Debate with me - should you always replace head bolts or can you reuse them on a low-mileage engine?

I watched a guy in Boise reuse head bolts on a 2015 Toyota with 40k miles and I think he's right, but everyone says to always toss them, so who's actually correct here?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethg1812d ago

Oh man, that's such a grey area and I totally get why people disagree! I heard from a reputable tech who said he's reused torque-to-yield bolts on engines with under 50k miles and never had a failure, but then I also read somewhere that one of the big bolt manufacturers actually tested used bolts and found some had already stretched unevenly even at moderate mileage. So my take is if the bolts are the old-school non-stretch type (like on some older Hondas or Chevy small blocks), sure, reuse them all day. But on modern TTY bolts from a Toyota or pretty much any car after 2010, I'd swap them just to be safe because the $30 is cheap insurance against a head gasket job later, you know?

nancy52412d ago

@elizabethg18 Totally agree, I reused ARP bolts on a low-mileage 350 and it's been fine for years.