Thread: Head Bolts

So as I am working on this DE I started reading the Chilton manual. It surprised me that it mentioned the head bolts as being torque to yield units that should be replaced if you remove the head. The only reason I say this is that there are hundreds of threads on here about doing head swaps and I have never seen anyone caution another member about making sure that they change head bolts.

They do give a maximum length specification to check against in the manual and I will check that but is it common practice to change the head bolts when swapping heads?

yes it is.

stratton.

they are very cheap relatively i almost always replace them, but sometimes i will reuse them i check the length, the only time i will reuse is when i tear down to refresh and i know i have minimal miles on the head bolts.

btw i also notice ve head bolts has more threads than de head bolts but they are interchangebale, but idk if ve head bolts are better

I'd replace them! Get GTI-R Bolts for the mains as well.

-G

OK. Thanks for the replies. Seems clear to me. DE head bolts are $59 from Fontana Nissan. ARP studs are $139 a couple of places that I have found. I think I am going to go with the ARP stud kit as that way I can remove the head and replace it. I have a couple of different combinations that I want to try so I think this will be the best in the long run. Thanks for the feedback.

People will say bad things about arp but I never had a problem with them so +1 on arp. Mazworx also makes a set but they are $$$$ but well worth it

Good call. Pay now save later.

unless you're planning on boost down the road, there's no gain in running the ARP studs. The OE bolts do the job just fine.

Also, I'd look around on that price. $59 is high, I pay around $30 for a set of OE Nissan head bolts.