Head bolts should now be accessible, but not always visible. Olds 350 engines hide three of the bolts under pipe plugs (Fig. 7-15); some Japanese engines secure the timing cover to the head with small-diameter bolts that, more often than not, are submerged in a pool of oil.
The practice of using an impact wrench on head bolts should be discouraged. A far better procedure and one that must be used on aluminum engines is to loosen the bolts by hand in three stages and in the pattern suggested by the manufacturer. Make careful note of variations in bolt length and be alert for the presence of sealant on the threads. Sealant means that the bolt bottoms into the water jacket, a weightsaving technique inherited from SI engines.
Clean the bolts and examine carefully for pulled threads, cracks (usually under the heads), bends, and signs of bottoming. Engines have come off the line with short bolt holes.
GM and a few other manufacturers use torque-to-yield bolts, most of which are throwaway items. When this is the case, new bolts should be included as part of the gasket set.
