I was in the process of cleaning out the blazer today and removing the seats to get out some milk that a jackass poured in my car thru an open window a few years ago...

Anyway, after getting off the three 9/16 bolts in the front of the seat and the back, I came to a 50T Torx bolt that held the seat down in the back. After grabbing a breaker bar, I couldn't get it off and instead only managed to mangle my Torx bit

I had no trouble with the passenger side and got it out completely, but now the driver side Torx bolt is stripped beyond repair. I'm at a loss of how to remove it, and where to obtain a replacement (locally, so I'm not waiting around for it in the mail) once I am ready to replace the seat.

Any advice?

 

Do you have a salvage yard nearby? I know that mine had quite a few still with seats, and all of them had the torx attached, I would recommend checking a junkyard...

As for removing it... Look into drilling it out, or maybe cutting it out?

 

As for getting it out. Need to spray a penetrating oil from underneath on the bolt. Then I would grind out a notch & use a blade type screw driver or drag link socket which uses a ratchet. May need some heat underneath but be careful not to burn the carpet.

 

I'd cut the head of the bolt off and then drill it out to use an EZ-out on it.

As far as sources for a new bolt, match up the thread with a Grade 8 or metric equivalent high strength bolt and put that in. If you have clearance issues with the bolt head and the seat track, then you may have to find the proper bolt either at a junkyard or consult with the dealership. Hardware like this isn't too expensive. More than it should be, yes, but in the grand scheme of things, you know you get the right part.

 

Most parts houses like NAPA, CarQuest, etc carry varies bolts with different head types. A torx is fairly common. But a grade 8 is important IMO.

 

I've found grade 8 bolts at O'Reilly's and AutoZone, but not Torx head, just Hex head. I don't have a problem putting one of those in in place of the Torx head, given that it'll be covered by a faceplate. This shouldn't be a problem, as long as I get one of the same length and threading, right?

Regarding Grade 8 bolts, I'm not too familiar with terms like this, but I know they are for taking higher loads of pressure. Would it matter (for a bolt holding down my seat) that it be Grade 8? Or can I replace it with a similar bolt of, say, Grade 5, 6 or 7 strength?

Just for the record, it's not about money, because the Grade 8 bolts I found are just a few bucks at the auto parts store (the ones with the hex heads) - it's more for my future reference.

BTW, thanks so much for all the advice everyone - I bought a bolt extractor bit today (a smaller one and a larger one in case it's too small) and am going to be giving that a whirl this weekend when I restart this project.

When drilling out a Grade 8 bolt, do I need a special bit to make a hole in it? I believe I have grade 8 yellow zinc drill bits, but wasn't sure if this would be strong enough to penetrate the metal. This is the part I am most concerned with.

 

You want as strong of a bolt in that location as you can get within reason. If you get into an accident, you don't want that bolt to fail...

As far as drilling into high strength bolts, you just want to maintain lubrication and watch your speed so you do not burn up the bit. If you cut the head off the bolt, there may be enough room to get a vice grip on it.

 

I was working a bit on getting the back seat bolt covers off today when my uncle dropped by - he works at the local steel mill and expressed amazement at the Torx bit's failure, as did his friend. I did as he suggested and bought a higher grade Torx bit from Duralast instead of the Great Neck bits I had been using and will be trying that instead this weekend.

 

had the same problem only with the drivers seat. I ended up taking a saw-zaw to the bolt and now my drivers seat is held on with three screws. doesn't mover around at all so I'm not worried about it

 

Yep, mine is the driver side too - sorry if my narrative was a bit confusing, I was just trying to get the back seat bolt covers off today, those aren't the ones I'm having trouble with....