Thank you! That was a very thorough response.

I am confused about 1 thing though, through my research it seems as far as 22RE engines, the head bolts in '85 and '86 are NOT torque-to-yield and from '87-'97 they are.

So I'm wondering what the difference is because most parts stores can't get head bolts for my '85 because replacement is not suggested? Is that the reason?

I"m not really sure what to do at this point, bolt-wise?

It's hard to beat old trucks!!