Mike J

Yeah, the hammer technique works great - use that all the time on the valve cover gaskets. I also think those 7 fl-lb/84 in-lb tightened bolts really gall or bind due to heat cycles - often it takes a lot more than that to get those puppies off, which is why they are often stripped. If the connection to the bolt head is a bit 'soft', i.e. not a direct connection, you cannot get the power through the tool/bolt to the threads to break it loose, and you end up rounding the bolt out. Its all a matter of feel, you should feel that you have a connection that will allow you to break the thread open.

I think this is where experience comes in ; I have had guys in the shop where its clear to me even visually that the connection is not there, but they still reef on the tool and strip the bolt - then I need to come to the rescue and figure out both a way to get the stripped bolt out, and if I have a spare, because no way am I putting a bad one back in.

Cheers,

Mike

Neil Perry

Hi Alex,
You are correct the seat bolt, allen heads are shallow.
I have removed my seats many times with good quality allen keys, with no issue.

Also as you said, "if you don't have good quality tools or the right tool , just go and buy it, as it will save many hours of grief" Words of experience.

kjr914

OP,
(my 2c...possibly worth less....err, or worthless even)

All great ideas here, but due to the location and not wanting to damage a seat, drilling seems out and Dremel slot + screwdriver is sketchy due to the angle of attack on the bolt.

Hammering in a Torx might get you there, but again the angle will make it tough to hit it square enough to seat well but worth a first try. Chiseling the bolt CCW is a freebee worth trying as well (but as with the Torx, don't mangle the bolt so much that other methods can't be tried). I think the trip to Sears/etc for the bolt extractor is a highest probability of success approach....which reminds me to buy this tool next time I am there!

Good luck!

Essexmetal

Not the size needed for a seat bolt but these extractors are design for removing stripped socket head bolts. They have usually done the job, once I had to structural epoxy one in. All the other methods work good too, this is one of the easiest.

The bolts are good quality but they are soft. Soft does not mean weak. I always grind the end of my socket mounted hex wrench so the end is sharp. The six corners help dig in, and the socket mount to a ratchet allows for increased pressure to hold the hex into the blot head. As noted not to be reused unless the hex drive is perfect and then think twice about it.
Rick

shadow993

Drill it.... I had the same problem and just drilled the heads off.

geolab

Any of the above in my opinion as well as the extractor would work, but NOT without
leaving traces on the rail.
In the picture, we get to see how close the pan head is close to the rail.
Any Chisel and hammer is going to hit the rail,
Dremel a groove , and I am not sure you could turn the flat screwdriver by hand.
I have removed several stripped ones without effort by using a heat gun with a 7mm tip on the heat gun. Point it at the bolt head closely for 30 ish seconds at 120 *celcius, and turn the bolt with a slightly large torx head. It will turn loosely. Un-bolt with the torx and leave a thread or two for it to cool down.
I managed to change my reflex now from chisel to pinpoint heat gun before stripping anything, GLuck

RS man

I would think what you do very carefully before you start hacking away - lesson I learned from stripping a bolt when working on my car. The more you mangle it the more difficult it will become to extract.
Never tried it but I suggest trying to cut a slot with Dremmel and using something like this on a socket wrench with the wide tip to cover the diameter and turn with a socket handle that is perpendicular (right-angles) to the screwdriver bit. That should hopefully get you enough leverage.

Mark in Baltimore

+2 or +3 on the bolt extractor. It should work better than cutting a slot and chiseling or drilling it, approaches that I would only take as a last resort.

Wait 'til you have to remove the shear bolts from the ECU cover...

Tom 328

Thanks everyone! After a trip to the dealer to get some extra replacement bolts and all the tools mentioned, I finally took care of this today. I realized today how hard this bolt is to actually get to properly given you can't get at it from more than a couple inches straight above (which is likely how it got stripped originally, plus the metal is like cheese!), so all the suggested tools had to approach it from an angle. Even the dremel couldn't be situated at an angle that would cut a slot in the bolt head for a screwdriver. Ultimately all those were a grindy, strippy mess...no bueno. As a result, it turned out that the suggested hammer/chisel technique of hitting it horizontally to get it to rotate worked! Who knew?!

On to installing the T-lock tomorrow. Here's hoping for no surprises.

e9stibi

I got a big box of proper grade (8.8 or 10.9) online at some point. The heads are harder and I have reused them when I did my bucket seats. Night and day difference to OEM. Just shot me a PM and let me know how many you need ($ 0.50 a piece plus shipping which most likely will be USPS small flat rate box for 5.10)

BobbyT

Hammer and chisel does sound a bit medieval, but it has worked for me a number of times, when there is just no access for drilling or Dremel. Glad to hear you got it sorted.