Stripped transmission bolt head

[mattatk]

Dear All,

I am hoping someone may be able to tell me how to remove my stripped torx head bolt in my transmission on my 01 Boxster S. I am in the process of removing the tranny to change the clutch & have removed all bar one bolt. The bolt is the only torx head bolt on the transmission to engine connection. It resides low down on the left hand side (looking from behind the car) which makes it very hard to get at. I cleaned the head off to remove it & noticed that it was stripped inside the head. I tried my torx head on my shifter but it just got worse.

I've tried vice grips & hammer & chisel to no avail.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Sincerely,

Matt

[Trey T]

Try PB blaster or any other equivalent penetrating oil and let it sit couple of times over several days then try it again w/ vise grip.

[Loren]

It is not likely a Torx - most Boxsters have triple square (XZN) plugs.

[JFP in PA]

Loren is correct; too many mistake the XZN "Triple Square" fasteners for a torx and end up mutilating it..................

[Dr.Strangepork]

Yup it's a triple square...I know exactly which bolt you're talking about.

I'd take a triple square bit and try to hammer it in then turn it. That's how I removed a stripped pressure plate bolt.

[mattatk]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies! I am constantly impressed with this forum, always plenty of enthusiasts & experts who are decent enough to offer help/advice. It was a bit hard to see what type of bolt it was as it was SO damaged! I'm the third owner so who knows when it was "tortured". I've sprayed it with WD40 (is it as good as the PB blaster?). I guess I could have made the same mistake, as what I could see of it, it looked like a torx head.

It's the last bolt in the tranny & I'm wondering if, even though I've got the tranny & engine supported, that there could be a bit of side force acting on the bolt. Should I put a couple of tranny bolts back in to ensure alignment of the thread?

Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it.

Matt

[coreseller]

If it were me I would indeed put two of the upper bolts back in and one on the opposite /passenger's side back in. Any weight of the tranny putting side forces on the triple square bolt head is only going to make your job more difficult. Also, I believe Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster may penetrate the threads better than WD40.

[logray]

1.) Craftsman bolt out if it is totally stripped.. Removing the pressure per previous post is a good idea too.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00952061000P?vName=Gifts&cName=Dad&sName=All&sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00952061000P

2.) Order a new allen bolt to replace the triple square bolt. Same bolt on a 996, I bought a cv joint bolt of the same size for about $2.00.. You'll thank yourself next time you remove it and have the right tool.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/more_info.cgi?pn=900-067-123-09-M260&catalog_description=CV%20Joint%20Bolt%2C%2010%20x%2050mm%2C%20each%2C%20Front%2FRear%2C%20911%20C2%20%281994-98%29%2C%20Rear%20C4%2FTurbo%20%281994-98%29

Measure the size of the old bolt to be certain.

[JFP in PA]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the triple square fastener, provided you don't use the wrong tool on it and mangle it. We pull these out all the time, using a 10 mm XZN socket, and never have any issues. Right tool for the job makes all the difference. You can find full sets of XZN sockets on Amazon for less that $25, and as there are other "triple square" fasteners strewn through out the car as well, having the set makes a lot of sense………….

[Dr.Strangepork]

IIRC that bolt is rather hard to reach, using an extractor on it ought to be interesting...

[mattatk]

Just got back from a four day work trip & had another crack at it this time with 4 other bolts back in & using a bolt out tool (can't get craftsman in Oz near me, so I used a Ingam one - pretty much the same by the photos). Finally came out !! What a relief thanks all for your input, I owe you somehow.

Cheers,

Matt

[logray]

Good work.

Save yourself some more time and money down the road and buy a new allen bolt of the same size to replace the damaged one.

Then you don't have to buy a triple square socket set (unless you want to buy a new triple square bolt to put back in, then you'll need the triple square socket set for perhaps one of the only bolts on the entire car with that configuration).

Oh, and you can click on the '+ 0' sign in the lower right hand side of a post if you found it to be useful. ;)

[JFP in PA]

Then you don't have to buy a triple square socket set (unless you want to buy a new triple square bolt to put back in, then you'll need the triple square socket set for perhaps one of the only bolts on the entire car with that configuration).

Except for all the other triple square fasteners around the car, which will be similarly butchered using the wrong tool.....................................which I did not find "useful".........is there a "minus" to check? Jeez..........................

