[bimmaone]

Hi bimmers, I'm unable to remove belt tensioner because of a stripped bolt . if you look at the picture you will notice I also messed up the torx T55 socket. The nail on the coffin, it was a brand new tensioner I was replacing.

I was told to hammer in a smaller torx socket to tighten the bolt and unscrew it, but there is not enough clearance to do so without damaging something else when I attempted it. I will appreciate any ideas to pull this off. A new tensioner should be delivered tomorrow.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[davidwarren]

That looks bad. It may be easiest to just go ahead and pull the radiator and drill it out.

[Wingnut335]

I think it needs to be drilled out as well. I've stripped many screw heads and this one is up there in terms of how much of the head is gone. A screw extractor won't work on this.

[robthewrench]

You'll need to drill it and then either hammer in another torx socket or use a really big screw extractor bit. You may have to pull out other systems to get the clearance you need.

[lookalikehuuh]

Before you go removing radiator and such its worth trying 2 sockets...

1. These "universal" sockets which are more like spline drives could possibly pull it out.
Example: http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-9...7_00902496000P

2. Try a bolt extractor set. Ive had good luck with these in the past:
Example:http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Industri...+extractor+set

Oh yea and next time make sure you are using the correct tool for the job this will prevent this exact problem.

[lichtgelb]

If you haven't already done so, there's only two small Torx head screws holding in the fan shroud. Pulling it out will give you a lot of clearance to work in there.

[snayko]

I would try pliers, socket stuffed with sandpaper etc. before drilling.
As I remember torque should not be too high to make it possible to unscrew it with just pliers

[ajaye]

Since you can't hammer something on as-is, there's a small possibility you can JB Weld a socket over the bolt, let it set up and remove. It may be worth a try but I wouldn't bet on it. If that fails, just get a dremel and knock the head off the bolt. Its aluminum, it will grind off very easily, once the head is gone there will be no tension and the remaining shaft will spin out by hand.

[davidwarren]

I take my suggestion back. I looked at it this morning and I was thinking the socket you use to relieve the belt tension was the fastener. The bolt you need to remove is in the center of the spring. That one still looks salvageable without going straight to drilling.

[bimmaone]

Thanks for your replies. I should have more time today after work to continue the salvage operation. I will probably remove fan shroud to give myself more room as suggested. Will keep you posted

[MahiC]

Hey I messed up the t 60 socket to relieve the belt tension as well. How would I go about taking the pulley off?

[TheBigYahi]

I'm pretty sure that the Torx socket is a T60, so that's probably why you stripped that part.

As for the bolt, you could try a bolt-out socket on a long ratchet. That's how I managed to get out a pesky OFHG screw out. This is the set I have. Not sure if the biggest size will fit the tensioner screw. You might need to hammer it on a little bit to get it to bite. I don't recommend using a drill for removing Torx bolts because you'll eventually round it off to where the bolt-out won't work.

[Greyfox]

If you are talking about that center bolt... get a good set of vice grips and lock onto it as tight as both your hands can squeese. Then get a big pair of channel locks and use them to turn the vice grips.

[PhaseP]

With fan shroud out, you should have just enough clearance to use a big heavy hammer sideways on its side face, not on its regular hitting face. Hammering in one of those extractor sockets mentioned probably would be best bet.

Fan shroud has one screw on left and a clipping mechanism on right with a tab that needs to be pushed to release. Plus the fan electrical connector that needs to be disconnected. There is another cable that clips onto some connector/sensor on the left that should be either disconnected or moved to side from what I remember. I have the same year and model as yours.
Fan shroud is easy to remove.

Putting it back make sure the tabs on its bottom go into the receiving holes correctly.

[bimmaone]

SOLVED! A combination of tool saved the day
1) purchased grip-tite tool kit from sears (auto zone has a similar kit)
2) used the 7/16 torx bit to try removing the bolt but it was too loose, and 3/8 was too tight to fit the bolt
3) looked around the garage and pulled a large plier which made a dent on the edge of the bolt, but then I figured maybe the 3/8 could fit now
4) tried the 3/8 bit again and voilà it worked
5) so definitely using wrong tools was a large contributor to the stripping. The newer tensioner was delivered with two bolts, and I was able to reinstall the stripped tensioner you see in the picture with an E14 torx star and T60 bit. I now have a spare tensioner that I might return . My breaker bar was also two short and did not help. Car is running again with full power steering and AC. CEO is happy too!

Thanks everyone for the help