How to remove a stripped timing tensioner bolt?

That sucks. If you can't get anything on it then heating the bolt won't work. You could try using a small chisel and tapping the bolt out, you have to work all the way around the bolt head though. That worked for me once. Another option would be to weld something on top of the bolt to help you get it out. Since you mentioned low clearance, you may want to look into removing the inner fender somehow. Is it bolted in or welded?

Do you care about cosmetics at all? Can you cut a hole in the inner fender to get a socket on with an extension, that you can put a rubber plug in when you're done?

nate

Is drilling a hole into the center of the bolt possible? Then use an easyout or something? It would have to be the biggest hole (and dead straight in) you can make to get the most control over the remains of the bolt without screwing up the bolt hole for the new bolt. My concern is it is probably that super duper hardened steel and may not drill too easily unless you have a special bit for that sort of thing.

my .02 for what its worth.

one other thought... also not sure if your dealing with reverse threads? maybe like mention the make/year/model for these guys.

Candian Tire sells a gizmo for situtations like that. I think it's a ratchet with pins in place of a fixed head. The pins take up all the space around the bolt head and supposedly provide enough grip to extract the bolt. Whether it will fit in the space available is another matter. I think there may also be a type of ratchet head with teeth instead of the usual flat sections.

If an impact wrench tightened the bolt perhaps an impact wrench will loosen it?

As a last resort the motor mounts can be undone and the block dropped. That is how timing belts on some Mazdas had to be changed. Maybe that is why it cost $400 to change the belt on the car last time?

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This sounds like a job for a large pair of vice grips.

------------ Alex

It's a welded part of the frame. I was thinking of drilling through it but it's a pretty good chunk of metal. Someone else suggested the chisel trick too so I guess I'll look into that. The only welder I have access to is not portable and requires 220v which I don't have here.

Not one bit. Rust has made sure of that :)

Possibly, if I can find something that is capable of cutting through the fender. The metal is too thick for a hacksaw.

Not unless drilling at a 90 degree angle is possible (?)

Yeah, the "dead straight in" part is the problem, unless I can remove part of the fender well somehow.

Sorry. IT's a 90 Geo Storm (motor is Isuzu 4XE1 1.6L SOHC)

How about using some kind of grinding bit or metal cutting bit and just cut/grind off the head of the bolt. Then once the tensioner is off, you can get vice grips on the whole bolt.

The only other suggestion I have is to grind two sides flat so you can get a wrench on it.

-Bruce

Stupid but I'm going to ask anyway, can you remove the tensioner as an assy. and deal with pully bolt once it's out? If not have you thought about cutting a slot in the bolt with a mototool (Dremel) and putting a thick piece of metal in the slot and getting on it with a cresent wrench. Just my 2cents!

Rick

Is that a gator grip you're talking about? I honestly don't think there's enough left of the bolt for it to grab onto. I tried some bolt-outs from Sears. The 7/16 just spins on it, and the 10mm will *almost* bite into it, but just ends up turning out. I found out from the dealer that the bolt was originally a 10mm.

Well, I don't have a compressor, and anyway the biggest problem is that I can't get anything useful to bite into the bolt head, so even if I were able to fit an impact wrench into that area, it'd just spin on the head.

I doubt it, but I guess it's possible. Neither the Haynes nor the factory manual mentions having to remove anything but the front motor mount (which is in the way of the timing cover). If I remove the two dog-bone mounts in addition to the timing mount and drop it down the several inches necessary to access the stripped bolt from underneath the wheel well, do I need to worry about potentially bending the flywheel or driveshaft or anything like that?

Wander down to Sears and buy a set of Bolt out extractors, no drilling. They look like a socket but have internal flutes that grab onto the stripped nut/bolt and turn it out. I have two sets and they are REALLY great things to have for these situations. They are also available in other places that sell Irwin tools. They are called Irwin bolt grip sockets.

for a look at what the are. I have seen them atSears, Advance Auto and a couple other stores as well. You just pick thesmallest size that will grip the head and let it dig in.

dropped.

Beat the 10 MM on using a pry bar. Put the bar against something and try to lever the socket on the head a bit. Now hit the bar above the fender a couple times and see if it bites in now. If you have a welder you could weld a different nut to the bolt head OR for a real pain you could weld a socket directly to the head. Or you could put a junk socket on it. drill straight down through the socket and head and drive a tapered pin in there and see if it will break free. Another possible way is to use a long SHARP chisel and use it on the head to back the bolt out by hitting on the down side of the bolts head. If you have a propane torch you could try heating the area the bolt threads in OR heat the bolt itself so it is real warm and then try the bolt outs again.

Steve W,

Nope. At least not that I can see from the manuals.

We did exactly that today, but the best thing I had laying around was a screwdriver extension and a vice grip to turn it. Couldn't keep the screwdriver tip in the slot. We are thinking about just cutting off the bolt head, sliding off the tensioner, and dealing with the rest of the bolt once it is off as was suggested here. I'm afraid to do this, because of two things that seem to be possibilities:

1) Impossible to remove enough of the bolt head to slide off the tensioner, and now there's no way at all to turn the bolt 2) Destroying the pulley in the process...

So the other alternative that looks good is to try to use the grinding and/or cutting bits for the dremel to form the bolt head into something that we can hammer a different size wrench onto from the top or bottom. If that doesn't work, I guess we'll cut off the bolt head unless some other idea pops up.

Been a rough day...

I'm glad you mentioned them, Steve. I had seen the ads on TV, and thought that if they really work as shown, they would be a valuable addition to anybody's toolbox. First chance, I'm going to pick em up.

drilling.

anybody's

I have seen about three versions of them so far. The originals with 6 flute grooves, some with 6 grooves that each have serrated grooves in them and the latest is a set that have 12 flutes. Sounds like the OP has a situation where he cannot find a size to fit, usually that isn't a problem because you just beat them on. I have used mine about 10 times and they worked every time. Have tried their drill out extractors and those were a little disappointing. I think they would work on bolts/screws that broke off because the bottomed out or were weak, but on real rusted items they don't grip hard enough to work real well.

Well, we got it off finally. Tried various sizes of bolt-outs, could never hammer one on enough to bite. Tried cutting a slot into the bolt head but it was too tight to turn still. Tried shaping the bolt to pound a open end wrench onto it, but the slot made the bolt too pliable. Tried heating the crap out of it with a propane torch and then turning it with vise grips and channel locks, but that only succeeded in frying the pulley bearing. Finally I just said the hell with it and ground the head off the bolt with a dremel (this was an easier decision to make once the pulley was cooked). Once the head was mostly gone, the bolt and pulley fell right out. Guess that means someone did indeed get a little too happy with their air gun. Luckily I was able to get a junkyard pulley for $30 so I should be on the road soon. Thanks for all the suggestions!