I have an 87 Vert. There is a star screw that is stripped on the head closest to the distributor cap. There are 4 total. The one I am talking about is the top one that holds the top portion of the egr pipe that sits on the intake manifold. It is used to help hold the egr pipe in place from the exhasut to the intake manifold. How do I back this screw out?

 

Being that it's holding the EGR pipe you need to get some penetrating oil of some sort in there. If it is tight enough in there to strip a Torx head, it's pretty darn tight. Second shock can really help with this sort of thing. Since I am guessing you are doing this at home and have a somewhat limited set of everything, you can try(with an extra) tapping the next size up torx bit into the head of it. You may even go up two sizes deoending on how stripped it is. This really only works as a last resort and if the head is deep enough.
Other than that you are looking at drilling it and going with an easy-out or such tool.

 

Easy out would be the better way for me. However do they make a bit long enough for me to be able to get that drill tool in there? Its pretty cramped.

 

You may have to do some disassembly or creative thinking. Do some searching for tools on the alldatadiy.com site that I have provided around the site.

Can I ask why you are removing the tube?

 

I need to take off the passenger side valve cover. That's the reason why I'm removing the egr temporarily.

 

Do you have a welder or know someone that does that could bring it over.
If so you can weld a nut onto the head of the stripped bolt and back it out. A stick or mig will work for this. I know it is kind of tight in there but with some patience and luck you can do this. If using a mig, it needs to be a small portable with a small gun.

 

That sucks supremely. Having stripped and then broken the heads off 4 torx heads attaching the intake to the heads, I feel your pain. I ended up drilling a centered hole, pounding in a square-type extractor, and then using a t-wrench to try and remove it. NOPE!!! The extractor snapped in the 2 bolts I tried this method with and was the biggest PITA you can imagine.

If it is the bottom EGR intake bolt, that is a VERY hard position to even get a bit on. If it's the top bolt, it'll be a little easier. First try the aforementioned technique of pounding the next size torx head in there. It worked for me, the larger bit grabbed the bolt so well it twisted the entire head right off!

If that doesn't do it, you're looking at drilling it out. I broke all 4 of the corner bolts on the intake and the rear two on each side caused any drill to be right up against the firewall. I ended up buying a 3/8" right angle air drill that did the job marvelously. If your normal drill doesn't work, and you have access to a compressor, this might be an option. It was the Harbor Freight one here.

If you can't access the bolt to drill it out because of drill length, go to your local industrial supply store, such as Grainger's (closest one is in Norcross, GA), and they will have good DeWalt drill bits in lengths of 18" or more. I know because I bought some from there.

If you go the drilling route, just heli-coil it and you'll never have to worry about cross-threading a bolt or reactions between 2 dissimilar metals because it is a stainless steel insert. Don't forget some tapping/drilling fluid either to keep the bit from getting too hot.

The welding idea is probably the best method, but requires a welder.

Good luck and keep us posted,

Jonathan

 

Will a dremel and cut off blade get in there and cut a slot in the head so you can use an flat bit in an impact driver ??

 

I doubt I could get one to fit in there at that angle. Wouldn't hurt to try. That's a good idea though. I haven't worked on it yet but I'm going to this week. However... Does anyone have an extra star bolt laying around that is not stripped on the head or the threads? I would be willing to pay for it. I posted it in the parts section.

 

A few years ago the same thing happened on mt 87. Once I drilled through the head, the bolt came out real easy. It may not be as bad as it looks.

 

I have 4 extra! I replaced the ones at the header and the manifold with new deep-contact allen heads. If you want one of the old torxs, I'll send it to you for shipping, but I'd just buy a new one. My new ones are grade 12.9 now.

 

Where did you get the new ones? And what is shipping to 30043?? Thanks!

 

The local Ace Hardware store. They are the black oxide grade 12.9 bolts. I would think shipping would just be the cost of a postage stamp...

 

I was able to back it out. won't be needing another at this time. Thanks though.

 

Awesome! Which technique worked? And take this opportunity to replace those bolts - they have done their job for more than 22 years.

 

I was able to get a different bit of the same size and back it out. I noticed the bit I was using had very little damage to it and that was what was keeping me from getting it out.