Help removing stripped Torx bolt

[nickwrx]

Ok, good lord this has been a disaster! I am trying to put a new steering wheel on my car. Right Torx bolt came off with ease (ofcourse), left side doesnt budge. I bought a screw drive Torx from Lowes, cant turn it. So I go to Sears and bought a 7 piece $40 f-in dollar Torx socket set. And bam! Tip of the Torx breaks off in the bolt.

I tried drilling out the bit tip. Cant get the bits to bite and get anything off it. I even went then and bought a Titanium bit set and broke 4 of them!

Any suggestions on how to get this damn bit out. I cannot get to it from the inside as its basically inside the steering wheel. Its recessed in the wheel and accesssed by a small hole in the cover of the wheel.

I have heard to put JB weld onto a bit end or something, let that setup then try and turn it off with that? Not sure if that would hold or not? Any ideas guys?

 

[Merkava_4]

First some questions:

1. Is the bolt down in a recess and its perimeter fully surrounded by the steering wheel?

2. How much of the broken Torx bit is still attached to the bolt?

3. Do you have any left-handed drill bits?

 

[Mickey O]

I was going to go take a picture of one I recently broke off in a bolt but remembered I just vacuumed it out of the expansion joint in the garage.

Air compressor might work as well (try it first if you have one, try vacuum cleaner too). If it's tight loosen it up with a center punch or something, use a magnet to pull it up a little and a pair side cutters to grip it and pull it out.

 

[Rnz520]

welt a bolt to it and then use a proper socket. Sorry but tahts just about the best way to do it, dont know if you can apply it to your situation.

 

[nickwrx]

Damn, quick responses!

Merka
1. yes
2. the tip is flush with the head of the torx bolt. So bascically, its a flush metal bolt with nothing to grip to.
3. no, but I saw those! But I mean no bits are making a dent into that broken bit. Its some hard steel.

Mike - good plan, but just wont work in my situation. Its basically welded into the bolt!

Rnz - I dont know if I will be able to weld it considering the hole is about 3/4" in the steering wheel. So I dont think you could weld into there. Plus, I dont have a welder!

 

[Merkava_4]

I'm thinking if you have a recess to guide the drill bit, you got it made. Get yourself a high quality left-hand cobalt drill bit the same diameter as the bolt or slightly less. Drill very slowly and use cutting oil.

 

[ImportTuner]

Drill a small hole, then progressively move to a larger bit; insert USA made EZOut and remove .. worked for me

 

[krusty the clown]

try a pick and a magnet

 

[rockwithjason]

i have cut slots in stripped torx screws and used the biggest common screwdriver i could find to remove them. you could also use an impact driver.

 

[Mickey O]

I guess I didn't vacuum it up, sitting on top of tool box:

 

[nickwrx]

http://www.scoobymods.com/wrx_steer...?s=&threadid=127&highlight=WRX+steering+wheel

There is the link, if you look down to the 3rd pic, you can see my scenario. Only, I have a tip, like MikeO's got stuck inside the female or actual bolt. And it is flush with that bolt, so there is no way I can try and pry or vaccum it out. Its literally like its fused into the bolt.

I want to try and use a dremel, but I am not sure if I could fit a cutoff wheel into there. If not, maybe I could use a carbide tipped bit and try to cut a slot in there. Ugh!

 

[Mickey O]

My situation was the same, you need to loosen it up with a pick or a punch then use the magnet to pull it up a bit, then grip it with side cutters (takes a few grabs and swears).

If it's real stuck, Dremmel tool and round head grinder bit.

 

[Merkava_4]

I don't know why I participate in these broken bolt threads ... you always have at least 25 differing opinions, and in the end, the OP never listens to anyone anyway.

 

[bgott]

It probably twisted a bit before it broke, locking it into the socket, in that case you're screwed. Get a scribe or small center punch and give it a bump in the opposite direction from which you were going when you broke it. I said it that way in case you were tightening it hoping it would help break it loose. If that doesn't work you are going to have to grind it out with a carbide burr. Once you get the hardened bit out of the screw you can drill the head off of the screw. Good luck!

