OEM Headbolts no ETA, people still using Metric Blue bolts?

[ForcedFirebird]

^^^yup. They are stretch bolts, and they are probably thread rolled which can distort a soft material. Again, I have used countless sets without issue - even the 200+whp builds we have done are using VR, just out of convenience. My local supplier delivers them in an hour, even though they cost more than OEM, they are always available.

[bmwman91]

I agree with mike87. If you can get them to start seating with just the socket+extension and your hands (no ratchet) or maybe just the slightest help from the ratchet, then they are probably OK on an OEM application.

[mike87]

Just received my bolts, half are unmistakably bent. Checked against a few straight edges, and tried rolling them on a flat surface to see how they would react. Needless to say, I'm heated.

What did you tell your retailer?

A very little amount of bend shouldn't be too much of a problem since the bolt straightens out after tightening because it's a torque-to-yield application.

What you need to worry about are the belt-to-hell bolts that don't even thread down without giving a lot of resistance when using a hand ratchet.

Non-boosted applications and regular head gaskets are forgiving, I wouldn't use regular head bolts or anything other than ARP studs on an MLS gasket or turbo setup.

I basically sent a video and some photos of the bent victor reinz bolts to my retailer and they remedied the situation immediately without question. YMMV

[Zambuzan]

The retailer was kind enough to send me another set and I'm going to piece together 14 unbent bolts from the 2 sets.

Just received my bolts, half are unmistakably bent. Checked against a few straight edges, and tried rolling them on a flat surface to see how they would react. Needless to say, I'm heated.

What did you tell your retailer?

[Zambuzan]

[mike87]

How specifically did you find out that they're bent?

Roll it on a flat clean/white surface with a light in the background and see if there is any wobble.

Either that or you can use a straightedge along the length of the bolt on various sides to check for distortion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioyO_DmkMR8&t=95s

[note this isn't my video, but same procedure]

Hope this helps!

[Zambuzan]

For what it's worth: I just bought a set of victor reinz head bolts last week, and 4 out of the 14 bolts were bent to oblivion (have pics and videos). The retailer was kind enough to send me another set and I'm going to piece together 14 unbent bolts from the 2 sets.

How specifically did you find out that they're bent?

[mike87]

For what it's worth: I just bought a set of victor reinz head bolts last week, and 4 out of the 14 bolts were bent to oblivion (have pics and videos). The retailer was kind enough to send me another set and I'm going to piece together 14 unbent bolts from the 2 sets.

[shawmcbigdis]

Thank you, this is reassuring! I receive my bolts later today, hopefully everything checks out...

Just to verify, you lightly grease the threads and the washers right? Any oil would work, as long as its a bit thick?

As for the oil, I don't know if that's really what you are supposed to do. I saw it mentioned on several threads about head bolts, so I just did it. I actually used 0-30 Mobile1 because thats what I have the most of in the garage, I would not call that thick oil by any means. I don't know for sure if that is the actually factory approved procedure or not though. And I only put the oil on the bolts, not the washers.

[Zambuzan]

I was having this same problem. I ended up with a set of VR bolts, and checked them all against a straight edge. All seemed fine. I dipped my finger in some 30w oil and rubbed the bolts and installed them. Everything seemed fine. 22lB's, then 90, then 90.

I got the bolts just last week, and installed them yesterday. But as others have said, based on stock and whatnot, who knows when or where my bolts were made compared to a set you might get.

Thank you, this is reassuring! I receive my bolts later today, hopefully everything checks out...

Just to verify, you lightly grease the threads and the washers right? Any oil would work, as long as its a bit thick?

[shawmcbigdis]

I was having this same problem. I ended up with a set of VR bolts, and checked them all against a straight edge. All seemed fine. I dipped my finger in some 30w oil and rubbed the bolts and installed them. Everything seemed fine. 22lB's, then 90, then 90.

I got the bolts just last week, and installed them yesterday. But as others have said, based on stock and whatnot, who knows when or where my bolts were made compared to a set you might get.

[nando]

IMO, Metric Blues were never actually acceptable for a head bolt. But they were "cheap" and had the same thread pitch, so people thought they were upgrading because they weren't TTY (even though in reality, TTY bolts are superior for head clamping which is why every OE manufacturer on earth uses them).

[Vincenze]

There are also AJUSA and Febi bolts.
https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E30-32...h/11121726478/

Elring: https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/435...lt-Set-820229/

[15Michaeljoseph]

I went through this with my head rebuild a couple years back. Ended up feeding into my fears of getting a potentially lame set of head bolts and just got a set of ARP studs. Overkill for a bone stock rebuild, but the peace of mind is worth it imo. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[bmwman91]

I had a bunch of conversations with Jim Rowe at Metric Mechanic about head bolts over the last few years. They used VR bolts for quite a while, but ultimately stopped due to manufacturing inconsistencies indicated in some tests they did that indicated a wide variation in stretch / clamp force between bolts. They had similar things to say about "OEM" head bolts, and ARP is their go-to now. For a stock rebuild it is likely a non-issue and one should follow either the procedure in the E30 repair manual, or if VR supplies them then use those. VR seems fine for a stock engine.

The factory procedures I have seen for E30 engines all seem to be "initial torque X Nm, wait B minutes, then turn Y degrees, then Z degrees (sometimes after getting to operating temperature)". In that case, thread lube probably adds a lot less risk of issues than when using a straight torque spec. I'd be pretty careful about cleaning / chasing the threads in the block, and unless they are really gunked up with crud, I would just get a brass bristle bottle brush that fits the holes and run it in a drill to clean them out, and then use some brake cleaner or compressed air.