New Head Bolts? or No?
 

Gunna be slapping on new TFS heads... the stock heads on the car have never been off... so I guess they've only been torque down once, at the factory... can I reuse the bolts ... I mean.. I know it's allways a safe bet to replace them... but this is more out of curiousity...

-as

have never had a problem re-using head bolts..

I have reused the stock headbolts a few times. It was not on a high hp motor or anything but I had no problems. I wouold get a nice set of ARP studs. You can reuse them and get a better torque reading. Almost forgot, use the moly lobe it helps allot.:)

so I guess I can just reuse the stock ones.. it's going to be a daily driver with TFS heads... dont plan on beating it too hard... plus it's an AOD, so it wont shift past 5000 anyway... for now...

I plan to use some antiseize since it's going into aluminum.. that sound like the right plan of action?

-as

Sounds good but I still recomend a set of studs. With aluminum heads you want to make sure that you get a even clamping force on all the bolts to prevent any warpage. Studs will keep it almost exact with the moly lube. Tighten from the inside out in increments of 15ftlbs till the uppers hit 80ftlbs and the lowers 75ftlbs. Also use thread sealer where they go in the block.:o

I see alot of "re-use" comments, i would'nt.

when i got my gt-40's i asked the same question, and looked up some old post about this, needless to say, i read too many stories about blown head gaskets, so i would just spend the 40-50 $, and get the arp's.

Anyway i torqued all of mine (irons) to 80ft lbs, all the way around, i used permatex thread sealer on the lowers, has been running good so far.

The head bolts are torque-to-yeild, which means they stretch to achieve the proper torque rating. Using them a second time will resrot in a inaccurate torque reading, it might not be much, but it would just be piece of mind to replace them.

I think 50 bucks for new head bolts is not much at all to ensure that you have no problems! Especially since you have just dished out the cash for Alum heads. Do it right the first time, this is not a place to be cheap.

Don't re-use. I took off my stock heads one time after about 80K. I had a bolt actually break apart while torquing it back down. Luckily it broke outside the head when I just started tightening it so I was able to take it out without any drama.

If you are gonna spend $1000 on a new set of heads, then don't skimp on the head bolts. Spend the $40 and have good peace of mind.

I've got a set of 7/16" ARP head studs and Edelbrock reducing washers for sale. I switched to an R302 block so I don't need the 7/16" stuff any more. Follow the URL in my sig and check out the FOR SALE section.

I have ARP studs,I would NOT re use the stock head bolts unless you hate your new heads....