Working on a Camry today, and my mechanic friend told me the bolts needed to be replaced (on re-assembly) because they stretch or something.

Is this the case with ours too?

 

Never reuse head bolts, ever...Always replace with new bolts.

 

+1

 

fasho. What he said.

 

What, you guys don't know about the head bolt shrink tool???

 

I disagree. Some bolt CAN be reused but not the ones on the vg/ve. Headbolts are cheap so I too would replace them but technicaly speaking there are many out there that do not need to be.

 

I'll replace them, but it's strange how the FSM doesn't have the X symbol that indicates Replace during re-assembly.

Do you know if I must get them from Nissan, or if I get the specs on the bolt pitch and dia and head, can I just order them myself, even though the portion of threading on the bolt may not be equal to the OEM bolts?

Meaning, there are standard lengths of partial threading on the bolts - but Nissan many times has their own length of threading.

 

not sure...whenever I am pulling a head on any motor I either buy from the dealer or ebay. I always get the set designed for my app. I do not recommend own measurements and trying to figure out what kind of bolt it is. Good luck

 

In a case where an aftermarket head bolt manufacturer supplies a small pouch of anti-seize or grease with their bolts, should one discard the lube supplied with those bolts and follow the torque and motor oil lube method found in the Nissan FSM?

 

The VG bolts are not stretch bolts I reused mine!

 

I've thought about that CMax. Where is your source of information by the way?

I still cant figure out if they are TTY or not.

 

if your not building a race engine.. just reuse them.. VGs have way to may head studs anyways.

 

Here's a good joke for you guys. Dealership wants $280.80 for the complete head bolts set.

 

The manual never mentioned them as being torque to yield bolts (TTY) as they did with the rod bolts. One time use! I never seen a head bolt snapped off on a VG...I saw this all the time on Nap-Z's Nissan 4 cylinder engines.

 

On my current motor Ive reused my head bolts twice, so far. Then again I've only been running 17psi (300whp+) for 40k.

 

I called a dealer today in Toronto and one of the parts managers said they are not TTY and he's never had a customer order headbolts for the VG in years, possibly ever he said (but then again any rebuilder likely wouldn't buy OEM bolts as they are offered aftermarket).. Then I called another dealer and one of the service guys told me that they aren't TTY but because of the age of the bolts, if he were doing the repair at the dealer, they would replace them. He claims that they wouldn't risk screwing up the whole repair over the bolts because they are so old. The total cost of all the gaskets and labor to re-replace if it leaked is so large he said it's not worth the risk.

So I'll have to come to a decision - I certainly wouldn't order them from Nissan at that price, but there are aftermarket suppliers in the US that offer them around 70.00 bucks US. I'm going to inspect them when I take them out, look at the threads, and measure their lengths to see if they are distorted in any way. If they check out i'll probably re-use them and just risk it.

 

If you're just doing an OE rebuild and the engine wasn't overheated or severely damaged to warrant the rebuild, then I'd just reuse them. If the engine was damaged somehow and you've got to have the heads worked to repair, then I wouldn't think about using those bolts again. just replace.

Also look at some aftermarket stuff if you really want to replace them. I saw ARP head stud kits for the VG30DE for about $100. Look around and you can probably find one for the VG30E as well.

 

Cool - I'll have to get the block and head assessed by the machinist. By the way, when you pay a machine shop to do a valve job & re-ring, does it typically include that inspection step where they check the block walls for cracking or whatever? What do they use some sort of microscope probe that goes in like a snake & light to 'look around'?

Check out this site I found online. They have them.

http://headbolts.com/

 

They normal hot soak the engine (cast iron blocks only) visually and dimensionally inspect. Resize if necessary (Not many Japanese build even have a ridge worn into the cylinder walls) You can have your bottom end along with the flywheel/pressure/crank pulley balanced as I did. They will deglaze the cylinder walls, check your rods for straightness, align hone your main journals, resurface the deck, replace all your freeze plugs, debur your block, cylinders and radius cut all threads, etc....Unless all you ask for is the resize the cylinders which will need new pistons! Other than that your can save alot of money and time with a rebuilt shortblock with a warranty!
Or if you wanna do something to learn more....and save only money, not time! Do it yourself. You can tear it down and dimensionally inspect it yourself. If it's within the limits simply hone your cylinders with the honing tool (black *****) and plenty of oil and an electric drill! Clean all the residue and rering and install new rod and main bearing while all it of cousre checking all those dimensions as per the overhaul spec's!