2.9 Head Bolt Fix

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Branger2B said:

For all you poeple tired of those tourque to yeild bolts used on the 2.9L that have to be replaced at more than $50 a set every time you do the heads/head gaskets. try going to any place that you can get grade 8 nuts and bolts and find some 12mm metric bolts approx 4'' long and some hardend washers. they cost me $0.54 a bolt and they have worked great i have over 10,000 miles on the motor since this has been done with no problems. the best thing is if you ever need to do the head gaskets again they CAN be reused.. way cheaper than buying head bolts from ford every time. may be handy to have a stock bolt with you when you buy them so you make sure you got the right pitch.

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The first thing that came to mind when I read this thread, why are you having to change head gaskets so frequently? I would never do this, head bolts are special bolts, they're not $40 to just screw you over. I wouldn't do this, nor would I recommend anyone else to. If you only want to do something once, do it right the first time. I assume that you're assuming there are no problems, have you done any inspection to verify that? Grade 8 bolts are very brittle, I couldn't see them stretching very much... I've never delt with them contantly heating up and cooling off, but something tells me it's probably not going to be good. Right bolt for the wrong application, IMO.

Pete

Psychopete said:

The first thing that came to mind when I read this thread, why are you having to change head gaskets so frequently? I would never do this, head bolts are special bolts, they're not $40 to just screw you over. I wouldn't do this, nor would I recommend anyone else to. If you only want to do something once, do it right the first time. I assume that you're assuming there are no problems, have you done any inspection to verify that? Grade 8 bolts are very brittle, I couldn't see them stretching very much... I've never delt with them contantly heating up and cooling off, but something tells me it's probably not going to be good. Right bolt for the wrong application, IMO.

Pete

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Acually im not having a problem with changin head gaskets frequently. i have a 86 2.9l with the Tm86 crack prone head casting. i did the head gaskets 2 years ago then about 6 months ago the heads finally cracked. i now run 91 2.9l heads the improved ones. my truck is a budget dd/trail rig. i run the piss out of it every day i drive it, i shift every gear at redline, and as ive said i have over 10,000 miles on the motor since i did this with no problem. IMO the bolts are a good fix and work great, i never mentioned it to anyone last year wheni did this because i wanted to see if they would work over the long run, and they do. grade 8 bolts are stong, not brittle. grade 5 would be a different story, but if u use grade 8 its fine, they even work well for replacing the exhaust manifold bolts, because when you take the manifolds off with the grade8 bolts they NEVER break. think about that.

-Cody

i agree with psychopete. head bolts are specially designed bolts and shouldnt be replaced at the lowest bidder. grade 8 bolts ARE brittle, and repeated heating and cooling will only make it worse.

the proper way to eliminate the torque to yield head bolts is with a stud kit.

I have used grade 8 bolts for the head on a cavalier and it worked just fine for 50,000 miles until I sold the car. also had to drill and tap one of the holes in the camshaft on my 350 and I replaced all the bolts with grade 8 bolts....... that was 60,000 miles ago, still holding. I don't know if it was a good idea, but it worked at the time.

IIRC the last time I bought a gasket set for a 2.9L it came with the head bolts in it.

BDAB said:

I have used grade 8 bolts for the head on a cavalier and it worked just fine for 50,000 miles until I sold the car.

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Was it a 3.1L? I am amazed it lasted that long, considering the problems they already have with not blowing them.

So are you saying it failed after 50K and you sold it, or it still was working?

I'll stick to using head bolts, though. For the time, and the cost of doing this, it's just so much more worth it to do things right the first time. Especially if you're like me, and depend on your truck to get you to work daily.

I didn't say the bolts are not strong, but I can't feel when I've over tightened them (snap), where as a grade 2-3 bolt would bend before breaking and I'd be able to feel it. I am no Hee-man, either. You would have been laughing at me struggling with my front shocks yesterday.

Plus, I think most would agree with me, any technical information on this site should pertain to the proper way of doing things. Cutting corners might cost someone in the long run later on.

Pete

Edit:
Also, your engine isn't making any good power at redline. 10,000 isn't a lot of miles, either. I suppose what ever floats your boat...

WOW alot of critisism... I thought I was helping the average joe out with saving a few dollars, but i guess not, what i have done has worked perfect for me without any problems, as i said i run the bag off my lil 2.9L and i havent had any problems with these bolts.. you guys do what makes you happy, what i have done has worked fine for me so i will continue to do so until something happens. i will let you know if something happens, but so far they've been fine.

Have to agree with Psycopete, but Branger2B has some interesting info. I think over time they will blow the head gaskets quicker. Torque to yield bolts are used for a reason.

BDAB said:

I have used grade 8 bolts for the head on a cavalier and it worked just fine for 50,000 miles until I sold the car. also had to drill and tap one of the holes in the camshaft bolt on my 350 and I replaced all the bolts with grade 8 bolts....... that was 60,000 miles ago, still holding. I don't know if it was a good idea, but it worked at the time.

IIRC the last time I bought a gasket set for a 2.9L it came with the head bolts in it.

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Grade 8 bolts? Will that affect or, does that type of bolts brings some impact on the car?

Head bolts are engineered to STREACH at the desired torque. This streach keeps the head tightly attached to the block as the head gasket shrinks over time...Sort of like having a rubber band holding the head on the block.... So the effect is to have the same torque on the flattened gasket as there was on the new FAT gasket.

To use any other type of bolt is totally out of the question in my book. I'm sure that the grade 8 bolts will hold the gasket in place for an extended period of time...but LOOK OUT! One day they will all be too loose to hold the head tight enough to insure the gasket does it's job.
Big JIm