Stretched head bolts?? pics

[dsmatt]

this is the first 4 cylinder car i have ever bought non running so i don't know much about it. when i bought it the owner said it was a blown head gasket. there was large traces of water in cylinders 2 and 3 so i agreed it was just the gasket. he told me the head gasket had only about 400 miles on it but the reason it blew because it was a cheap Fel-BLO. i pulled the head and this is what i found. that gasket doesnt look blown like when i blew a head gasket, but you can see where i think the water was entering. the owner told me that he used the old head bolts when he changed the gasket. is changing the headblots that much of must on a 4g63?


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[talonTSIDriver]

YES, Especially if the cars got 100k+ miles on it. They are a torque bolt which are a one time use. Once they are in an engine that has been up to operating temp, it is recommended to replace them. For not much more you can just get a set of ARP Head Studs and then you'll never have to buy head bolts again.