I gotta pull the heads on my LS1 next week and I have been ordering in all the parts I need. I get to looking at head bolts, and I see that after 14 years, I can only get $45 TTY factory type bolts or $170 ARP's.

Seriously? 14 years and no real options? I think if someone could sell good re-usable head bolts for $100 or less you could retire a millionare. Have I missed something here?

-Geoff

 

head bolts dont need to be thrown away because theyre low quality. theyre built to stretch when you install them. that makes them far less prone to coming loose, which is necessary in the application.

 

Just bite the bullet and get ARP studs. I know it hurts but you'll never have to buy new again.

And I too don't understand why some other bolt maker hasn't jumped in with reusable bolts/studs like ARP with a lower cost.

 

What's wrong with those options? Unless you're building for a lot of nitrous or boost, you really don't need the ARPs. Nothing wrong with the OEM stuff for most builds. And if you're building something that requires additional clamping force, $170 head bolts shouldn't be a concern. Not too many companies want to jump in to the cheap head bolt market on a TTY engine with deep aluminum threads in a limited production application.

Finally, the only company that would make a cheap bolt that you're looking for would offer less quality than the ARP stuff, and likely come from China.