risk it on the engine of your truck?

As for the answers to the other questions:
Do not use ANY lubricant or antiseize on a head bolt. (edit this to no antisieze, lightly coat bolt threads with engine oil)
Don't lubricate the washers. It is not needed.
Clean all bolt holes with a thread cleaner brush and leave the bolt holes dry.
Torque spec and sequence depend on the engine. Assuming you are building the 4.0 V6 you will have the following:









Torque specification is each bolt in the above sequence first to 27 lbs-ft, then go back and tighten each one again in sequence 180º. After that is done you can then install the two smaller front head bolts and torque them to 22 lbs-ft with no further tightening required.

 

Lmao. Always got a wise guy comment Christian. They were the shit model which was all plastic. I don't think anyone liked their look much. Even less when they blew up, which only justified their means to get a different car alltogether and scrapping it instead of fixing it.

 

If i reused the bolts i would drive around wondering if my head gasket is gonna blow. It would just be something to worry about

 

I worked with them a lot through the years. I saw all of their fallacies which is why I know their failure patterns. Lol.

 

Never reuse tty bolts. Alway replace them unless you want to replace your head gasket again. Those bolts were made tty for a reason, they will stretch and if you reusing them they will not give the right amount of torque in microscopic. I don't know about the 4.0 but I assume it's the same as the 3.4, I alway put a little bit of motor oil on the treads and washer before torquing them.

 

Why would you post that when the FSM specifies to lubricate lightly with clean engine oil?


A lot of posters in this thread clearly do NOT understand the difference between a TTY bolt and a bolts tightened with a torque/turn sequence. TTY bolts should NEVER be reused, the fact that Toyota gives an inspection process for the head bolts rather than insisting they be replaced means they are not TTY bolts.

 

I did not see anything in the service manual about that. Typically you are not supposed to use any lubricating oil on a TTY bolt because if you do not use the same amount of lubrication, you can throw off clamping force. The service manual that I have says nothing about lubricating the bolts. So I am not sure why the FSM says that. Would be interesting to research that information for sure. As for the bolts being TTY or not, you can tell a TTY bolt by the unthreaded shaft section. The Tacoma head bolts have a slightly thinner middle section between the upper shank, and the threaded portion. This is the identifier that these bolts are TTY bolts. If the unthreaded shank was a uniform diameter from the head to the threaded section, then they would be standard bolts.

 

I went back and checked the service manual. It does actually state to apply a light coat of clean engine oil to the threads. This is the first time I have seen this, as when you read the TTY bolt manual it says that you shouldn't apply any form of lubrication. I am guessing then that Toyota has taken into account the variation in torque when applying oil to the bolts when they engineered the torque specifications. This is the first time I have seen that.

 

I wouldn't reuse the bolts even if I used a stretch gauge to check the measurements. To OP, you waste all your time and money to tear into the engine and then.... reuse vital hardware that is cheaply available brand new. I mean you don't have to buy ARP head studs but at least buy new parts but whatever man, if your engine gets damaged down the road, so be it. We told you so. I've been wrenching for 20+ yrs and I'll never reuse head bolts. I rather do it right the first time.

 

Lol spends $ and time rebuilding engine but won't spend less the $100.00 on proper hardware. I'm assuming this isn't the only corner that you've decided to cut on this rebuild.

Good luck with your motor.

I remember when I was 16 and had to rebuild a 1600 vw engine, took 3 times until I got it right. Hopefully you'll just need once, maybe twice.