'89S4 Head Bolts...Reuse or Replace?
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2023 6:12 pm
I am gathering parts for an engine-out head gasket job on my 1989 S4 5sp. The engine has 165k miles on it so its way overdue to have the gaskets checked. I'm pulling the engine so I can do the timing belt/water pump, motor mounts and other while-I'm-in-there goodies at the same time. I don't find a definitive answer in my searches on whether I can safely reuse the head bolts or if I need to budget an extra $1k or so for them. I gather a visual examination after removal doesn't tell you much.
I have fairly complete maintenance records for the last 80k miles and the engine has never been touched except for peripherals like TB/WP, cam gears, top end reseal, air conditioning, etc. so I am certain that the heads have never been off and the bolts never reused.
What does the brain trust think? New bolts are going to about double my costs on this job so is the insurance worth it? I expect I am going to find a lot of other things will need to be replaced anyway once the teardown has started and that $1k for bolts will be useful if I don't need them.
I have fairly complete maintenance records for the last 80k miles and the engine has never been touched except for peripherals like TB/WP, cam gears, top end reseal, air conditioning, etc. so I am certain that the heads have never been off and the bolts never reused.
What does the brain trust think? New bolts are going to about double my costs on this job so is the insurance worth it? I expect I am going to find a lot of other things will need to be replaced anyway once the teardown has started and that $1k for bolts will be useful if I don't need them.