Just striped out one of the torx head bolts trying to pull the head on my 190E, any suggestions?

where did you break it at? Are the threads stripped or did it break off?

If the bolt's torx bit internal mating surface is worn or damaged, try using an "Easy-Out" bit.

This is a difficult removal process. If you can find an easy out large enough to fit the capscrew, then give it a try. I hope you are successful. Two other alternatives I know of that work. Grind grooves in the head of the bolt so it ends up looking like a big phillips screw and use a piece of hardened tool steel in the grooves to "unscrew" the bolt. This will require a long attachment for your "screwdriver" to generate sufficient leverage. The second method works (I tried it successfully. Tack weld a cap screw onto the stripped headbolt and use that to remove it. Your welder will have to be careful to avoid damaging the head, but it can be done. Personally I like option one, but I haven't trid that one yet. One other option, if you can get a pipe wrench on the bolt head, that may work, but usually there isn't enough room for that trick..

------------------
Jeff Lawrence
1987 300e
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE

This is too late now, but a trick I use when I run in to a bolt that is really hard to loosen (and before I strip the bolt or nut), is to give it a sharp rap or two with a ball peen hammer axially - not side to side. This will often break the bolt loose and allow you to remove it with your wrench normally. Of course you must use caution and common sense as to how hard you hit the bolt and how you strike it...making sure you don't damage the bolt head, the material it's bolted into (soft aluminum?) and surrounding objects.

As far as extracting a stripped bolt, I find that ez-outs are very difficult to make work. Make sure you don't end up with a broken case-hardened ez-out stuck into the top of your stripped bolt.

The method that Jeff mentioned is the one I've had the most luck with. Sometimes, if you have enough access, a hacksaw can be used to cut a slot into the top of the bolt head.

Of course if none of these methods work, you probably will have to drill out the bolt completely....a difficult task at best (and really a pain if you have broken off an ez-out in the bolt). You have to use a pilot hole first *exactly* in the center of the bolt and then use a big enough bit to get most of the bolt, but not the stuff it's bolted into. If you damage the head threads, you may want to get a machine shop to intall an insert (HeliCoil).

Good luck!


------------------
Steve
1979 240D
1990 300E

Thanks guys for all the input on my query about the head bolts. Through a local tool supply house I found out that the head bolts are not a torx, they are similar but not the same. The right tool for the job is an 12mm Serrated Wrench for 12- point metric socket-hesd screws. I quest that only an MB mechanic would know that. How does the old saying go? The right tool for the job. Regardes Karl