reused head bolts at 74lbs

[americanjebus]

when i did my hg change back to the oem hg the mechanic that helped me do it said to just reuse the old ones and i said to make sure we torqued it to the 74lb mark ATLEAST. so we did, well now i keep having this ice chip in my heart that tells me that wasnt a good idea.
how much torque will they keep they only had like 65k miles on them should i tear down and recheck, i'm asking cus its my daily driver and i'd have to tear down whole top end to recheck.

 

[GrimJack]

You should be fine. The widely accepted number is 72, and stock ones can be reused as long as they aren't over torqued. The extra 2 foot pounds won't make a difference.

 

[MK3_300]

Just don't reuse them again after you torqued them down that far....they can stretch. You should be fine this time around

 

[flubyux2]

right. theoretically, stock bolts torqued down to the stock rating would never reach their plastic limit. this means they can be reused up to their plastic limit, but thats all. after 72 lb/ft, its theorized that the stock head bolts wont return to their original shape/length and will never have the same clamp-load capacity as un-stretched bolts... hence the reason for non-reusery.

 

[americanjebus]

sweetness. thnx guys