Edited July 27, 2010 by JFP in PA

[logray]

JFP I'm not understanding your logic of why you would want to provide a "negative" feedback.

I agree with you that for other triple square (a.k.a. XZN) fasteners in the car it is wise to use the right tool, I merely presented this option in lieu of spending another $25-50 on a triple square socket set for just that ONE bolt - or perhaps $10 on just a single socket, if he already has a hex head socket, to replace the triple square bolt with a hex head bolt..

There were two solutions provided in my posts, one of which agrees with your "only" solution provided (which is the source of my confusion about your illogical post).

1.) He can replace his damaged bolt with one that he already has a tool for just few dollars (for example this hex head one). Of course, if he doesn't have an allen/hex head socket set or individual socket, he would need to purchase one of those as well in which case he may be better off replacing his original XZN bolt and source a tool for that.

2.) He can buy a new bolt of the same XZN configuration as the original AND a tool to match (which it does not sound like he had the socket).

[JFP in PA]

Simple: Replacing the triple square bolt is false economy. It is not the only triple square fastener in the car; and, in fact, and is also not the only one of that sixe (10MM). So, after he first destroys and then replaces the bolt with an Allen head, exactly what is he going to do when he reaches the flywheel, which is not held on by hex or Allen head fasteners? Again, he is going to need the correct tool to get the old ones out and the new ones torqued in. And how about when he wants to drain the gear box before pulling it out? On some models, the drain plug is a triple square…………….

These cars can have triple square fasteners in some of the strangest places, like holding the alternator pulley on for some model years. Not all of them are replaceable with either hex or Allen head fasteners, even if you could find them in the correct sizes and load bearing capacity rating. If you can't afford the $25 for the correct tool set, this is problem is going to be a reoccurring headache…………..

Secondly, and perhaps it is just me, but I find "touting for applause" more than a little tacky….

[logray]

Don't take this as a flame, sometimes writing makes things come across the "wrong" way. :cheers:

However I believe you are mistaken regarding the triple-square bolt on the transmission we are speaking of.

The triple square bolt on the transmission is different from the rest of the bolts you speak of (flywheel, drain plug (some cars are allen), etc). In my experience they are actually torx (6-point), not triple-quare (12 point).

This is my experience with the 996, but I find the 12 point XZN triple-square to be relatively unique on the vehicle.

More common that I see on this car are phillips, allen, torx, allen, hex, and external torx.

I agree completely about using the correct tools (and I did offer that as a possibility earlier in this thread above your post), I was merey offering different ideas if he doesn't have the tool handy and doesn't want to invest in a set because he hasn't encountered a triple-square bolt head yet. He explained that his triple square bolt was already damaged beyond usefulness (whether he did it or someone else). So I suppose you are right he should source another triple square bolt and go purchase the appropriate tool for that one bolt. Let's not try to think outside the box. Who knows, perhaps he didn't have an allen set either, in which case my suggestion would not be useful to him.

I understand that bolt head configurations differ through the years, so what I've enountered might be different than what you've encountered on your customer's cars.

I wansn't trying to be tacky, he said he wanted to offer something in return for the advice, and thanks to Loren he created the reputation system. Why else would it be there? Perhaps it wasn't the best idea after all? I was merely trying to promote Loren's work. I am not by any means crawling around for a reputation. I could actually care less.

[JFP in PA]

While your experience with 996 is correct, perhaps you should re-read the original post: "I am hoping someone may be able to tell me how to remove my stripped torx head bolt in my transmission on my 01 Boxster S."

Boxsters, depending upon year, and in some cases model, have multiple triple square (12 point) fasteners used in them, in applications such as the transmission drain plugs, alternator pulley fasteners, as well as the transmission bolt in question. While most M96 equipped manual transmission 986 cars used Torx bolts on the flywheels; a number of the very early cars also had triple square fasteners there as well. Fortunately, Porsche did not continue their flywheel usage for very long, and all replacement flywheel bolts are Torxs.

Edited July 28, 2010 by JFP in PA

[Loren]

JFP in PA is correct that there are different fasteners used on different models. As well I have also seen seen different plugs different on Boxsters (as I noted in the Manual Transmission DIY). I do not know why (perhaps Germany vs. Finland builds?) but I have personally seen this.

Bottom line is that folks need to examine the type of fastener before attempting to remove it - and perhaps causing a costly/time consuming fix if they wrong.