Head Bolts

[Z32man]

Hey guys, I have ready some posts that say never reuse the head bolts. I saw those posts so I went down the the Nissan dealership to orders some. I talked with the parts manager and he told me that Nissan does not recommend changing the head bolts on all Nissans, even 1991 Nissan 300zx. He said something about them not being torque to yield so they do not need to be replaced. Is this guy full of sh** or what?

Also, I just called a dealership across town and they told me the same thing.

[z32loverboy]

Even if they aren't torque to yield, I would still replace them. I think of it as replacing old, dirty shoes. The old shoes may not be broken or unusable but when you can replace them you're better off to. Old bolts have a tendency to weaken, no matter what they are. I'm not saying that they HAVE to be replaced but if you're that far in the motor it's better to go the extra little bit and replace them. I always replace the bolts when I pull the heads on anything. It's extra insurance that those will not fail and you won't have to do the job twice. That's my $.02.

[t.mcginley.jr]

Not going to comment on whether or not to replace them, but VG30DE (our engine) head bolts are in fact NOT torque-to-yield and can be reused. Not that long ago people swore up and down that they were, but there's plenty of evidence that they aren't, as those Nissan dealerships informed you. They aren't even the right shape to be considered TTY.