Has anyone had any experience with re-using old head bolts and it being a bad thing? I have heard about people re-using their old bolts and the head gaskets blowing again within a month.

I know you should replace stretch-bolts if that's what the car had, but are there any other kind? This is for a 91 Camry, 3SFE. I had a Toyota tech tell me i could reuse them but I wanted some more opinions first. thanks.

 

I've re-used bolts before with no problems (on a 4G63), but really I put head bolts in the same category with stuff like clutch throwout bearings; you can re-use them, but as cheap as they are new, I'd replace them for the piece of mind.

 

Man, just like anyone else would tell you, over time headbolts can stretch or fatigue. So generally when rebuilding or swapping, whatever, you should replace them because it'd be hard to identify if they have warped or fatigued at all.

I have re-used headbolts on stock motors that didn't have a lot of miles or abuse on them, but I compared them to fresh bolts and cleaned them up pretty good first.

They dont cost that much brand new so its one of those things you shouldn't skimp on and just get em new.

 

Most OEM head bolts should be replaced. Aftermarket (ARP, etc) can usually be reused a few times. If your car has a lot of mileage (which I'm thinking is the case on a 91 Camry) then I would get some new bolts, especially if you've had a head gasket failure. New bolts are cheap insurance if nothing else.

 

they shouldnt be to expensive so i think you should get new ones instead of having a bigger problem ..

 

well, heres the thing. I replaced the head gasket last month, and the head was warped, so I had to change the head. I put new head bolts on it when I did that, so these dont have any miles on them. I guess I can just re-use these. Thanks for the help.