To whoever said get the head stud kit. Bad idea if you are doing an in-car head swap. To my knowledge the shock towers are too close together on the LT1 engine bay to allow you to put the heads on with studs already installed, or to remove them for that matter. If its an in-car job its best to just use the ARP bolts. Anything serious enough to require studs is going to be pulled when it gets worked on anyway.

 

Exactly Of course if they're torque to yield or look bad replace 'em, but otherwise why not use 'em again. They'll do the exact same job as brand new ones.

 

It can be done, the passenger side is no fun (it never was to start with), but it can be done. Honestly though I've never had a problem with stocker bolts, and for $20 some bucks that is a pretty good deal. If your looking at big power though, feel free to get some 'insurance' with something nicer.

 

IFAIK all 93-on LT-1's are torque to yeild. Mine had the same hex size as all the older small blocks I have ever worked on, except for captive washers. They cleaned up fine, looked fine, and didn't work. I had been told that the early LT-1's did not use TTY. That info was wrong. On this board I got the straight goods from some smart people with real experience. I bought new ones.
I don't know what you will be looking for - how will a visual inspection reveal the yielding that has taken place in the crystal lattice of the bolt? What does cleaning have to do with it? Torque to yeild get tossed in the can, and my info is that they are all TTY.

 

most annoying sig evvvvvvvvar

 

Well your info is wrong.

96 and higher went to TTY, that's why you see two different torque methods for the LT1s

 

Agreed! and way to long

 

Well, my car was JUST fixed TODAY and I reused the same head bolts.

BUT, I bought NEW head bolts and had them torqued down. A problem arose with my heads and I had to take one back off. Since I hadn't heated the car up (turned the engine over) since I installed the bolts, they were very much reusable.

Trey even reused a head gasket 3 times, but I wouldn't go that far. I think its safe to reuse them, but thats up to you in the end. Is it better to spend $40 now or $400 later?

 

the **** i did
say that to my $180 credit card bill

 

AMEN!!!!! Some of us dont enjoy shoveling cash at our cars, when the original pieces perform just as well. Unless you force feed lot-o-boost or gallons of juice you probably dont have to worry too much about streching you head bolts. egh?

 

and then there is those of us who are stubborn and hard-headed and like to learn our lessons the hard way. to each his own. maybe i blew $30 on some useless bolts but mine looked like **** when i took them out and i figured with some brand new heads, some brand new bolts would go quite well.

 

Vader, thanks for bringing us back to my original point The question I initially asked was weather or not '97 LT1 head bolts WERE "torque to yield" bolts??? You are absolutely right, if these bolts are DESIGNED to yield during torqueing, then NO amount of visual inspection is going to tell you anything. We agree completely, TTY head bolts are TRASH once they are used. Again, when I read LS1 service manuals they definately tell you that the LS1 motor does use TTY head bolts, so it is CLEARLY spelled out that new bolts are required whenever LS1 heads are removed. As you can see from the varied responses to this question, what we are debating is weather or not TTY head bolts were ever used on the LT1 motor, and if so, did they START using them on LT1's built in '93, '94, '95, '96, etc.

Gump, you have given me the most important piece of info in this entire thread If a new GM OEM head bolt package is indeed in the low $20 price range, then of course I'll buy them. I didn't know they were that cheap from GM. I just couldn't see paying $50-60 (which is what ARP head bolts go for, depending on where you shop), for a basic "heads and cam" car application. I'm NOT planning on running either boost or spray, so I'm confident that new stock OEM bolts are more than adaquate

Not to beat a dead horse, but has anyone actually seen an LT1 service manual say that head bolts MUST be replaced after head removal, (like they do so often in the LS1 manuals)????

And finally, thanks again to the MANY of you who have replied, that's what makes this board GREAT, people willing to SHARE their knowledge

 

I agree, we are on the same page as to what needs to be determined.

Here's what I know:

1. The later flange head, 9/16 LT-1 head bolts (95 on?) are TTY

2. The earlier 5/8 head, captive washer head bolts (94 for sure, don't know about 93) that look like all previous small block bolts, are TTY, and one of them failed while being torqued to final value while I was re-assembling my engine.

3. When you buy a top end gasket set from fel-pro, it says right on the box " New head bolts are to be installed with this set" or something to that effect. And the bolts you get are GM made, later style flange head, rather than the original 94 style.

4. As you say, the factory head bolts are more than strong enough for street use when installed properly. In fact when angle tightened TTY provide a better clamping force that adapts to changes in head gasket thickness better than stiffer bolts, which is why manufacturers have changed to TTY in almost every case.

5. This is a great board, and I have learned a great deal from it about these cars.

 

Thanks for all the useful info Vader, I guess I'll be buying a GM head bolt kit in a few weeks

 

I agree, the torque to yeild bolt on a stock or non boost/juice application is actually the better choice is you have the tools, if not a stock replacement torque to spec bolt will work fine, just step torque it and it will be good, Also make sure the temp is above 50 degs. a cold head bolt can snap on the final torque (actually had this happen).I always get a heater and point it right at the engine and bring the bolts inside until I'm ready to put them on.
On the other subject my 93 had the 5/8ths head w/captured washer.