reuse head bolts?

thestallionx · Jun 16, 2008

i am swaping heads and i was told by someone that i CANNOT reuse my head bolts. is this true?

5.0Droptop · Jun 16, 2008

You can reuse ARP bolts. OEM style bolts are throw aways.

Ike83 · Jun 16, 2008

5.0Droptop said:
You can reuse ARP bolts. OEM style bolts are throw aways.

stykthyn · Jun 16, 2008

unless you plan on taking the heads off alot and can justify the added cost of ARP, just buy replacement stockers.

tw3aK · Jun 16, 2008

a fullset of ARP's are cheap. 42 bux. Well worth it. I learned my lesson trying to reuse stockers w/ only 8k miles on them. Cracked 1 with barely any pressure.

stykthyn · Jun 16, 2008

tw3aK said:
a fullset of ARP's are cheap. 42 bux. Well worth it. I learned my lesson trying to reuse stockers w/ only 8k miles on them. Cracked 1 with barely any pressure.

are you talking just the head bolts or a kit that has the head and header bolts with it?

DRock9 · Jun 16, 2008

Get ARP studs they are the best.

v8only · Jun 16, 2008

head bolts are re useable. However, in 92 or 93, they changed to torque to yield. If you have a 92+, I would replace them....anything older, and you're generally fine.

Fast63 · Jun 16, 2008

v8only said:
head bolts are re useable. However, in 92 or 93, they changed to torque to yield. If you have a 92+, I would replace them....anything older, and you're generally fine.

ANY stock head bolt sucks. Sure, it's possible to have them work out ok, but 75% of the time I have reused stock head bolts, even "good" ones, ended up with stretched/broken bolts and head gasket problems.

39.88 for ARP's in summit, I have never seen stock head bolts for even that cheap.

So long story short? Yes, you CAN reuse head bolts, but for 40 bucks you are making a HUGE insurance mistake.

tw3aK · Jun 16, 2008

stykthyn said:
are you talking just the head bolts or a kit that has the head and header bolts with it?

Just the head bolts. You can buy the header bolts separate or reuse your old ones. good luck man.

1995greenstang · Jun 18, 2008

i reused my head bolts no problems just another ploy for ford and aftermarket companies to make more money

89streetbeast · Jun 18, 2008

1995greenstang said:
i reused my head bolts no problems just another ploy for ford and aftermarket companies to make more money

yup. when i redone the topend on the 89 i reused the old headbolts. 25K miles of 150 shot of nitrous every weekend and never had any headgasket problems. must of been a freak motor

86bluecobra · Jun 19, 2008

We have all reused them. Probably not really supposed to. that might just be propaganda spewed from bolt manufactures to up sales but....... really if you can afford it buy new ones. I have seen people have issues when they reused bolts and lots that have got away with it. its up to you.

Fast63 · Jun 19, 2008

1995greenstang said:
i reused my head bolts no problems just another ploy for ford and aftermarket companies to make more money

Just because you have been one of the lucky ones where your stock head bolts worked out for you doesn't mean you can make a statement that new and better bolts are a ploy for ford and aftermarket companies to make more money.

Do some searches for how many people have had broken stock bolts or stretched ones, or people who had several head gaskets fail to find out replacing their bolts fixed the issue. You will find many people with the problem.

Then search anyone who had any issues with ARP bolts, I bet you would come up with zero or less.

4G-KDMP · Jun 19, 2008

^^^
I guess you'll need to add me to one of the few who have reused the OE bolts and never had a problem then.

86bluecobra said:
We have all reused them. Probably not really supposed to. that might just be propaganda spewed from bolt manufactures to up sales but....... really if you can afford it buy new ones. I have seen people have issues when they reused bolts and lots that have got away with it. its up to you.

Exactly what I'm saying.

BK_CAULEY · Jun 19, 2008

i have reused the same bolts more than once just lucky i guess

Cobra912 · Jun 19, 2008

I'm still tryin to figure out why someone would suggest to use the stock head bolts when a set of ARP are so cheap.cheap peace of mind if you ask me..........from the research I've done the risk factor of stretched / weakened head bolts is worth the 40 bucks for insurance. And if you aren't running boost there is no need for studs.

You are switching heads? to what? remember if you are using 351 heads you'll probably need integral washers / bushings to run the 1/2 bolt holes.

Maryland Stang · Jun 20, 2008

It says in the 2007 FRPP catalog that you can reuse TTY bolts 3 times. I did reuse one on my HCI project but only because it was a special stud bolt. The rest of mine are ARP.

satanas · Jun 20, 2008

Ive used my stock bolts for about 2 or three times never had a problem, Had i blown gasket but it was mainly going to happen. Had my car sitting for two months and did four hard passes with the supercharger.. head gasket blew drove it home about 5 minutes away. Re used stock bolts been great since then

85_SS_302_Coupe · Jun 20, 2008

I've done it in a pinch and it worked out ok...just inspect the bolts and make sure they're all the same length (not stretched) and unless you're running high RPM or boost or something you should be ok, but it's a good idea to get new.

reuse head bolts?

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