On Edit: Then again, you could always go to your local self service junkyard and get another column. I've actually seen guys do this when faced with screwy stuff like this. Break all the torx bolts loose before pulling one.

 

[nickwrx]

yeah the broken socket, what is left, there are 3 starts bent and the others are fine. You can see where it bent then snapped.

But I will take all of these suggestions and run with it this week! Thanks for all of the very very fast suggestions. Thanks again,

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Need a pic nick. that will help

 

[bmxr4life87]

try a center punch ive had a few times where the piece shattered with enough force then you just hit em with a magnet and pick to get the pieces out then remove the bolt with a hex bit preverrably of impact grade

 

[Tool Pants]

I know the problem, but do not know an easy solution.

From looking at the pictures my Porsche is the same design. Two T-30 torx screws hold the air bag to the steering wheel. The screws are on the back of the steering wheel and are recessed deep inside the wheel. I have a 2 3/4" T-30 bit just to get in there.

In the middle pic you see the ratchet, the long bit, and one of the torx screws.

You can't even see the screws without a mirror because the back of the wheel is very close to the dash, and there is no room to work. When I unscrew them I do it by feel because I cannot see what I am doing.

 

[Toolhorder]

Recessed Torx bolts for airbags are horrible. When I worked for a Honda dealer we had a recall for the bags and had to remove them all and install a small nylon cover on the inside and reinstall it. This happened all the time usually the result would be a stripped out bolt though. I bought a special longer SO socket with a long torx shank on the socket to help with these. This won't help you now but next time put a little valve lapping compound on the torx bit before you start. It helps grip the bolt a little better. Most of these bolts have red loc-tite on the threads.
At this point I would try and get the broken piece out of the bolt head with a center punch and if you have enough room tap the side of the bolt head at an angle to loosen it counterclockwise. If it's recessed too far then drill it out and use an easy out. Sorry about your luck, if it makes you feel any better I been there a bunch of times. At least you aren't losing money fixing it like I used to being a flat rate tech.

 

[back2class]

This is one of those if it an't broke, don't fix it situations from the looks of it. If you want to continue this project I suggest you take it to a shop that has the equiptment to get it done...like a welder and some quality drills. A welder may damage the electronics or other stuff. Kiind of reminds me of when my Honda car door latch broke in the closed and locked position. All that could be done was to destroy the inside pannel and melt the latch off. A real nightmare and that was not even an elective project. Sometimes there is no easy way to fix something small.

 

[Toolhorder]

This is one of those if it an't broke, don't fix it situations from the looks of it. If you want to continue this project I suggest you take it to a shop that has the equiptment to get it done...like a welder and some quality drills. A welder may damage the electronics or other stuff. Kiind of reminds me of when my Honda car door latch broke in the closed and locked position. All that could be done was to destroy the inside pannel and melt the latch off. A real nightmare and that was not even an elective project. Sometimes there is no easy way to fix something small.

The welding idea is crazy around an airbag. Good way to get killed.
Let me guess your Honda was a 90-93 Accord?

 

[back2class]

The welding idea is crazy around an airbag. Good way to get killed.
Let me guess your Honda was a 90-93 Accord?

1995 to be exact

 

[charlie_nj]

I'd continue trying to remove the bit using the methods that have been suggested, picks, magnets, punches etc. If you can't remove it after all these methods, the following method may work, although it will damage the screw.

Based on the photos, it does appear to me that you can get a small cold chisel in there. Working very carefully, I would take the cold chisel and attempt to turn the torx screw by placing the tip of the chisel on the outer edge of the screw and tapping the chisel, thus turning the screw in the counterclockwise direction and loosening it. The chisel will cut a notch in the outer perimeter of the screw. Once its loose, I'd try to work some small needlenose pliers in there to continue to turn it.

 

[TheToolMan]

If it were me i would use a twist socket and be done with it