2006 Tacoma 4.0 V6 what head bolts to use

Hi, I have a bad head gasket on my 2006 Tacoma 4.0 V6, 211,000 miles.
Buying OEM head gasket kit, not sure on the replacement head bolts. OEM bolts are over $200 and there are aftermarket options like Felpro that are $60. Anyone have experience with using aftermarket head bolts, what brands are good, which ones to stay away from.

Any tips for doing this head gasket replacement job? Thanks

 

I'd at least price ARP

 

I’d spend the money on OE personally.

 

https://www.lceperformance.com/Pro-...jJygv3u5Eb8aMzHUCB1HCKxoW84oV7ElLlq-Adlf4OxCI

 

I’m currently in progress of the HG repair and using these as many others have. I know @zguy1 and I believe @MonkeyProof used felpro no issues

 

I would recommend buying the gasket kit from here…cheapest by far. If you are doing the timing components you can purchase them all from partsouq for about 400 vs >1k at the dealership

 

I used Felpro when I did mine 3 years ago. OEM were on back order and I couldn’t wait for them to arrive. It’s been about 40k miles and still going strong. I created a thread here when I did mine that you could reference for the job itself. I tried to document the steps, tools and things that I did when I took this on.

 

I think I also used Felpro bolts. I cant recall exactly. They are single use bolts, you torque them to their yield point.

I DO recommend getting a QUALITY socket for the head bolts. Think theyre a torx or a triple square. Just buy it from snap-on. I think it's like 60$

And then X2 on getting a headgasket kit from a Dealer. I bought mine from Royal South, a dealer in Bloomington, IN

 

Before I did my headgaskets, I watched this video probably 6 times. Took notes, and labeled everything once it was off the truck. Ziplock bags are your friend!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIbeoMpGxEc&t=1312s

 

The head bolt tool is a 10mm bi-hex tool. It is not a triple square. They are not the same. I used the CTA 9292 tool from

$15 CTA Tools 9292 Head Bolt Wrench, 10mm - Compatible with Toyota

Amazon with no issues. Make sure the head bolts holes are cleaned out with no fluid or oil in them. Make sure the tool is fully seated before attempting to remove any bolts. You could spend more money on a similar tool from Snap On. Your call of course.

 

Ooops, I might've used triple square on mine then. OP, strive to be better than the rest of us.

 

Here's a link to the Head gasket kit that I used:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303692312516

Also recommend getting a new timing chain, guides, tensioner etc. Think I sourced a Cloyes kit from RockAuto. Does your truck need a new water pump? This headgasket job is a good opportunity to replace a bunch of other stuff while you've got everything apart. I did all this work back in early 2021, so it's been a few years.

 

OP, I imported OEM head bolts and a bunch of other OEM engine stuff a couple months back.
At the time the OEM were only about $2 each or so but see that, like a lot of other things have gone up considerably as of late:
https://www.amayama.com/en/part/toyota/9091002162

 

As mentioned I used FelPro Head Bolts. Its been over 3 years now I believe and no issues.
There was one odd Head Bolt that was in the FelPro box making the correct quantity not right, so I got one OEM Toyota Head Bolt from the dealership and couldn't tell the difference between the two.

 

They are actually a 10mm double hex 12pt bit