I pulled my head last weekend to toy with them. Should I replace the head bolts with new ones when I put it back togeher or use the old ones?

Also, Whats a rough idea on the cost of a 3 angle valve job ???

Thanks

Neal

 

I always install new head bolts whenever the heads are installed.

I don't know if you have to or not, but I like to be safe and not do the job again. You can get some GM head bolts for about $50.

Vic

 

I prefer the ARP 12pt head bolts over GM...

And yes.. replace them

 

Opinions are like... And here's mine. Personally, I don't see any reason to replace the head bolts on a simple one time head R&R. If the heads have been on and off a number of times, if you have greatly elevated cylinder pressure, if this is a fresh HP engine, then it wouldn't be a bad idea. I forgot to notice the year or engine model involved, here. For any later model engine with "torque to yield" head bolts, you just about HAVE to change them.

How much for a three angle valve job? Anywhere from free to $1000.00. Take the heads to a machine shop. No way to tell by "remote control", the condition of the head castings, valve seats, valves, valve guides, springs, or any number other items that may need to be addressed.

 

When I was calling around different engine shops to get prices on a rebuild, a 3 angle was anywhere from $100-$200. I'm sure they would charge you extra to actually take the valves out, so you might want to go ahead and get new valves while you're at it. :cheers:

 

new bolts is a good idea. Hold bolts are subjected to a lot of heat, causing possible warping. What this means is...If you use a "mutated" bolt, your seal on the head gasket will be far less then ideal. Go with new ones :cheers:

 

New ones are cheap insurance in my opinion. If they were ARP's, I wouldn't worry about reusing them a couple of times. But stock ones I am not too sure about.
Tony

 

When I had my heads ported, I bought the GM bolts from Scoggin-Dickey. You can buy them individually for a total of about $40 but they sell the complete kit for about $25.

The stock GM head bolts are TTY or Torque to yield. The manual does not say you can or can not reuse the old bolts, which is strange.
When properly installed, they stretch a little to give a more even force accross the entire head. The proper method per the Helm manual is to torque all the bolts to something like 20 ft lbs, then crank them an additional 80 degrees (68 degrees for the short bolts) using a torque angle guage.
You must use thread sealant since the bolts go into the water jackets to prevent leaks. The GM bolts already have the sealant on the threads, so you do not have to add any.

After using the stock TTY bolts, I think they were a big pain in the butt. Some bolts seems to take more torque than others to achieve the proper angle. Seems like a good theory but bad in practice. If I had to do it again, I would get the ARP head bolts for about $50 and torque everything to 65 ft lbs. in 3 stages.

As for the 3 angle valve job, I had my heads ported a local shop recommended by the dyno shop. Since they don't do this kind of work, they who does. Check out my head porting story on my web site in my signature.