can CA18 headbolts be reused?
as im about to put my CA back together, finally, but have now heard that they arent reusable

as its only a DE bottom end and a stock nissan headgasket im not really keen on spending the $200 odd on ARP headstuds. and coz im over spending money on the shit heap of an engine

so what will be the worse thing that will happen if i put the old headbolts back in?

Quote:
They'll rust out 150 years from now.

I don't believe you should have any concerns using the same headbolts but if there is something that I don't know, maybe others can explain.

Many modern engines use stretch-type head bolts which cannot be re-used.

However I always heard CA head bolts weren't that type. Being designed in the late 70s/early 1980s I wouldn't expect them to be stretch type.

Does anyone know for sure?

nope you can not reuse the bolts..

well you can if u wanna be a cheap ass but ur head wont be straight an flush..

I have also heard that they are okay to use a couple of times.
That being said... I knew my engine had been apart before and didn't know how many times they had been in / out?
I ended up replacing mine with genuine Nissan ones $7.20ea x 10.
I have been told no need to go ARP unless going to extreems as the origional bolts are quite good.
(Just don't loose the washers... they're more expensive than the bolts)!

I did mine about 8 months ago and re-used mine too, partly because I expected to be pulling it down again at some stage to do a full build but also cause I'm a tight-arse. It's been fine and has seen plenty of track time.

no, you shouldnt... they are torque to yeild..only meant to be stretched once..if you try it again they may break or not have the correct tension...

Oh I was thinking of SR20DET which has reusable head bolts:

SR20 book give a dimension under which bolt can be reused.
The CA18 book S13,also doesn't say the bolts need to be replaced. Only headgasket, valve stem seals, and front and rear cam oil seals.
RB26DETT R32 GTR book also says nothing about replacing head bolts.

Some of us have been listening to top fuel dragster engine builders, or work for a spare parts shop

I'm not 100% sure but when I was going to rebuild my CA18DE the engine reconditioner told me they were torque to yield bolts. they weren't very expensive (they weren't ARP, just OEM eqivalent) If they are indeed torque to yield I probably wouldn't use them again but you could always measure your old ones if you have a big enough micrometer and let us know.