Originally Posted by daimlerdude

The engine never overheated, and the manual said that re-torquing the head bolts after driving the car was "no longer necessary." However, the block is aluminum, and the bolt holes were heli-coiled when the heads were done 7 years ago to prevent the bolts from loosening up. So, now I'm wondering if one or more of the heli-coils may have loosened up and, if so, whether it would be possible to replace just those heli-coils without having to pull the head.

I also came across this Saab site, which stated that re-torquing all the bolts on two of its aluminum head engines to 90 degrees beyond the 60NM point would cure most head gasket leaks if the engines hadn't overheated. So, maybe there's hope there after all.

DD