Stubborn Seat slider bolts removal........

[boyt911sc]

I’ve been trying for remove the car seats of an ‘89 911 cabriolet and encountered these stubborn 6-mm Allen bolts that secure the car seats. Some of the bolts were stripped (not by me) and the good ones are very very tight. So I attempted to use a chisel to loosen those already stripped bolts but had no luck getting any to loosen.



The bolts felt like they were welded to the plate/s and would probably stripped them if I forced the issue. Any suggestions or recommendation to get these “bolts” loose? BTW, the driver side car seat is power assisted and has 3 bolts per rail (total of 6). Thanks.

Tony

[jjeffries]

Tony, is there enough room for a Dremel with either one their better cutting discs or even a carbide grinding bit, to attack the Allen heads? Or maybe more elegantly, a reciprocating air saw with the blade between the rails and the floor mounts, to cut the 6mm theeads? I imagine any solution won't be pretty....maxiumum eye and ear protection mandatory! Wishing you luck, John in CT

[Bob Kontak]

I have had some luck by JB Weld epoxying an allen wrench in the hole. Let it sit for a day.

Given you can't swing the wrench, cut a stub piece off and use a 1/4 drive socket after it sets.

[proporsche]

Tony ..remove the rear first then you might have more room to go back.The back bolts have stops.to prevent you to go too far back.Once you remove them go all the way back and then use a solid steel drill-bit.
Same goes for the rear go all the way front and drill them out.....

Ivan

seat stops

[kees]

I'm not 100% sure, but I thought that these are not Allen bolts but Torx. Using an allen bolt wrench on a torx bolt will strip them.

[proporsche]

kees ..only Allen on the 911;-) only water buffalo has torx

Ivan

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by proporsche

Tony ..remove the rear first then you might have more room to go back.The back bolts have stops.to prevent you to go too far back.Once you remove them go all the way back and then use a solid steel drill-bit.
Same goes for the rear go all the way front and drill them out.....

Ivan

seat stops

Ivan,

I have to look again closely on the seat rails. The 2 bolts at the rear (shown in my pic) are attached to a thick backing plate. Where are the “stoppers” you posted located? I have a Dremel and a small pneumatic grinder but the locations of the bolts are difficult to access. Hopefully using the right technique and perseverance could over come this problem. Thanks.

Tony

[proporsche]

Hi Tony
these stops are usually up front but i have seen them to be put on the back too..Most of the 911 in nowadays do not have them .Most of the mechanics remove them;-)
Try to remove the back..i know big heavy plate serves a nuts on bottom.
Once you are able to move it back far enough you can access the fronts.

Ivan

[proporsche]

tony ..the stops in place up front
Ivan

[boyt911sc]

Ivan,

Went back to the freezing garage and took picture of the front end of the driver side seat slider. Take a look.....



The seat rails do not have the angular stoppers. The stoppers for these seat rails are different. The front Allen bolt/s refused to turn even a bit. I will need a suitable grinding tool to do the job. Thanks.

Tony

[proporsche]

hi Tony
do you have a heater gun..not torch.Try to heat it up and if you have any grab try again the allen socket.
if not then the grinder has to come to the action.
good luck

Ivan

[HaroldMHedge]

Tony,

I had the same problem trying to refinish my seats this winter. I think the factory used a liquid thread lock to keep the bolts from loosening. To get my stuck bolts out I used a left handed drill bit, 7 mm if I recall. One bolt did come loose. On the other, I drilled to the thickness of the bolt head then chiseled off the head. When using the chisel most of base metal needs to be removed.

Good luck with this.
Harold

[tmadden2]

You could try a screw extractor. I’ve had good luck with the Irwin Multi-Spline set.

[Ctopher]

I came across the same issue with the Allen stripping last night. I wil pull the dreamel out when I get new bolts in. I plan on cutting a large notch across the head and use my impact screw driver to hit it. It should break it loose after a little PB soak.

Good luck.

[Lyle O]

When you get these out, I strongly suggest replacing with low profile, alloy 12.9 bolts from McMaster Carr. The harder steal will not strip as easily next time...

https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-socket-head-screws/=1be2tnw

[billybek]

If you can find cheap imperial allen socket that is slightly larger than the bolt, grind it slightly to get a taper that you can drive into the allen bolt. Banging might help but the tight fit may get the bolt out.
Next time you are trying to pull these out, have some Comet kitchen cleanser (granular) on hand.
Dip the end of the allen key or socket in water then into some of the cleanser to tighten the fit between the the tool and the hole. (waiting for comment from Rawknees...)

[Jeff Burger]

Tony, Use a bfh (bigger hammer) with the chisel. I have taken out many stuck/stripped seat allen bolts this way, it has never failed

[Quicksilver]

Cut a slot across them with a cutting wheel and use an impact driver to loosen them.

[BK911]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Cut a slot across them with a cutting wheel and use an impact driver to loosen them.

Yup. An impact driver has saved my butt many times.
Try an allen first.
If that doesnt work, the slot should.

[proporsche]

Tony`s problem is that there is not enough space to put on any tool or impact screwdriver.The front of the seat is just above the Allen heads.top picture.
He has to remove the back so he can slide it as far as he could then do the front bolts.

Ivan