Update: The shop debate over reusing head bolts on a 6.7 Powerstroke

Last week at the shop, we had a 2015 F-250 with a blown head gasket. The owner wanted to save cash and reuse the old head bolts. My lead mechanic, Dave, said he's done it a dozen times with no issues if the threads are clean. I argued that for a $30 set of new ones, it's cheap insurance against a comeback. We put the new bolts in, but now I'm curious. Has anyone here actually had a reused TTY bolt fail, or is it just shop lore?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly.jenny1mo ago

So Dave's never had one stretch and lose clamp load? That's wild. What's the longest a truck with reused bolts has gone for him?

paule531mo ago

Wait, you're telling me Dave has never seen a single bolt stretch? That's hard to believe. I've seen it happen more than once, @kelly.jenny. Bolts are made to stretch a little, but doing it over and over weakens them. The longest I heard one of his trucks go was maybe 80,000 miles before a major gasket leak. That's just pushing your luck.

the_oscar24d ago

Are we really acting like seeing a bolt stretch is some kind of major event? I've been around engines my whole life and I've seen bolts get reused way past what people say is safe, and they still hold fine. The whole "you better never reuse a head bolt" thing feels like something mechanics say to sell you new parts, not because it's always true. I mean, 80,000 miles before a gasket leak sounds pretty normal for a lot of trucks anyway, not some sign the bolts gave out.