Guest Ben81 Posted January 18, 2006 hello, i have just had a new head gasket and i was wondering if i should be taking it easy for a few miles.any advice would be great,the car is 205 1.9. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iety2004 0 Posted January 18, 2006 are supose to change the head bolts on these engines due to them being all aluminium? or am i miss taken? cheers gareth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hengti 2 Posted January 18, 2006 Head bolts should always be changed and come in the gasket kit Don't need to run in, as you've not renewed any reciprocating parts (ie. there is no new metal on metal contact, unlike with a bearing/cam etc) After having my mine done (with head skim), I found that the fuelling wasn't as before though - so might be worth keeping an eye on plug colour for a little while. Otherwise it's business as usual! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,003 Posted January 18, 2006 Head bolts should always be changed and come in the gasket kit Head bolts don't usually come in most head gasket sets, and for that matter, neither often do headgaskets themselves You're right though - headbolts should *always* be renewed as they're a stretch-once design. Believe me, the hassle involved with a snapped headbolt and the low cost of new ones (less than £15) means that it's not even worth considering reusing them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayCC 0 Posted January 19, 2006 I snapped a head bolt in my head once. I then proceeded to snap 6 drill bits and an eazy out in the snapped bolt. I had to take it to a machine shop to have it pro drilled out. took them day or so to do because of the snapped bits in there! I would always use new head bolts as anthony says Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonD6B 0 Posted January 19, 2006 If hexagonal head bolts are used the engine should be run to temperature then left to cool and have the head bolts retensioned. If you use Torx bolts this isn't necessary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ashlee205gti 1 Posted January 19, 2006 They only sell the Torx bolts anyway, dont they? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jshep205gti 3 Posted January 19, 2006 They only sell the Torx bolts anyway, dont they? No, I managed to get a set or 'normal' headed bolts the toher week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob_the_Sparky 9 Posted January 19, 2006 If hexagonal head bolts are used the engine should be run to temperature then left to cool and have the head bolts retensioned. If you use Torx bolts this isn't necessary. Has nothing to do with the head type, it has to do with whether you are using stretch bolts or not. Standard bolts are a stretch design and use a Torx bit. I presume you can get aftermarket bolts that are re-usable as they are not stretch type bolts (ARP?) so will need re-tensioning (just like in the good old days!). Be careful with Torx versus hex head generalisations as it may not always be true! Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug205rally 1 Posted January 19, 2006 No, I managed to get a set or 'normal' headed bolts the toher week. Sorry to hijack thread but where did you get the bolts from Cheers Simon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
