I got a new head gasket for my roommate's Volvo, and I pulled a new cylinder head from a bumper-sticker-encrusted mustard-yellow 244 at the junkyard. But I was wondering if it would be a good idea to get new head bolts. Because those are annoyingly expensive, and generally I assume that if something's expensive it's probably not necessary. Like car insurance. Still it seems likely that the old head bolts might break if I tried to use them again, particularly being as they are 32 years old.

 

you need new head bolt especially if they are the stretch kind.
IPD sells them a lot cheaper than the dealer.

ARP head studs can be reused.

Wait for the experts to get on.

 

Well, I'm no expert on all the newer Volvo motors but redblocks don't use stretch head bolts so it's ok to reuse them. Unless they're really gross looking. Just clean 'em up w/ a wire wheel and oil 'em up. Then dry ALL the oil off; torque values are based on dry bolts. Last winter I rebuilt a B20. Milled the head, double valve springs, Isky cam and push rods. Lightweight lifters, steel timing gears...not cheap. I used the 37 year old head bolts....not to be cheap but because there wasn't anything wrong with 'em.
Stretch bolts are "torque to yield" bolts. The manufacturer has a predetermined knowledge of what the breaking point of the bolts are; you then torque to yield, where the bolt stretches and actually almost twists on its axis.

 

How do I know if they are torque-to-yield bolts? It is a 1978 245 with a B21 if that helps.

 

I got a Haynes Manual that covers from 76 - 93 for the 240 series.
Torque specs for Cyl Head bolts are

EARLY VERSION BOLTS:

First step........................43 FT/lbs
Second step....................80 FT/lbs
Third step.......................warm up engine to normal tem, then turn engine off, allow to cool completely.
Fourth step.....................Turn bolt number 1 out (counterclockwise) 30 degrees and retorque number 1 bolt to 80 FT/lbs
Fifth step........................Retorque remainder bolts to 80 FT/lbs

LATE VERSION BOLTS

First Step.......................15 FT/lbs
Second step...................45 FT/lbs
Third step......................Additional 1/4 turn (90 degrees)

early type bolts have a hex nut followed by a smooth shaft until the threads
late type bolts are socket type head and an indentation on the shaft...
It's a shafty situation....
YOU CAN SEE SOME CYL HEAD BOLTS ONLINE WHEN YOU GOOGLE YOUR YEAR AND MODEL ETC ETC....

 

You mean the early ones are allen bolts? Because that's what I had, it was real tricky finding a ten-millimeter allen key that would fit on a breaker bar.

 

No, just the opposite. The early head bolts are hex (six sided) bolts...normal looking. It's the later bolts like you encountered at the JY that are indented and take a hex drive to remove.

Stretch bolts are by definition, torque to yield bolts. Therefore you do not have torque to yield bolts, you merely torque 'em down as described in the previous post.

Use the headbolts that are on your friends car, not the ones you pulled at the jy. I hope the head you pulled was from a B21.

 

The only thing I was going on was that both engine and the car looked just like my friend's, and that the badge on the side (the old-style badge) said "2.1" under Volvo.

 

Most likely they are both the B21 then. I'd still use the head bolts from the friend's car.

 

Both bolts can be reused up to 5 times for both of them. All torques are set to WET (read oiled) bolts. I've always heard to not wire wheel them, but instead to degrease, brush them off wipe them down and oil them up.

 

^^This. I stand corrected. However, what Volvo means by oiled bolts is a mere skim of oil, essentially whats left after you wipe them off. I've seen people dip them in oil...that isn't good. And, I should not have mentioned wire wheel at all. We use one here at the shop, but it is a very fine, gentle wheel and we've done it for years. Removing any metal from the threads is never a good thing. Solvent is the best for a first timer.