I'll give you my answers, but they are skewed towards the turbo motors, which chew through head gaskets. Some of these may be overkill on a normally aspirated 22RE that's making < 130 rwhp, so keep that in mind.
1. Can I reuse the head bolts?
I wouldn't. I mean, you can, but in general I don't think it's a good idea. Head bolts stretch. Even though the 22RE head bolts aren't torque-to-yield, I would not reuse them, especially if they were the original set.
If you just replaced them at your last rebuild, that's different. In that case, I'd probably re-use them once.
2. Do the head bolts need to be re-torqued after the initial torque?
Yes. I retorque after the first full warm-up/cool-down in the driveway, and again at around 500 miles.
3. Should the bolt holes in the block be completely dry and oil-free?
YES! Make sure there is no oil at the bottom of the bolt holes, or you will not be able to properly seat the bolts. Also, there are different torque specs depending on what type of lube is used to assemble the bolts. I only use ARP studs (see below), and they have very different torque ratings depending on if you use their lube or straight 30 weight oil.
4. Should the bolts themselves be completely dry and oil free? My friend who's helping me says he's done many head gasket changes (not on toyotas) and says the bolts get oiled before you screw them in and torque them?
Your friend is right. See above.
5. How likely is it that the block itself could be warped? About 5000-10,000 miles ago I overheated the engine and warped the old head. A new one was put on, and the head gasket failed after about 5-10,000 miles.
These blocks have a high nickel content and are really strong.
That being said, while it's much easier to warp the head, it's still possible to warp the block, especially if it's already been overbored. A straight edge and a feeler gauge should tell you what you need to know.
Any other general tips would be greatly appreciated as well.
ARP head studs!! Outstanding investment, well worth the $110 or whatever they are going for. Keep in mind that the 22RE has a weak head gasket design; you don't see it fail as often on a 22RE as it does on the turbo 22RTE, but it's still a weak design: :O:O:O:O:. That's 10 bolts for 4 cylinders, which means the inner two cylinders share six bolts between them. This means the bolts do not share their load equally, as the inner ones are subject to more stress and stretch sooner, which causes the head to lift a little, and then -- blammo!-- new head gasket time. So use the best quality components you can afford, be meticulous in your work, follow a "best practices" approach wherever possible, and follow up by retorquing twice when you have it all back together.
My .02 cents,
Jeff
Last edited by mosk; 03/23/10 08:45 PM.
