I installed the head bolts on my friends car according to the directions on ls1howto.com. All the head bolts bolted up fine but bolt number 7 on the drivers side seems to be a little springy. I dont know if this is safe or if I need to redo the head on that side??? I really need some help I need to get this car done today!! Can I unbolt that bolt after it has been tightened to spec? Will this blow a head gasket?? Someone HELP???

 

Pull the one out and check for junk in the threads. Or see if it was not threading properly. They are somethimes pretty tough to turn in cause of the loctite/sealer that Gm puts on them.

 

it would be much quicker to redo that side and make sure you have all the coolant out of those holes than it would be to crack the block or brake the bolt off.

 

all the bolts have already been torqued down to spec according to ls1howto.com ... just the #7 bolt on the drivers side feels springy while the others are solid ... usin felpro head bolts ... would it be possible to just remove that one bolt and check for gunk and reinstall? or does the entire head need to be redone? ... anyone ever had one of their bolts feel a little springy? btw all the holes were cleaned out, and compressed air was also used to get gunk out as well as with a paper towel until it came out clean.

 

BUMP, Someone know the answer??

 

If the bolt has been torqued to spec, including the different degree rotations it shouldn't be re-used. However, others have re-used them without issue, but the fundamental principle behind a TTY bolt is violated if it is reused after being already torqued to spec.

 

lets say I just pull that single bolt out can I do that or do all bolts have to come off the head?
cause I can pull that single bolt off the head and then replace that bolt with a new one, but if that will throw the torque on the heads off I dont want to just pull off one bolt.....???

 

you need to reclean that bolt hole. also lube it with a bit of motor oil to lessen the friction. a few people have been breaking them lately.

 

but do i need to pull all the bolts out or can i just pull the one out?

 

all of them. they should all be fine since you havent put any stress on them. studs would've been the way to go from the start though.

 

In all reality, you'd probalby be fine pulling out the old one and putting in a new one.

I have done it once w/no long term side effects.

 

Thanks for the help!!!

 

I don't condone or recommend the latter but it has worked. I did it out of desparity and it worked fine on a prior LS1 C5.

I later on replaced all of them out of paranoia. No issues ever, just did it for piece of mind.

 

so basically, takin out that one bolt, cleanin it and reusing it is out of the question? i need the car done tonight and i don't have a new head bolt to replace it with ... would i be better off just leavin it like it is?

 

help??

 

I wouldn't leave it like it is. If you can't get a all new bolts, I'd just pull the one that doesn't feel right clean out the threads and cross my fingers. You have already been told that the right way to do it is to pull all of the bolts, use new bolts and go through the torqueing procedure. You're asking: "what happens if I do it half assed?" No one is going to tell you exactly what will happen by not doing it the right way.

 

alright everyone thanks for your help, guess i'll be crossin my fingers ... let you know what happens

 

No one will tell you b/c no one can predict what may or may not happen.

 

well i took out the bolt, it was clean, bolt hole was clean, reinstalled it and now it's not springy anymore ... i have no idea what caused that, but seems good now ... gets fired up tomorrow so we'll see if it holds together then ... thanks to everyone that replied.

 

In this case, I don't think the bolt had a chance to even get sreached to its not-reusable point.