stripped pan head bolt

[KevsPorsche944]

Trying to remove the cam tower and one of the pan head bolts is stripped on the inside. Any ideas on how to get the SOB out. Thanks guys.

[968 GUY]

I guess that you mean the socket part is stripped. If so...did you give the bolt a good smack with a punch before you tried to remove it? If not do that first and don't be shy about how many times, just don't damage the tower.
If you can get a small chisel on it, you may be able to start it turning by tapping it loose.
If you can get your hands on a reverse drill bit, try that.
Make a slot with a chisel and try a screwdriver on it.
Good Luck.

[Techno Duck]

First off, loosen those bolts a little bit at a time. While only torqued to 15ft-lbs initially, the breakaway torque on those things is ridiculous. If you do not loosen them in a sequence, the cam tower can make the last few bolts very difficult to get out.

So with that said, if you havent already i would reinstall a few of the bolts and tighten the cam tower back down, then start working on getting the stripped allen head bolt out.

I would start out with getting a quality allen head socket; no ball head, no allen key.. get the socket. Now hammer it in and see if that works. If it does not, i recommend one of two things, either hammering in the size up SAE allen socket or sacrificing a torx bit and hammering that in.

I do not recommend any drilling on the top row bolts inside the cam tower unless it is your last resort.. you will get metal shavings all over the place and run the risk of all of that going into the oil return ports.

Remember, use the least destructive method and work your way up.

[Cocacolakidd]

Try also to find a worm type easy-out. They will work sometimes when other methods fail - If you get one of those - tighten the adjacent bolts if not already, and then go strong but slow.

[pkjense]

Old post but perennial problem. I had an allen key break off in mine. NEVER use ball type allen heads. Solution wasn't bad though, I got a diamond dust core bit from Home Depot the same ISD as the OSD of the allen bit ($4) and put an extension on it. Coated it in grease. it bit right in to the bolt going around the hardened steel allen key ball. Got the ball out (it stuck inside bit which is good), and then continued to drill through the bolt. It came out on the outside of the bit. The grease, which I wiped and changed often, contained the small steel filings about 90%. A drill throws shavings all over. a high power magnet got most of the rest, then a good flush of the tower. You can also run this bit in reverse, so it may just back the bolt out if you are lucky.

[PorscheChef]

This happened to me. I drilled out the head of the bolt, making sure not to go too deep to where it hit the cam housing. Removed the housing then the bolt came right out with my fingers. You could use vise grips or an extractor if it gets to that point, but at least you'll have some room to bight down on it at that point. The one I stripped was right in the middle, on the bottom where the strut tower is. I had to go to Home Depot to get a long drill bit, but it worked and it was pretty easy. Good Luck!

[PorscheChef]

This happened to me. I drilled out the head of the bolt, making sure not to go too deep to where it hit the cam housing. Removed the housing then the bolt came right out with my fingers. You could use vise grips or an extractor if it gets to that point, but at least you'll have some room to bight down on it at that point. The one I stripped was right in the middle, on the bottom where the strut tower is. I had to go to Home Depot to get a long drill bit, but it worked and it was pretty easy. Good Luck!