Sparkydog
Sparkydog HalfDork
1/13/21 10:01 a.m.

Hi, when I replaced my head gaskets on my 2003 GMC Safari I effed up and did not put sealant on the new TTY head bolts. (I "ass-u-me'd" that the red goop already on the threads was sealant.)

I have not run the engine yet and I want to recover from my mistake. I have ordered new head bolts. But I am lazy and rather than remove all the bolts and probably have to redo the intake manifold valley sealant - I'm wondering why I can't just remove each head bolt one at a time and replace with a new bolt w/sealant and torque to correct spec. I would follow the torque pattern when replacing each bolt.

Am I okay with this plan or cray-cray?

Thanks for your advice!

Sonic
Sonic UltraDork
1/13/21 10:05 a.m.

Yup, you sure can.  I used to have a Mercedes CLS63 with the big AMG M156 V8.  A known issue with these motors is that in about 5% of the motors the head bolts can snap off the bolt head and cause issues.  A known and regularly completed preemptive fix is to replace the bolts one at a time with a new style bolt.  I did this on my car and it worked out just fine, the car has been run hard for a year now with the new owner with no issues.  

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter)
Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
1/13/21 10:46 a.m.

I would have thought that was tread sealant too... But yeah, one at a time should be OK.

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