Tigerstripe40

Chasing the threads helps clean corrosion and other stuff off of the threads.
The reason you cut a slot into one of the hold head bolts is so that the stuff you are cleaning out has somewhere to go. After I got my block back from the machine shop, I chased the threads, and you would not BELIEVE how much crud I pulled out of the threads. After chasing, squirt soem brake clean into the holes, then blow it out with some compressed air.

You should NEVER reuse 3VZ head bolts, especially the OEM ones, as they are stretch to yield. Some say the new 10.5 epn bolts sold by some vendors are reusable. A set of head bolts is $30-50 through some vendors, such as engnbldr. When you are doing head gaskets, you might as well spend the money for new head bolts IMHO.

maxpower_hd

I would also invest in some six point sockets rather than 12 point.

snap-on

6 point sockets dont fit well over 12 point head bolts....

(i see your one to have actually taken them off before)

make shure you lube your new head bolts with some engine oil (i suppose anti-sieze would work) but the FSM calls for motor oil.

Ghostpilot

fyi when I blew a HG after 107K I fixed it on the cheep. Reused the OEM bolts and restreched um. Sure I could have replaced everything, but it seems to work just fine. I did splurge alittle and replaced the valve seals and reshimed the clearances. PITA but I had the time. The top of # 1 was pretty chewed up from the gasket armor that gave out so I didn't want to spend alot and not do the bottom end too. Anyway, old bolts still work good so far. And she runs like new.

thook

I'll thank you now, CJM....thank you!!! Great investment....even the wife thinks so. (Decided it best to hang to them)

Now, Tigerstripe40....in which way do you put a "slot" in the chaser bolt? Perpendicular along the threads? (Hmmm...that can't be right) And I assume use a dremmel?

I've spent probably a year (lost count) trying to get this vehicle running right...with a lot of help from the good folks here...and an over tightened valve, which has led to a burnt exhaust valve, has the been the problem all along. In this time I have heard a lot and learned a lot. Back when I learned about head bolts and such, the dealership has said they've reused the "torque to yield" head bolts in the recalls. Time after time I've been encouraged to replace them with new ones since the fellow that rebuilt this motor had reused them when he rebuilt this motor. But, I didn't want to pull the motor down just do that. Now that I HAVE to have the heads off I'm replacing them with new ones (from engnbldr) since I bought the whole kit and really would like to be on the safe side. Why not? Head bolts ARE cheaper than rebuilding heads. And the job is definitely a big one!
BTW, this nerd..moi!... only thought the new ones I got were hex heads when they are in fact 12 point....der . They looked like hex's on the ebay ad, but I actually only opened the box yesterday to have a look see. So, if I only had to have one 12 point handy, it would be for this. One thing I do not understand is why they would use a torx head on something that is on that tight. They just seem to be prone to stripping easier than a hex. ????? So, with that in mind, thanks anyway for the tip maxpower_hd. If hex sockets and torx sockets were interchangeable for applications, I would STILL only have hex's....lol! And I do have a bunch of 'em already.

Anyway...on reusing TTY head bolts...something occurred to me. If these suckers stretch after their first use (and probably unevenly at that), wouldn't this mean that, in a way, any further use gives you somewhat of an inaccurate torque reading? Despite that, though, a trusted mechanic has told me that the actual torque reading isn't so important as getting them all torqued evenly. How true is that? I know he didn't mean only torque them down to 4lbs or something so lose, but atleast somewhere close to spec. I asked him about this because I'm not sure how accurate my torque wrench is. It has a needle gauge and I found it in a heep o'junk someone was throwing away. Hey, it was free! Why not?

OH! And CJM, have you actually used anti-seize on head bolts and gone back to pull them later? I do know the stuff works on other things....like sparkplugs. The FSM says to do a number of things a certain way, but there have almost always been alternatives in my experience. But, hell, I don't know...motor oil or never seize?

Chuki

I rounded off a headbolt on mine too. in the end what worked was a 7/16th 12pnt 1/2inch drive socket, I just beat that sucker on there and it came right off....

Those craftsman bolt outs didn't work at all, they in actuallity just shaved the heads off to a more even round. I took them back.

thook

Congrats, Chuki! I tried hammering an 11mm 12pnt, but it would not go down....even with a 3lb shop hammer.
I hadn't tried the craftsman set. I used a different brand. So, there may be some difference in the way they work. I used a 1/2in "Irwin Bolt Grip". It's tapered in so it just keeps cutting into the bolt head as you crank it down. Is the craftsman like that?