Reusing Head bolts, and what my local dealer thinks

[RallyKeith]

I've read all the stuff on hear, and we've gone around on this board a few times on the topic of reusing the head bolts on the EJ motor. I'm in the middle of doing the heads on my 96 EJ25 and I asked the head mechanic at my local dealer what he thought on reusing the head bolts. He told me that Subaru had not instructed them to replace them, and as such had been reusing them. However, they (The dealership) are currently in the middle of discussing things with SOA are it looks like they are going to start replacing them as part of their head jobs. They have had a few cars where the head gaskets blew a few times. The final thing that fixed them was replacing the head bolts.

 

Keith

[tcspeer]

If I had any concern I would replace them, cheap peace of mind. Surely they dont cost to much.

[Adnan]

Hi,

 

My philosophy on these things: the toil and trouble to do a job as involved as a head gasket replacement is so high that there is no point in skimping on something like head bolts.

 

Head bolts, like any other bolt, have to stretch the right amount to do their job. Metal is not perfect and some degree of plastic deformation is inevitable. A bolt like that will not stretch the right amount and the result can be bolt failure or gasket leakage. Do you really want to do the job over again even if it's just a 10% probability of failure?

 

Of all the bolts in a car, the ones I would never reuse, no matter what the cost, are head bolts. Period.

 

IMHO,

Adnan

[nipper]

Never reuse head bolts. They are undr a lot of stress, many miles of heating and cooling. For the small cost of using nnew ones as opposed to not too, replace them.

 

nipper

[Gnuman]

with the procedure used on the head bolts (torque, release, touque, then tighten a number of degrees in two steps) there is no doubt that they should not be reused. This procedure is called "torque to yield" and deforms the bolt. If the specification was to a particular torque setting, then there may be some degree of question on whether to replace them. That is not the case with these engines. In particular on the EJ25, on which the head gaskets are a weak point, I would replace the head bolts. To do otherwise is just inviting trouble. Trouble has a habit of accepting invitations. . .

[Setright]

To do otherwise is just inviting trouble. Trouble has a habit of accepting invitations. . .

 

 

LOL

[Legacy777]

You don't need to replace them.

 

I contacted a dealer in the Seattle area I trust, and they NEVER replace the head bolts. I also contacted Emily at CCR regarding the head bolts, and she said I don't need replace the bolts either.

 

That was good enough for me. So I reused them.